The 83-year-old Aldrin is on a tour of major cities to promote his new book, “Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration.” He seemed fatigued on the short ride from his hotel to Montclair, but his booster rockets kicked in as soon as he stepped to the podium in the lobby of his alma mater, Montclair High School.
Aldrin regaled the crowd of several hundred with stories of his New Jersey youth, including his recollection of the crash of the Hindenburg, the airship that exploded spectacularly over Lakehurst Naval Air Station in 1937, when Aldrin was just seven years old. His father, a career military man, previously had flown from Lakehurst to Europe in the airship.
The high school unveiled a plaque honoring Aldrin as “Montclair’s Man on the Moon.” Aldrin was the second man to walk on the moon following Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. Principal James Earle also announced that the school’s science, technology, engineering and math program has been renamed the Buzz Aldrin STEM Academy.
Aldrin reminisced about his days as the center on the school’s undefeated state champion football team in 1946, his junior year. Describing himself as a “165-pound dynamo,” he revealed, “I was a pole vaulter, so I didn’t want to be too big.” The restored trophy for the undefeated team also was on display in the lobby.
The astronaut used the occasion to promote his campaign to land humans on Mars. Recalling President John F. Kennedy’s commitment to putting an American on the moon, Aldrin said, “It’s my job to convince somebody in the White House that it’s a worthy legacy.”
Among those in the crowd was Aldrin’s sister Madeline Crowell, who also attended Montclair High School and now lives in South Jersey. She was saluted with a cake to mark her 88th birthday. Later, she and Aldrin were driven around town, making an emotional stop at their childhood home on Princeton Place in Upper Montclair. The home has long been marked with a plaque noting its place in history. Now the high school has such a plaque, too. Officials in Montclair hope to do still more to honor the town’s most famous son.