Neil Armstrong parachute was blown back over land. A jeep driven by a roommate from flight school picked him up; it is unknown what happened to the wreckage of his aircraft, F9F-2 BuNo "125122". In all, Armstrong flew 78 missions over Korea for a total of 121 hours in the air, a third of them in January 1952, with the final mission on March 5, 1952. Of 492 U.S. Navy personnel killed in the Korean War, 27 of them were from the "Essex" on this war cruise. Armstrong received the Air Medal for 20 combat missions, two gold stars for the next
Frank A. Armstrong 1930, and at Randolph Field, San Antonio, Texas, in 1931. In March 1934, he was one of a group of Army pilots placed under the command of Captain Ira Eaker. On October 1, 1934, he was promoted to 1st lieutenant. Armstrong was assigned in December 1934 as a pursuit pilot at Albrook Field, Panama Canal Zone. In 1937, Armstrong earned the Distinguished Flying Cross in peacetime by skillfully landing an amphibian airplane whose engine had exploded. He was promoted to the temporary rank of captain on March 15, 1936, returned to his permanent pay grade on June 16, and was