Neil Armstrong and made his first flight in a jet, a Grumman F9F Panther, on January 5, 1951. He was promoted to ensign on June 5, 1951, and made his first jet carrier landing on two days later. On June 28, 1951, "Essex" had set sail for Korea, with VF-51 aboard to act as ground-attack aircraft. VF-51 flew ahead to Naval Air Station Barbers Point in Hawaii, where it conducted fighter-bomber training before rejoining the ship at the end of July. On August 29, 1951, Armstrong saw action in the Korean War as an escort for a photo reconnaissance plane over Songjin.
Neil Armstrong political parties, he declined the offers. He described his political leanings as favoring states' rights and opposing the United States acting as the "world's policeman". When Armstrong applied at a local Methodist church to lead a Boy Scout troop in the late 1950s, he gave his religious affiliation as "deist". His mother later said that Armstrong's religious views caused her grief and distress in later life, as she was more religious. In the early 1980s, Armstrong was the subject of a hoax saying that he converted to Islam after hearing the "adhan", the Muslim call to prayer, while walking on