“We Choose The Moon” - TTG

Forty-five years ago this night, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step onto the moon. It was an exhilarating event in the U.S. and in much of the world. I did not see it on TV. Instead, I was camping with two of my friends. On this night, forty-five years ago, we were lying in our sleeping bags on a thick bed of pine needles on the crest of a pine covered hill overlooking a local reservoir. The land was posted, but we were adept at stealth camping. We had a perfect view of the full moon on that clear, warm night. Normally, we never had a radio or even a watch when we camped. But this time we made an exception. I carried a small transistor radio to listen to Walter Cronkite narrate the landing. Looking back on it, we made the right decision. It was glorious to be surrounded by nature looking at the moon with our own eyes while listening to history being made. 

Given the state of the world today and the craven cowardice of so many of our politicians and pundits, I find solace in what we once were. It's either that or rum.

Each evening, from December to December,

Before you drift to sleep upon your cot,

Think back on all the tales that you remember

Of Camelot.

Ask ev'ry person if he's heard the story,

And tell it strong and clear if he has not,

That once there was a fleeting wisp of glory

Called Camelot.

http://wechoosethemoon.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7c-PbfnQuw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prqFuBp2DcQ

TTG

Comments

[Highlander]

TTG,

Good thoughts about better times. I to remember that specific day, and what it said about the American spirit. Those days could still reemerge for this country. But it will take a large amount of God's grace.

[blowback]

"The land was posted"

I saw signs to this effect several times while travelling around the back roads of western United States. I assumed it meant that the owner would shoot on sight so I stayed off that land. Was I wrong?

[turcopolier]

blowback

A property owner can post his land against hunters or trespass. That does not mean that the property owner can shoot people. You are in Dorset or France. I can't tell which. You have quite an interesting fantasy life about the US pl

[Joe100]

TTG -

Sounds like you had the optimal viewing/listening experience! I remember well looking up at the moon that day from a courtyard (of sorts) outside my ward at the NSA hospital where i was recovering from malaria.

How can we recover the relative sanity (which was not always apparent at the time) of those times and our country's leadership?

[turcopolier]

joe 100

"NSA hospital?" pl

[Joe100]

Col. Lang -

The NSA hospital in Danang.

[Charles Dekle]

TTG,
Thank and we'll said. I watched the live television broadcast and was very proud of what the USA accomplished in such a short time. We could have been on Mars and beyond if we had continued with the same vision and spirit.

I was young then and full of hope. The NASA maned space flight program inspired me to become an engineer. Now am much older, wiser and sad that we appear to have lost our way.

Regards,

[ISL]

TTG, thanks. I have been slowly watching through Star Trek Enterprise, which captures that idealism having infected our entire species. for some reason I recall being woken in the middle of the night to see the first space walk. The space exploration program allowed adults to see the world with eyes anew..... Its important to note, that not all our satellites look down.

[turcopolier]

joe 100

What does NSA stand for in this context? pl

[turcopolier]

TTG

I was three weeks out of combat and in Frankfurt am Main when I watched the moon landing on TV. The Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung had a banner headline the next day that read something like "Today the man in the moon is an American." pl

[Joe100]

Col Lang -

Sorry, I should have been more clear. NSA stands for "Naval Support Activity". This was the big hospital out near the air base.

[herb]

Pictures of NSA Station Hospital in Danang are here: http://www.donaldallenkeith.com/

[turcopolier]

joe 100

Most people don't know that USMC has no medical service of its own. pl

[The Twisted Genius]

Joe100,

That "NSA" threw me, too. I forgot about Naval Support Activities, even though I've used NSA Saratoga Springs many times over the years. I watched the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" while in traction at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. The entire ward went crazy when the U.S. team won hockey gold.

[The Twisted Genius]

pl,

When I wrote this post, I wondered where you were at the time. I was afraid you were too busy watching green tracers when the moon landing took place.

[r whitman]

One of the really great high points of my professional life was having a part in providing some of the chemical analysis equipment for the Lunar Receiving Laboratory that analyzed the first batch of moon rocks.

[Matthew]

Col: I've always wondered why we hear about Navy corpsman attached to Marine units. Now I know.

[turcopolier]

Matthew
Yes, the marines have no medical service and no chaplains. this dates from the days before the USMC was something other than a small force of naval infantry and people who served as members of ships' companies. On some ships a marine sergeant and his men manned a major turret. That is why the ranks of E-7 in the marines is called "Gunnery Sergeant." pl

[steve g]

Joe 100

I too was in Danang at that
moment in time. 1st MAW HQ
north of the air field next to
highway one within shouting
distance of "Dog Patch." Our
comm company was using the old
French barracks. We were listen-
ing to AFVN when the news of the
landing came on sometime late
evening if memory serves. A
collective WTF was heard. One
might say it was the best and
the worst of times for humankind.

[John Minnerath]

Thanks PL. I'd often wondered just where the "Gunnery" Sergeant came from.

[Tyler]

TTG,

My personal opinion is that we were a more moral people then, and blessed in the sight of God, so He gave us the stars. As we've moved away from that, we have lost that gift. We've regressed morally and intellectually.

I'm sure there will be people who will read that and proclaim that how can we have regressed when we have igadgets and the Internet. I have to say that a stupid electronic toy is nothing compared to putting a man on the moon.

[mistah charley, ph.d.]

One result of bringing back rocks from the moon is that the geophysical history of the formation of the moon is now understood (according to the astronomers) - it's quite a story, one not available to me as a schoolboy, and one which arouses my sense of wonder now.

I sometimes agree with Tyler that "we were a more moral people then" - but other times I think we (by which I mean we the little people, the men and women in the street) were just more naive. The mismatch between the ideals one learns in civics class, and what actually happens to people and countries unlike those who hold power - is it actually greater now, or just more obvious?

[turcopolier]

John Minnerath

In the long ago not all marines thought of themselves as infantry. some were permanently assigned to shipboard duty as part of the ship's company. Others were in charge of naval prisons and security of naval installations and until the thirties here was no Fleet Marine Force. They also had no officer schools of their own. they went to army or navy schools. The officer basic course was at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in the 30s. I had a neighbor once who had gone there as a Lt. pl

[John Minnerath]

Thank you. I knew a little of the USMC, not as much as I should.
I worked and stayed with them often in my time.
Always enjoyed it. As a Spec 4 I was treated by them as an NCO, back with the Army I was just another low level EM.
Always thought I would get actual Corporals stripes on promotion from PFC because I'd had orders cut and wore Sgt E5 stripes for a long time, but when I went before the board I got Spec4, for once I kept my mouth shut.

[kao_hsien_chih]

I think we were more sincere about our endeavors back then. The plaque that we left on the Moon simply said "We came in peace for all mankind," not that we are trying to expand "democracy" (tm), not that we are expanding the rights of whatever politically correct group of the moment is, or to celebrate the triumph and glory of any one nation or cause, or whatever. We just wanted to go there and see if we could make it and all of humanity was willing and ready to join in celebrating that achievement (and we genuinely wanted to share it with all humanity).

Nowadays, everything has an ulterior motive. One evil consequence that came out of "political science" becoming widespread in the policymaking process is that practically every policy initiative is really just a cover for advancing some hidden agenda sought by a fairly narrow group, obscured by needless complexity and bureaucratic jumble--and it's not limited to just one party or the other. Is it any wonder that people have grown cynical and suspicious? No one will just say "let's go to the moon, because we want to" now. Everyone will say (even if not publicly) let's talk about going to the moon so that our friends can get what they want and/or our enemies can be discredited, and all sorts of subplots will be hatched that would essentially subvert the whole supposed program. Even if I do want to go to the moon, I wouldn't want to see these schemes unfold in guise of going to the moon.