But it’s also a site that recognizes heroes. Whether it’s those who serve our country, those who play kid’s games for millions of dollars, or those who captured the imagination of an entire generation … or two.

I speak about Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon. He died today, Saturday, Aug. 25. The 82-year-old astronaut died of complications suffered during a cardiovascular procedure, according to a statement from his family.

He was the man who took “one giant leap for mankind” on that summer night in 1969. He was a genuine hero, a quiet man whose steely nerves gave a boost to the American space program. He successfully led the Apollo 11 mission to the moon and back. A nation – a world – was captivated that night when Armstrong became a household name – bringing all peoples – even the Soviets – together for at least for one brief moment.

This was posted today by the Associated Press – a passage that describes the late Armstrong’s character:

In those first few moments on the moon, during the climax of heated space race with the then-Soviet Union, Armstrong stopped in what he called “a tender moment” and left a patch commemorateNASA astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who had died in action.

“It was special and memorable but it was only instantaneous because there was work to do,” Armstrong told an Australian television interviewer this year.

Everyone who was alive remembers where and what they were doing when the Americans first landed on the moon. I was in Omaha, Neb., visiting our cousins – the Loomises – and was glued to that television that night as those grainy, gray images flickered across the television screen.

Thanks for your heroism, Neil. Rest in Peace. You are a hero