In honouring Neil Armstrong, Obama calls first man on moon among ‘greatest of American heroes’

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is hailing the late astronaut Neil Armstrong as one of America’s greatest heroes.

The first man to walk on the moon, Armstrong died Saturday at the age of 82.

In a statement issued by the White House, Obama said Armstrong and the rest of the crew of Apollo 11 carried with them the aspirations of an entire nation when they set out for the moon in 1969.

The president says that when Armstrong set foot on the moon, he delivered what he called “a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten.”