NYC Ticker Tape Parade for the Apollo 11 Astronauts - August 13, 1969
“[It] was an immense sonic boom of emotion. Confetti flew, people screamed and waved, and we waved back.” – Astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin
On August 13, 1969, NASA sent the Apollo 11 astronauts and their families on a whirl wind trip from Houston, to New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles all in one day.
New York City would welcome the Astronauts in a showering of ticker tape down Broadway and Park Avenue in a parade termed as the largest in the city's history. Fireboats sprayed a water salute. Boy Scouts carried American Flags. The parade launched from a pier near Wall Street to City Hall lasted about an hour and a half.
The Astronauts were in the lead car, pictured from the right, are Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. They were followed by a security car, the wives’ car, security car, their children’s car and another security car.
Mayor John Lindsay and his wife gifted the Astronauts keys to the City. In return, the men presented a photographed taken on the Moon. In another ceremony at the United Nations, the Astronauts were gifted with commemorative stamps from member countries.
The three families were whisked off to Chicago. Chicago threw a parade that “was even more overwhelming than the experience on Wall Street several hours earlier.” The Astronauts “were covered with confetti and streamers and perspiring so much that they were glued to us.” Mayor Richard Daley gifted the trio with silver punch bowls.
Next came a three-and-a-half-hour flight to Los Angeles. During his exploration of the plane Andy Aldrin discovered “an intriguing and mechanical-looking console up near the cockpit”. Informed that it was a telephone, he was asked if he would like to phone a friend. To the interest off all, Andy called a friend to announce, “… Nothing much, I’m on an airplane.” The other children lined up to make similar calls to their friends.
Arriving in Los Angeles, Mayor Sam Yorty presented the keys to the City. At the Century Plaza Hotel, President Nixon, his wife and daughters invited the Astronauts to their suite and gifted each of them with a statue. At the State banquet that evening, the Astronauts were presented with the Medal of Freedom.
Three days earlier, on Sunday, August 10, 1969, the Apollo 11’s crew were released from medical quarantine. Instead of rest and relaxation with their families, NASA sent them on the whirl wind trip. The Astronauts were grateful their children were included.
“The Aldrin children have always been late sleepers and grumpy risers. They weren’t enthusiastic about the trip because anything that began at 5:00 A.M. couldn’t possibly be worth it. We convinced them it was.”