OHIO — It’s a moment that will forever live in history.
In July 1969, the world watched as a native Ohioan walked on the moon. Now, a museum honoring that landmark event and other achievements in aviation and aerospace is celebrating an anniversary 50 years in the making.
As the first person to step on the moon, Neil Armstrong took a giant leap from Wapakoneta to outer space. His legacy is now living on in his hometown, thanks to folks like John Zwez.
Also from Wapakoneta, while growing up, Zwez said he looked up to the man who’d go to the moon.
“I read everything that you can imagine,” Zwez said. “They used to hate me at the library ’cause I’d take out the same books over and over again.”
Zwez followed Armstrong’s flight path from air to space.
“He got a pilot’s license before he got a driver’s license,” Zwez said, noting Armstrong would ride a bike to the airport to fly.
Zwez said he had to give up his own dreams of space travel.
“When I grew to be 6-foot-5 and realized most of the astronauts back then couldn’t be over, much over 6 foot tall, I kind of forgot that idea,” he said.
Instead, he devoted his life to preserving the memory of his fellow Wapakonetan through the Armstrong Air & Space Museum. He first served as the museum’s director and now is a part of its board of directors, 50 years later.
The museum provides a place for artifacts like a photo donated by U.S. Navy Frogman Michael Mallory, who helped recover the Apollo 11 astronauts after they splashed back to earth.
“The whole world was involved in this recovery and we were that little tiny part,” Mallory said. “We weren’t engineers or astronauts. We were shark bait.”
The Apollo 11 moon mission brought back more than just lunar samples or “moon rocks.” It captivated the country and provided a growing fascination with exploring the unknown.
That interest in exploration is something Zwez said Armstrong hoped the museum would continue to spark.
“I finally asked him, I was like, ‘What would you like to see?’” Zwez said. “And he said more exhibits for young people, more hands-on exhibits. I’m hoping that’s the future of where we’re gonna go with this.”
Providing a place to preserve the past to inspire future generations.
“In my mind, Americans landing on the moon, Neil Armstrong, is the most monumental event in our history,” Zwez said. “Since mankind.”
