ROCKLEDGE, Fla. — Neil Armstrong led a quiet life after becoming the first person to set foot on the moon, and a Brevard County journalist saw that firsthand.
- Brevard reporter got exclusive interview with Neil Armstrong in 1979
- Dick Baumbach says CBS News' Walter Cronkite was upset with him
- COMPLETE COVERAGE: Apollo 11 at 50: Videos, articles, interviews, calendar of events
Dick Baumbach was a reporter for the Today newspaper, which now is Florida Today, based in Brevard County.
He says Armstrong chose only one reporter — him — to interview the astronaut in 1979 on the 10th anniversary of Apollo 11.
Baumbach traveled to Armstrong's hometown where, at the time, he was an aeronautics professor at a local university.
The pair spent 16 hours together, something the reporter will never forget.
"I've met other people because of journalism, but that is the highlight," Baumbach said. "(It's) the fact that he allowed me to spend so much time with him. ... (He was) very nice, pleasant, gentle."
Baumbach says after the interview was published, CBS News' Walter Cronkite was upset with him for getting the exclusive interview.
