Congress Honors Four Astronauts With A Congressional Gold
Medal
In a ceremony in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Wednesday,
Congress honored four U.S. Astronauts with a Congressional Gold
Medal, the highest government honor that can be bestowed on a
civilian.
NASA Image
Mercury astronaut and former senator John Glenn, along with the
crew of Apollo 11 ... Niel Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael
Collins, were presented the award by House Majority Leader John
Boehner (R-OH), Minoity leader Nancy Pelosi (C-CA), Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-KY)
“The world looks to America because we are free – it
is our values to which people aspire, said Speaker Boehner. "One of
these values is humility – the idea that you’re part of
a cause greater than yourself, that nothing in life is a
do-it-yourself project. Though an often unsung virtue, humility
figured prominently in the pinnacle of human achievement.
“To this day, John Glenn insists he was no hero, just a
patriot serving his country, which in those days was gripped by the
notion that America – and democracy itself – had fallen
behind. These were daring missions, yes, but vital ones too.
“Neil Armstrong was once asked: why did you, this one man,
choose to speak for all when you set foot on the lunar
surface? As it turns out, there was no script, no notes. When
the moment came, Neil’s thoughts turned to the 400,000 people
who worked on the project … the designers, testers,
engineers, and navigators who devised that one small step. He
said he knew ‘it would be a big something for all those folks
and a lot of others who weren't even involved in the
project.’ So it was."
Also attending the ceremony was NASA administrator Charles
Bolden, who said the agency "stands on the shoulders" of the group
recognized with the medal.
"America's leadership in space and the confidence that we can go
farther into the unknown and achieve great things as a people rests
on the achievements of these brave men," Bolden said. "As we honor
these heroes, I want to recognize the hundreds of thousands of
dedicated NASA employees and industry partners who contributed to
the incredible success of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs
and all that has followed, and all that is yet to come.
I also want to thank our Congress. Our nation is a better place
because of more than a half century of strong, bipartisan support
for NASA's work in human exploration, science and aeronautics."
While members of the group have gone to great lengths to insist
they and other astronauts are not "heroes," Boehner said that was
just a matter of semantics. “Gentlemen: heroes or not, yours
were heroic acts. Today we add to your many honors, with respect
and gratitude, the Congressional Gold Medal.”