Neil Armstrong Courage Quotes

Jake Smithula

Mr. Saunders

English Pd. 3

April 7, 2015

The Courage of Neil Armstrong

In the classic American novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch once said, "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see through it no matter what" (Lee 149). Harper Lee attempts to show that true courage is when someone stands up for what is right without resorting to violence. Like Harper Lee, many people, including writers, historians, politicians and many others, have attempted to both define courage and exemplify courage over the years. According to the quote courage is not someone that responds

to situations with violence but instead determination. By Lee's definition undoubtedly one of the most courageous men to have lived in our century is Neil Armstrong.
Although Neil Armstrong is most famous for his work with NASA, examples of his courage started in his early life.

At the age of 19, Neil Armstrong was recruited to the navy and underwent training in order to fly planes off a naval carrier. He excelled in his studies and was soon cleared as a fighter pilot. He actively participated in the Korean conflict well into the 1950s (Dunbar). On September 3rd, 1951 Armstrong flew in a recon mission which concluded with his plane being shot down over hostile airspace. Though he narrowly evaded death and enemy capture, Armstrong went back to the navy and flew over 20 similarly dangerous missions. One can argue that Armstrong's service in the navy would fit better in the definition of bravery, but his experience in the navy and post navy career was in the testing and research of developmental planes. In fact Armstrong worked in the research and development of planes such as the F-100 Super Sabre, F-105 Thunderchief and many other experimental planes (Dunbar). These planes were not tested for safety. Continuing to work with these planes despite the inherent risk is what marked him as a courageous

man.
It is in his work with NASA that Armstrong's courage shines the brightest.

In 1966 Armstrong was the commander of the Gemini 8 mission. During reentry, the spacecraft he was on had a thruster malfunction and his craft was sent into a wild spin. Due to his bravery and skill, he was able to land the craft safely on earth. However, he has modestly claimed that his skill was supplemented with a great deal of luck, as a safe landing under these conditions hardly been heard of (Deusterhoft).

Despite this, Neil went on to continue his work with the project and commanded the Apollo 11 mission. Neil Armstrong, along with his crew, courageously strapped themselves onto a rocket that was built with parts provided by the lowest bidder, a rocket that malfunctioned and was hotfixed just minutes before launch. He flew into space, a location where the slightest malfunction could result in disaster, a location where rescue is impossible. He continued with the mission despite losing contact with mission control several times, contact that was vital to help control the descent onto the moon

(Pyle).
All throughout his life, Neil Armstrong was placed into situations where death was almost certain. He attempted tasks that had never been attempted before, where the most possible threats were those that were unknown and unseen. He stuck to his decisions despite many events that would convince the average man to reconsider. That is spot on to Harper Lee's definition of courage. That is why Neil Armstrong might have been the most courageous man in our time.

Works Cited
Dunbar, Brian. "Biography of Neil Armstrong." NASA. NASA, 18 Dec. 2012. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. .
Deusterhoft, Martha. "The Lesson of Neil Armstrong: Anyone Can Find the Quiet Courage to Lead." TLNT. 5 Sept. 2012. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. .
Jones, E.M. "The First Lunar Landing." The First Lunar Landing. 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. .
Pyle, R. "Apollo 11u0027s Scariest Moments: Perils of the 1st Manned Moon Landing | Space.com." Space.com. 14 July 2014. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. .
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. Print.