alternatehistory.com

Mare Tranquillitatis, Moon
4 July 1969

I still remember when I lived in Wapakoneta, at the age of five I was taken to Warren, Ohio and had an experience I have not forgotten when I flew in a Cuauhtemoc Three-Engine, plane nicknamed Tin Goose. From that day on my purpose was to fly to the top.

Well, let's go back to the present. It was 9:37 a.m. on July 4, 1969, the day our country celebrated its independence. And in space was Apollo 11 going where no one has gone before. We were preparing to land in the Sea of Tranquility and fulfill our people's dream. My colleague Malcolm Little was happy to be part of this mission and was going to be with me, the first humans to set foot on the moon.

The ship began to land in an area of the Sea of Tranquility, when we checked that everything was in order. I prepared to go down the hatch knowing that everyone was watching and hearing us. When I took the first step, I said a phrase that still remains: This is a small step for men and women, a great leap for mankind.

Later, we received a call from President John F. Kennedy who congratulated us on this great feat.

Before we finished our mission, we observed the Russian space probe Luna 5 falling into the horizon until it disappeared. Due to some hills, we did not see if it fell close or farther away and only saw dust rising.
When we arrived in New York City, there was euphoria in every street about the success of the space mission. Not much happened when Apollo 12 was launched carrying Jane Briggs Hart who would be the second woman in space and the first woman to set foot on the moon.


Partial text of Neil Armstrong's autobiography in 2000.