On This Day: Astronauts lift off after historic moon landing

[turbinetree]

TOP NEWS JULY 21, 2021 / 3:00 AM

On July 21, 1969, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, lifted off from the moon in the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle and docked with the command module Columbia piloted by Michael Collins.
By UPI Staff

July 21 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1861, the first major military engagement of the Civil War occurred at Bull Run Creek, Va.

In 1918, a German U-boat fired on the town of Orleans, Mass., on Cape Cod peninsula, damaging a tug boat and sinking four barges, and severely injuring one man. It was the only place in the United States to receive an enemy attack during World War I.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2021/07/21/On-This-Day-Astronauts-lift-off-after-historic-moon-landing/7071626729520/

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

1. Nixon had a speech prepared in the event the Eagle couldn't take off after landing.

Text of William Safire’s speech for President Richard Nixon, in the event of a disaster besetting Apollo 11.

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

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Their final conversation might have gone like this:

Armstrong: I thought you had the matches.

Aldrin: I thought you had the matches.

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One final bit of trivia: Buzz Aldrin's father was such an asshole he criticized his son for not being the first man to set foot on the moon. And you thought your father was hard to please!