As hard as it may be to believe, last week marked the fifty-sixth anniversary of perhaps the crowning scientific achievement of the twentieth century.
The cellular device in your hands has more computing power than what Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins dealt with on Apollo 11; they had what amounted to a calculator keeping them alive.
The space race of the 1960s has always fascinated me. I am too young to have been there to witness all of this in person, but I do have one small connection.
My first radio job was at WTBF-AM 970 in Troy, Alabama. In July, 1969, owner/engineer Joe Gilchrist decided to do a live remote from Cape Canaveral as the astronauts blasted into space. In the lobby of the radio station is a sign that says “WTBF WAS THERE.” I asked him what it meant. Mr. Joe told me that there were four news outlets covering the launch of Apollo 11: NBC, CBS, ABC, and – WTBF. I am inclined to believe him based on photographic evidence of the event.
Every so often, humans can do amazing things. The fact that a goal was publicly set in President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 speech at Rice University – and the fact that this country not only got behind the goal, but saw it through – would be unbelievable had the events not actually happened.
“We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” JFK said.
That line has always struck me as a real profile in courage, to quote the title of President Kennedy’s book: Americans should strive to do things because they’re hard, not because they’re easy. The work ethic he espoused in that one line carried us to the moon and back within seven short years.
Those seven years were filled with tragedies, certainly, but oh so many triumphs. When bad things did happen, such as launch failures, being beaten to the punch by the Russians, and particularly the fire that claimed the lives of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chafee. These setbacks were all terrible in their own way; lives were lost, career trajectories altered, families changed forever, you name it.
But the United States stood firm in its resolve to follow through. From July 16-24, 1969, our nation, and indeed the world, watched as humanity touched the heavens and not only flew to the moon, but explored it.
With a few varied exceptions, there does not seem to be a clearly articulated national mission followed through without divisiveness as well as the space race. Perhaps there will be again, someday – who knows. But this week, as we remember the incredible bravery and contributions of Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins, and the team that took us to the moon, take a moment to step outside in the evening. Look up, and think of those few days in which we were all united, now fifty-six years past.
Michael Bird is an assistant professor of music at Faulkner University.
