Buzz Aldrin 2004, and campaigned for Nick Lampson in Texas in 2006, Paul Rancatore in Florida in 2008, Mark Treadwell in Alaska in 2014, and Dan Crenshaw in Texas in 2018. Following the 2012 death of his Apollo 11 colleague, Neil Armstrong, Aldrin said that he was "deeply saddened by the passing. I know I am joined by millions of others in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew. I had truly hoped that on July 20th, 2019, Neil, Mike and I would be standing together to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of our moon
Buzz Aldrin He chose the United States Air Force, which had become a separate service in 1947, while Aldrin was still at West Point, and did not yet have its own academy. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant, and underwent basic flight training in T-6 Texans at Bartow Air Base in Florida. His classmates included Sam Johnson, who later became a prisoner of war in Vietnam. The two became lifelong friends. At one point, Aldrin attempted a double Immelmann turn in a T-28 Trojan and suffered a grayout. He recovered in time to pull out at , averting what would have