What was, in one president’s words, the “most historic telephone call ever made from the White House”?
(Hint: It wasn’t received in America, a foreign country — or even on Earth.)
On July 20, 1969, President Nixon spoke by telephone to Neil A. Armstrong and Col. Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. — Apollo 11 astronauts at Tranquility Base on the moon. Their mission marked man’s first successful lunar landing, and despite the lightness that characterized Armstrong’s first steps, Nixon’s call from the Oval Office certainly reflects the gravity of the moment:
“Because of what you have done the heavens have become a part of man’s world, and as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth.”
Listen to the call:
* * *
This post is part of a Miller-McCune.com series on intriguing, amusing, and memorable moments of the American presidency inspired by the American Presidency Project (www.americanpresidency.org) and running until the November election.
