And there was so much to celebrate!

We, the United States of America, had done it. We had won a very real and desperate race with the Soviet Union to show the American people as well as all the peoples of the world which form of government, democratic or communist, was the best. Which one could land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth. This most difficult achievement would demonstrate our collective wills and capabilities.

We humans from Planet Earth achieved an impossible dream. We had walked on the Moon, our closest neighbor in the universe, if 240,000 miles away can be considered close. After all, the farthest any human on the surface of planet Earth can ever be from any other is about 12,000 miles.

Watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin erect and unfurl the American flag is a moment that will live in history forever, and in the collective memories of the billions of humans who saw it live on television for as long as they live. Indeed, there is much to celebrate about in this pivitol event.