Page 231 - Lunacy and the Age of Deception

charge – the dark side of his life: his struggles with depression and alcoholism, his two failed
marriages, his difficult relationship with his father, and the tragedy of his mother (born Marion
Moon), who killed herself shortly before the lunar mission because she did not think she could
handle her son's imminent fame.

And, while refusing to elaborate on his celebrated description of the Moon's "magnificent
desolation" – the title of his new autobiography – he is happy to talk about the man who
accompanied him on his incredible journey. Not that happy is quite the word to describe his
relationship with Neil Armstrong – now or 40 years ago.

Is he still in touch with Armstrong or Michael Collins, the third crew member, who stayed in lunar
orbit? "Well," he says, not quite answering the question, "they have personalities that are different,
each one, and they're different than mine. We worked together as a very close team, not jocular but
very seriously determined to carry out [the task] we were given."

So it was a professional relationship? "Absolutely professional, yes."

And it didn't continue after Apollo 11? "Not that much. Hardly at all."

He sees Armstrong very rarely: the last time was at Nasa's 50th anniversary celebrations in 2008.
"I was expected to be there," he says, adding in passing an observation that throws a revealing light
on their relationship: "No one mentioned that I was there."

Did they chat? "Not really." There was no conversation? "Not particularly."

Having shared with Armstrong such a wondrous, perilous, unprecedented adventure – one that
redrew the boundaries of human experience – does it sadden Aldrin that there is no longer a bond
between them, if indeed there ever was one?

"I'd rather it be otherwise, yeah. It just doesn't seem proper any more for me to ask him to come to
things I'm involved in. And he doesn't ask me. He doesn't let me know what he's doing..."

After Apollo 11, the 39-year-old Aldrin found it difficult to readjust to life on Earth. His marriage
of 21 years soon broke up, he remarried in haste and was divorced for a second time within two
years. His military career ended after an unhappy stint as commandant of the USAF test-pilot
school. (He had been a fighter pilot, with 66 combat missions over Korea in the early Fifties, but
never a test pilot.) He began to suffer acutely from depression, and finally confronted the fact that
he was an alcoholic.
[ S o u r c e :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/5779145/Buzz-Aldrin-the-dark-times-that-follow
ed-that-historic-flight.html]

What this article doesn’t share is that Buzz Aldrin found it very difficult to embrace the public
relations role that NASA demanded of him after the Apollo 11 Mission. This led to a nervous
breakdown which resulted in Aldrin requesting that the military provide him with psychiatric help.
They complied, and Aldrin was admitted to Wilford Hall in 1972 for 4 weeks of treatment. Wilford