Armstrong, at the age of 30, pictured in front of X-15 #1 after a research flight in 1960.
Armstrong would also be awarded honorary doctorates by several universities later on in life.
In 1955, he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California in 1970. He remained in the reserve for eight years, then resigned his commission on October 21st, 1960.Īfter his service in Korea, Armstrong returned to his studies at Purdue. Armstrong left the Navy at age 22 on August 23rd, 1952, and became a Lieutenant, Junior Grade, in the U.S. His plane was shot down once, but Armstrong managed to eject and was rescued without incident or serious injury.įor his service to his country, he received several commendations, including the Air Medal for his first 20 combat missions, a Gold Star for the next 20, and the Korean Service Medal and Engagement Star. In the course of the war, he flew 78 missions and accumulated approximately 121 hours of combat experience. In June 1951, the carrier he had been assigned to – the USS Essex – set sail for Korea, where his unit (VF-51, an all-jet squadron) would act as a ground-attack squadron. Two F9F-2 Panthers over Korea, with Armstrong piloting S-116 (left). On August 16th, 1950, two weeks after his 20th birthday, Armstrong was informed by letter that he was a fully qualified Naval Aviator. This lasted almost 18 months, during which time he qualified for carrier landing aboard the USS Cabot and USS Wright. In January of 1949, at the age of 18, Armstrong was called-up for military service and went off to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, to begin his flight training. Navy, before completed the final two years of their degree program. His college tuition was paid for under the Holloway Plan, where applicants committed to two years of study, followed by three years of service in the U.S. Although he had been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he decided instead to go to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, in order to be closer to home.
At the age of 16, before he even had his driver’s license, Neil earned his pilot’s license and began down the path that would eventually take him into space.Īt the age of 17, Armstrong went off to study aeronautical engineering. As a teenager, he began taking flying lessons and worked at the local airport and at other odd jobs in order to pay for it. Credit: Experimental Aircraft AssociationĪs a child, Armstrong was also active in the Boy Scouts and obtained the rank of Eagle Scout. The 1929 Ford Tri-Motor, which Armstrong flew in with his father on July 20th, 1936, on display at Purdue Airport. On July 20, 1936, when he was five, he experienced his first airplane flight in Warren, Ohio, where he and his father took a ride in a Ford Trimotor airplane (also known as the “Tin Goose”). When he was just two-years-old, his father took him to the Cleveland Air Races. In fact, the Armstrong’s lived in a total of 20 towns for the first few years of Neil’s life.įrom an early age, Neil demonstrated a deep passion for flying. His father worked as an auditor for the Ohio government, which meant that the family moved around quite a lot during Neil’s formative years. Neil was born on August 5, 1930, in Auglaize County near Wapakoneta, Ohio to Stephen Koenig Armstrong and Viola Louise Engel.
But what is the story behind the man? As with all heroes and inspiration figures, the road that led to his famous declaration “One small step for man,” began early on in his life. Neil Armstrong is considered one of the greatest heroes of the space age, earning renown within the United States and the world over for being the first person to land a spacecraft on the Moon and the first person to set foot on the Lunar surface.