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| Click on photo to enlarge This photograph was taken by my dad, Ross Hunt, 13-seconds before the Apollo 11 blast-off. Glued to the TV, are myself & sister Jennifer on the left, and brother David on the right. |
It's hard to believe that 50 years ago today astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin, and Michael Collins began their historic journey to the moon.
Blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 13:32 UTC on July 16th, 1969, and splashing down again in the north Pacific ocean at 16:50 UTC July 24th, they fulfilled President Kennedy's dream of safely landing a man on the moon and returning him home again to the earth.
At the time of this amazing voyage, I was only 11, my brother David was 7, and our sister Jennifer just 4 years of age; yet, I remember well our dad taking the photo above, to document his children's participation in the global event watched by millions of people around the world.
I also remember that I was allowed to stay up late four days later to watch the lunar landing and hear Neil Armstrong's stirring words from the surface of the moon about the truly, "Giant leap for mankind."
I'm glad my parents realized the significance of the Apollo 11 moon mission; and, that my dad had the foresight to snap the photograph that still evokes warm memories even now, 50 years later.
