Armstrong's impact on the Miami Valley

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - "The Christopher Columbus of our time has passed and that's significant and that's sad," says Ron Kaplan of the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

The entire nation and even world is mourning the loss of Neil Armstrong.

"He was one of those typical patriot veterans who was all about serving his country and, as an engineer, he was all about advancing aviation and trying to discover, you know, how to improve it," explains Kaplan.

Armstrong tried to stay out of the public eye. Here's one appearance at the National Aviation Hall of Fame in July 2009, a place where he is enshrined. He was joined on stage by other Apollo crew members. A rare moment in the spotlight for a man who tended to shy away from cameras.

"He wasn't about making a name for himself or being a showman in any way. He was very humble, obviously, self-assured, probably one of the more brilliant minds in his field," comments Kaplan.

His historic moment as the first man to set foot on the moon, inspired many; even some right here in his home state of Ohio, like NASA astronaut Greg H Johnson of Fairborn.

"When I was 7-years-old at my grandparents' house up in Michigan watching a black and white TV and I watched Neil Armstrong step on the moon and he's one of my top heroes," says Johnson.

Johnson was in town last week when the National Museum of the United State's Air Force received NASA's first crew compartment trainer to put on display. It was used to train astronauts for space missions. Those who came to view it at the museum Saturday were sad to hear of Armstrong's passing.

"He's certainly apart of American history, actually he's apart of world history in a way that no one else can be," explains Alan Heminger.

"It's like we just lost, someone that's just dear to the history of the world," comments Joanne Lewis.

Armstrong was reportedly planning on making a trip back to Dayton this October for an event at the National Aviation Hall of Fame.