They Also Serve....

Yesterday, June 20th, was the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Neil Armstrong, a native of Wapakoneta, Ohio, became the first man to walk on the moon. What once had seemed unreachable for mankind - outer space, the moon, the stars - became attainable. What was once an object of worship became a new frontier for exploration.

But that conquest came at a heavy price. On January 27, 1967, three American astronauts - Gus Grissom, Ed White II and Roger Chaffee were killed by a fire that ignited in the module during a test. The fire was a horrific disaster that nonetheless served to help designers reconfigure the Apollo lunar capsule to increase safety and reliability of key functions. Because of the sacrifice of those three astronauts, Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin were able to successfully make it to the moon and back, fulfilling President Kennedy's challenge to our country. After Apollo 11, NASA did not suffer the loss of a single Apollo astronaut, even when Apollo 13 nearly met with disaster.

As you enjoy commemorations of the Apollo 11 landing, and thrill to the replays of the original television and radio broadcasts, take a moment to remember the crew of Apollo 1. They served, too.