Armstrong Neil

Neil Armstrong Rare Letter by the First Man on the Moon


Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), the American astronaut best remembered as the first person to walk on the moon, and the statement he made at the time that the event was "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Typed letter signed by Neil Armstrong as "Neil Armstrong". 1p. 7.25" x 10.5". Lebanon, December 28, 1985. On his personal stationery. To Wapakoneta's Home Savings and Loan Association.


"I should like to close Regular Passbook Deposit Account #4368, Neil A. And Janet Armstrong. Enclosed is the passbook which has not been brought up to date for a number of years. Please send a check in the amount of the current balance to be /sic.] at the above address..."


Armstrong began his career in the Navy, flying in the Korean War. He became a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics High-Speed Flight Station (now the Dryden Flight Research Center) and joined NASA's Astronaut Corps in 1962. In 1966, he became the first civilian astronaut to fly as a commander aboard Gemini 8.


On July 20, 1969, Armstrong led the Apollo 11 spacecraft on its historical mission to land the first humans on the moon. Armstrong and his colleague Buzz Aldrin both walked on the moon's surface, while Michael Collins kept the spacecraft in lunar orbit. The event was broadcast on television around the world, making the astronauts celebrities and fulfilling the late President Kennedy's goal of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" before the end of the 1960s. As Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface, he uttered the oft-quoted phrase that the event marked "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Upon their return, President Nixon awarded all three men the Presidential Medal of Freedom.


Armstrong's command of Apollo 11 was his last flight before he retired to teach Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. For nearly 10 years he carried a heavy teaching load while conducting research. In April 1985, Armstrong went to the North Pole with Mount Everest pioneer Sir Edmund Hillary, mountaineer Patrick Morrow, and aviator and adventurer Steve Fosset on an expedition organized by Mike Dunn. The following year, at President Regan's request, he served as vice chairman of the Rogers Commission to investigate the Challenger space shuttle disaster and worked with a commission to develop plans for American civilian spaceflight in the 21" century that led to the book Pioneering the pace Frontier: The Report on the National Commission on Space. Despite his public activities, Armstrong maintained a relatively low profile, eschewing suggestions that he run for office.


Our cordial letter, written from Lebanon, Ohio, where he owned Rivendell Farm, regards the closing of a passbook deposit account he held with his wife, Janet nee Shearon, in his hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio. Folded and very fine, with the original typed envelope. Quite rare in letters.


This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.


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