'I was in total awe'

Rick Weiss, 72, Port Orange

I was a NASA engineer and responsible (along with others) for the test, checkout and launch of the first stage (the S-1C) of the Saturn V Launch Vehicle, the rocket that propelled the Apollo program into space from Kennedy Space Center.

At 22 years old in 1969, I was in total awe of the event and could feel the pressure build as we spent months preparing the Launch Vehicle for the mission.

On launch day, as the countdown clock approached the T-8.9 second mark, all the work of the team came to fruition. The engines started and thousands of preplanned events cycled throughout the onboard and ground systems.

I remember the feelings of fear, excitement and personal satisfaction as the Saturn V lifted off and started its trip to the moon, just as it was designed to do. It was then that I also remembered to continue breathing.

After the cheering in the firing room subsided, many of us went around and collected autographs from the astronauts and notable people around us. I had the opportunity to sit with the pioneering aerospace engineer Wernher Von Braun. I asked for his autograph. He said no, not until we were in TLI (Trans Lunar Injection.)

He then asked that I sit with him until that event was complete, which would be about 90 minutes into the flight. We sat and chatted and after TLI he pulled out his pen and signed my Countdown Procedure cover page. Then it was back to work for me, securing the launch pad.

Once Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon, my co-workers and I realized the importance of the contribution we had made to science. We had put men on the moon and would return them safely to Earth just as a President Kennedy had challenged us to do. What a memorable event.

'There they go; God bless them'

Walter Mims, 78, Deltona

I was in the U.S. Navy from 1960-64 and while there was sent to drafting school, which would begin my career as a draftsman/graphic artist. I returned to my Orlando home after leaving the Navy and eventually went to work for North American Aviation, which later became North American Rockwell, which was one of the main contractors at Kennedy Space Center during the Apollo years.

I worked as a graphic artist, providing materials needed by the engineers, tech writer and others who were preparing for the moon landing. It was a wonderful, exciting period in my life. I was young, newly married and eager to do a good job.

I was working on the most amazing achievement in which man would have ever engaged, and I was surrounded by the most intelligent and talented men and women in the world. It all culminated for me on the morning of the Apollo 11 launch.

I was standing on a roof, a few miles from the big Saturn V rocket, surrounded elbow to elbow with my co-workers. I could feel the static electricity they were all feeling as we waited for the billowing flames to begin igniting from the base of the launch tower.

Our thoughts turned to the three astronauts and what they must be thinking. Were they scared? Anxious? Thinking of their loved ones?

And then it happened. The engines started and the flames began. Flocks of birds of all kinds took to the sky. Alligators, sleeping on the banks of the marshes, slid quickly into the brackish water in search of safety. Ear-splitting noise permeated the early morning.

We all cheered and yelled and jumped up and down in the excitement. “There they go; God bless them.”

It’s hard to put into words the feelings we felt at that moment. It has stayed in my mind to this day and I’m so grateful I was part of that moment in the history of Planet Earth.

I can’t recall where I was when they landed on the moon but I do remember watching it on TV. My feelings now are the same as when it happened: It was the greatest accomplishment of Man there ever has been. How proud we were.

'We all screamed and hollered'

Ida Goodrich, 87, Oak Hill

I worked 15 years at Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach before I was transferred to Kennedy Space Center in 1966. I worked there until 1989, through the Apollo and into the Space Shuttle eras.

There were many contractors building the Space Center’s infrastructure when I started there, and I was assigned to the procurement office as a purchasing agent. Later, I was promoted to contract specialist and contracting officer and during that time I worked two years in the VAB.

When Apollo 11 launched, I was working in a building south of the headquarters building. Of course, we all ran out and watched. We were just three miles from the launch pad. We all screamed and hollered. The whole NASA team felt like family.

I was especially interested in the Saturn V rocket that sent the astronauts into lunar orbit. It was something to behold — 363 feet high, with enough power to launch 250,000 pounds into Earth orbit and 100,000 pounds into lunar orbit.

I knew one of the nurses — Dee O’Hara — who monitored the astronauts. She told me a funny but revealing story about a conversation she had with Neil Armstrong.

It was a couple of days before the Apollo 11 launch and they were talking about the big crowds that had already gathered. Neil said, “Well, I suppose they’re going to make a big deal out of this.” That low-key approach was so typical.

I was born and raised in Oak Hill and have lived here all of my life. My husband, Clarence, started working at Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach in 1952 as an auto mechanic. He worked there 27 years. He was mayor of Oak Hill from 1962-89.

I’m very proud to have been part of both the Apollo and Shuttle programs. Those were exciting times.

'We escorted the Astronauts'

Jim Goodrich, 80, Oak Hill

I started working at Kennedy Space Center in 1964 as a patrol officer with the security force down there, and I was there for 34 years. I was in the military police in the Army before that.

We had a SWAT team down there. The SWAT team wasn’t advertised. We kept it kinda quiet. We had several incidents … you have people who didn’t like the space program, and still have some people who don’t like the space program.

We were always alert, let’s put it that way.

On launch day, we escorted the astronauts to the launch pad for departure. They would be in a van with our security chief, Charles Buckley. I was in a patrol car in front of that. We’d lead the van to the 2½-mile mark and the van would go alone from there.

When they got to the moon, I was in West Palm Beach. I’d gone down there to visit my sister, and we watched it on TV. It all seemed a bit odd, because no one had ever been there.

I thought it was great. There was some concern about the mission, obviously, from all of us who worked down there. There were no guarantees that it would work out the way it did.

Neil Armstrong’s words, “one small step for man” … I really liked that. I didn’t realize it had been practiced. I thought it was something he just thought about as he stepped off the lander. But reading about it later, that wasn’t the case.

To this day, you have conspiracies. What blows my mind is, there are some people, some supposedly very smart people, who don’t believe we’ve been to the moon. I just can’t fathom that.

'I will never forget seeing this amazing sight'

Paul Colby, 78, Daytona Beach

From 1966 to mid-1970, I was first employed in security at the Space Center with the Wackenhut Corporation. In early 1968, I felt very fortunate to be accepted as an employee of the Grumman Corporation, the builders of the lunar modules for the moon landings.

My position was in Quality Control as a Spacecraft Monitor. The duties were to control required access to the lunar module, by signing in and out all Grumman employees and NASA inspectors, assuring personnel limits, required proper attire and authorized tools.

The lunar module was first in the Kennedy headquarters building, then to the Vertical Assembly Building (later called the Vehicle Assembly Building) and then to the launch pad. At the launch pad, access to the lunar module was from the work stations high up on the mobile service structure.

I lived in Titusville and watched the Apollo 11 launch by the Indian River, with a great view of the launch pad. I will never forget seeing this amazing sight.

I was watching TV with family and friends on the night of the moon landing. When I saw the lunar module sitting on the moon it was hard to believe it was the same one I spent so many hours with. I was very emotional and I could not talk to the other people in the room for a few minutes.

I do remember thinking of all of the people it took to achieve this amazing accomplishment, and I was so very proud to have been a part of this incredible feat. I also thought of President Kennedy, who made this challenge to put men on the moon by the end of the decade and what a shame it was he could not have seen this happen.

I don’t have any pictures from my time in the space program, but I do have something I feel is very special and unique and is a cherished possession of mine. Prior to the launch of Apollo 11, all Space Center employees involved in this historic mission were invited to sign our names and have them photographed, and the negatives would go to the moon on Apollo 11.

After the launch, we all received this wonderful photo acknowledging our names truly did go to the moon. I am, and I am sure everyone else involved, grateful and proud to have been a part of this amazing accomplishment.

'They will never be able to forget my birthday'

Danielle Cobb, 61, Ormond Beach

I have a great memory of the first moon landing. It happened on my 10th birthday, July 20, 1969. My family was living in Geleen, Holland. My dad was in the military.

We watched the landing on a small black-and-white TV. It was so exciting and everyone was cheering.

I have told my husband and son they will never be able to forget my birthday. It’s the day they landed on the moon!

'It was an experience of a lifetime'

Jeff Badovick, 60, Ormond Beach

I was there for the Apollo 11 launch as a 10-year-old kid from Cleveland. It was an experience of a lifetime that still holds strong meaning for me 50 years later.

I came down to Florida from Ohio in a station wagon with my dad and five other people I’d never met before. Those included my dad’s co-worker and his 7-year old boy, as well as his co-worker’s brother-in-law and his 8- and 13-year-old boys.

We came from different walks of life, but all had a common intrigue with the space program in general, and that launch in particular.

We were set up on the bank of the Banana River on that hot and beautiful morning with a good view (through a spotting scope) of the Saturn V sitting on the pad.

As the countdown began, I recall the unison of car radios cranked to maximum volume adding to the anticipation and excitement. I think the cheers from a successful and historic launch were just as loud.

Obviously the launch was the highlight of our journey. It was an impactful experience that gave me my first taste of the world outside of my northern roots. I believe it set the stage for my permanent relocation to Ormond Beach in 1984.

I probably wouldn’t have written this, but I was inspired by a Facebook message I received about two weeks ago. It was from one of the boys I traveled with on that adventure 50 years ago.

We became fast friends on that trip, but I haven’t seen or heard from any of those other kids in 50 years. Once back to Ohio, I guess we all went back to our separate lives.

This old friend contacted me out of the blue because of the 50-year anniversary of the launch/moon landing. He was interested in what became of me and also if I had any pictures or film of the launch.

I don’t have any photos of the launch, but I do have a video that was originally filmed on an 8- millimeter camera. It was converted to VHS years ago, and I recently had copies made on DVD.

Living in Ormond Beach now, I’ve seen my share of launches (including the Challenger in ’84). I’m still in awe of every one of them. I thoroughly enjoy any chance I get to read or watch something about the history of our space program.