thedrifter
07-20-09, 07:09 AM
Giant leap: Local residents remember the day America made history on the moon
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July 19, 2009 - 7:22 PM
LINDELL KAY
Onslow County residents who remember the first manned moon landing say it was a pivotal moment in American achievement.
On July 20, 1969, two American astronauts stepped onto the moon, winning the Cold War’s space race and opening the universe up to exploration.
Jacksonville resident Marilyn Bond, who was 39 at the time, said she remembers a lot of people talking about the mission to moon being a waste of tax dollars.
“Really it wasn’t,” she said. “It was important we win the space race.”
The U.S. had been trailing the Soviets since the Sputnik 1 began to orbit the Earth in 1957. Americans, including Bond, were caught up in the drive to reach the moon first.
She said competition between nations drove desires, but the day American astronauts actually touched down, the trip to the moon became something for everyone.
“It was a special moment for the entire world,” she said. “It was a turning point for all of us."
Bond said the lunar landing offered a beacon of hope in the turbulent late ’60s.
“It was a step forward that keeps going today,” she said.
Ellen Humphrey, 80, remembers spending all day eagerly waiting for word that the astronauts had made it to their lunar destination.
“I was sitting there watching on TV alone,” she said. “It was great!”
But not all Americans were able to watch the landing on television.
Dallas Johnson, who was a 20-year-old soldier at the time, said he was too busy in Vietnam keeping his head down to shift his attention skyward.
“I was in the central highlands with the 4th Infantry,” he said. “I read about it in the Stars and Stripes later.”
Johnson said word spread fast and provided a little morale boost to soldiers fighting in the hot end of the Cold War.
Onslow County resident Emma Horne said there was a lot of back and forth at the time with people arguing the pros and cons of a manned moon mission.
She said she remembers the people who said it was impossible and still doubted the landing afterward.
But she is sure of at least one thing she learned from the first lunar landing.
“Anything is possible,” she said.
Contact Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read his blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.
Ellie
Comments 1 | Recommend 0
July 19, 2009 - 7:22 PM
LINDELL KAY
Onslow County residents who remember the first manned moon landing say it was a pivotal moment in American achievement.
On July 20, 1969, two American astronauts stepped onto the moon, winning the Cold War’s space race and opening the universe up to exploration.
Jacksonville resident Marilyn Bond, who was 39 at the time, said she remembers a lot of people talking about the mission to moon being a waste of tax dollars.
“Really it wasn’t,” she said. “It was important we win the space race.”
The U.S. had been trailing the Soviets since the Sputnik 1 began to orbit the Earth in 1957. Americans, including Bond, were caught up in the drive to reach the moon first.
She said competition between nations drove desires, but the day American astronauts actually touched down, the trip to the moon became something for everyone.
“It was a special moment for the entire world,” she said. “It was a turning point for all of us."
Bond said the lunar landing offered a beacon of hope in the turbulent late ’60s.
“It was a step forward that keeps going today,” she said.
Ellen Humphrey, 80, remembers spending all day eagerly waiting for word that the astronauts had made it to their lunar destination.
“I was sitting there watching on TV alone,” she said. “It was great!”
But not all Americans were able to watch the landing on television.
Dallas Johnson, who was a 20-year-old soldier at the time, said he was too busy in Vietnam keeping his head down to shift his attention skyward.
“I was in the central highlands with the 4th Infantry,” he said. “I read about it in the Stars and Stripes later.”
Johnson said word spread fast and provided a little morale boost to soldiers fighting in the hot end of the Cold War.
Onslow County resident Emma Horne said there was a lot of back and forth at the time with people arguing the pros and cons of a manned moon mission.
She said she remembers the people who said it was impossible and still doubted the landing afterward.
But she is sure of at least one thing she learned from the first lunar landing.
“Anything is possible,” she said.
Contact Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read his blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.
Ellie