Warsaw Man Excited For Apollo 11 Anniversary
July 19, 2019 at 10:24 p.m.
Warsaw Man Excited For Apollo 11 Anniversary
By David [email protected]
Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969. Also on the mission was Michael Collins. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface almost seven hours later after the lunar module landed, with Aldrin joining him 19 minutes later.
“After Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, I wrote a letter to Neil Armstrong to congratulate him on the achievement. Not knowing the address, I just addressed it to Neil Armstrong – American astronaut – Houston, Texas, USA,” Adamczyk said.
He was in high school in Poland at the time.
A month later, in July 1969, Adamczyk, then 17, got a letter back with an autographed picture. It was autographed specifically to him.
“I’m very proud of it,” he said.
Once he got that first letter back from Armstrong, Adamczyk used the address on the envelope to “do the same thing with every Apollo mission.” He received more letters and photos with signatures from other American astronauts.
“This was the time of the Cold War. I didn’t even know there was a zip code. I didn’t know where the street was, the address, number, nothing,” he said.
There was no internet or Google to help him know where to send the letters.
“It’s kind of a big achievement and I was happy with this,” Adamczyk said. “I don’t know if government was happy about it, but I got it.”
He was a hero at school among his friends for getting the autographed photo. But the Russian teacher didn’t approve.
Adamczyk moved to the United States in 1980, working at RR Donnelley before retiring. He lives in Warsaw.
“I’m just happy being an American,” he said.
He watches television every day to see if there’s some television program or special about the Moon landing.
“I’ve got a lot of books and newspaper clippings and everything. It’s just my hobby. Some people go fishing, some collect Post Office stamps. I like this. Space is a big thing,” Adamczyk said.
He said he never expected to receive the Apollo 11 crew picture with his name written on it, but it’s very important to him.
“It’s neat. It’s not the money value, but it’s so sentimental. It couldn’t be better,” he said.
Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969. Also on the mission was Michael Collins. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface almost seven hours later after the lunar module landed, with Aldrin joining him 19 minutes later.
“After Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, I wrote a letter to Neil Armstrong to congratulate him on the achievement. Not knowing the address, I just addressed it to Neil Armstrong – American astronaut – Houston, Texas, USA,” Adamczyk said.
He was in high school in Poland at the time.
A month later, in July 1969, Adamczyk, then 17, got a letter back with an autographed picture. It was autographed specifically to him.
“I’m very proud of it,” he said.
Once he got that first letter back from Armstrong, Adamczyk used the address on the envelope to “do the same thing with every Apollo mission.” He received more letters and photos with signatures from other American astronauts.
“This was the time of the Cold War. I didn’t even know there was a zip code. I didn’t know where the street was, the address, number, nothing,” he said.
There was no internet or Google to help him know where to send the letters.
“It’s kind of a big achievement and I was happy with this,” Adamczyk said. “I don’t know if government was happy about it, but I got it.”
He was a hero at school among his friends for getting the autographed photo. But the Russian teacher didn’t approve.
Adamczyk moved to the United States in 1980, working at RR Donnelley before retiring. He lives in Warsaw.
“I’m just happy being an American,” he said.
He watches television every day to see if there’s some television program or special about the Moon landing.
“I’ve got a lot of books and newspaper clippings and everything. It’s just my hobby. Some people go fishing, some collect Post Office stamps. I like this. Space is a big thing,” Adamczyk said.
He said he never expected to receive the Apollo 11 crew picture with his name written on it, but it’s very important to him.
“It’s neat. It’s not the money value, but it’s so sentimental. It couldn’t be better,” he said.
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