Rather than having the jaunty wit of a Wally Schirra, the affable magnetism of a John Glenn or the flinty swagger of a Chuck Yeager, Neil Armstrong came across as nothing more than the earnest, no-nonsense engineer he actually was.

CNN: Neil Armstrong, a hero who shunned fame

Even the surviving Mercury astronauts--a plumpish Wally Schirra, a leathery Scott Carpenter, a frail Gordon Cooper--were there, showing the colors the way they always did when a member of their elite fraternity was setting out on a mission that would kill him or not, but in either event would provide him with that transcendent thrill he got nowhere else.

CNN: Victory Lap