Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on November 22, 2020 at 6:12am

thanks for the link Chris.  

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Permalink Reply by nickmc211 on November 22, 2020 at 6:36am

Thanks all!  I've submitted this to Steve for a Quick Opinion and will await his word.

As always, thanks so much for everyone who took the time to respond.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on November 22, 2020 at 1:19pm

Thanks much for using my service! :-)

For the record, Vivian White was Armstrong's personal secretary for many years as Howard noted. She did not sign for him. 

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Permalink Reply by hbw60 on November 22, 2020 at 5:13pm

Thank you for confirming that. I felt relatively sure that was the case, but I wasn't positive.

Mostly, I just remember the section of Neil's biography where Vivian was hired. When Neil was at NASA, he had teams of assistants and secretaries handling all of his fanmail, PR, scheduling, etc. And then after he left NASA and began teaching at the University of Cincinnati, he was again insulated by an organization that handled a lot of the administrative work.

So I remember being affected by the section where he left the University to focus more on private business ventures, and realized that he was going to need a full-time secretary just to handle the fanmail and requests. Neil's book, like the man himself, doesn't really get personal about it. But I could sense a sort of melancholy in that moment of his life, where he realized that it was never going to slow down. And then that feeling is repeated decades later, when Janet divorces him for the same reason.

Some would say it's a small price to live such an amazing life. But it must have been such a struggle at times. Every single day, Neil received letters calling him a fraud, or asking him to make appearances, or sending very personal messages that were well-intentioned but deeply burdensome. I remember seeing one letter Neil received from a young girl he met in Korea during his Apollo 11 World Tour. This girl had worked hard to get the best grades in her school, in order to win the chance to shake his hand at an appearance. In the letter, she tells Neil that she thinks of him as a second father. She says she wants to visit his home. And she asks for his personal address, so she can be pen-pals with his sons. Getting letters like that must have been so difficult. Writing polite denials to people who genuinely loved him, day after day, must have taken a toll. Especially for someone who was so embarrassed about getting all the glory for the Apollo program to begin with.

Anyway, thanks again for confirming that, Steve! In the book, it talks about the complex system that Neil and Vivian set up to handle the many types of incoming mail. It implied that Neil still signed everything personally, but I'm glad to know for sure, for future reference.

So Nick, it sounds like you have a genuine Armstrong! Congratulations! Although I am sorry about your father-in-law.

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Permalink Reply by nickmc211 on November 23, 2020 at 5:01pm

Thanks for the kind words and all your help, they’re truly appreciated. 

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