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Author Topic:   Neil Armstrong's Apollo personal preference kits
Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
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posted 08-27-2012 10:11 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 personal preference kits

...[Armstrong] has never released any information about the contents of his PPK. He agreed to do so for publication in this book, but was reported he was unable to find the manifest among his many papers. All he had to say about what he took with him to the Moon was: "In my PPK I had some Apollo 11 medallions, some jewelry for my wife and mother [simply the gold olive branch for each], and some things for other people.

He is most clear about, and most proud of, the pieces of the historic Wright Flyer that he took to the moon. Under a special arrangement with the the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, he took in his LM PPK a piece of wood from the Wright brothers' 1903 airplane's left propeller and a piece of muslin fabric (8x13 inches) from its upper left wing.

Armstrong also took along his college fraternity pin from Purdue, which he later donated for display at Phi Delta Thera's headquarters in Oxford, Ohio. — "First Man" by James Hansen, 2005.

The biography states that Armstrong flew nothing for himself or his sons, but with his passing, it is possible that the recipients of other items from his PPK may come forward. For example, the Latin American Herald Tribune reported on Aug. 27 that Armstrong carried a pennant for an Argentine soccer team.
Astronaut Neil Armstrong, who died earlier this weekend, carried a pennant belonging to Argentina's Independiente de Avellaneda on his history-making 1969 trip to the Moon.

...The space pioneer said he had carried the pennant to the Moon, confirming statements by team officials that had been called into question by the public in Argentina at the time.

What other items, or additional details, do we know about the items carried to the moon by Neil Armstrong?

Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
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posted 08-27-2012 01:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The below flown Scout Badge was posted to Facebook over the weekend.

spaced out
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posted 08-27-2012 04:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaced out   Click Here to Email spaced out     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It's probably worth mentioning the 214 Apollo 11 flown commemorative covers carried by the crew, of which 47 were Armstrong's.

Howard Weinberger states:

No covers from Armstrong have ever been offered to the market and he has confirmed that he is still in possession of all 47, and that none have been distributed or destroyed.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 08-27-2012 04:45 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The linked article includes an illustration of the single paper bag that "kept the
Apollo 11 flown covers together." Unless I am misinterpreting its use, that would suggest that all the covers flew together, rather than in individual PPKs.

If so, and given that the writing on the bag is in Aldrin's hand, it is possible that the covers were not a part of Armstrong's PPK (which could help explain Armstrong's comment that he did not fly anything for himself).

Robert Pearlman
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posted 02-26-2013 08:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Phi Delta Theta pin flown on Apollo 11 by Neil Armstrong [via Reddit]

YankeeClipper
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posted 03-03-2013 06:55 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for YankeeClipper   Click Here to Email YankeeClipper     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Up for auction in the April 2013 Heritage Space Exploration Signature Auction is Lot ID 50005, an 20 Franc coin and necklace, ex Trish Butte/Jay Barbree.

The coin and necklace were given to Neil Armstrong by Jim Lovell to be flown in Armstrong's Apollo 11 PPK on behalf of Trish Butte, "The Folksinger To The Astronauts."

Philip
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posted 04-19-2021 08:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Philip   Click Here to Email Philip     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Neil Armstrong carried James Mattern's pilot license onboard the historic moon landing mission.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 07-16-2025 01:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
collectSPACE
First Man's moon mementos: Contents of Neil Armstrong's personal kit made public

Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong launched to the moon with 280 mementos that he described as being "entirely personal." Now, his handwritten inventories of those trinkets and souvenirs have been made public for the first time.

Purdue University, where Armstrong received his undergraduate degree in 1955 and, decades later, chose to archive his papers, recently added scans of his personal preference kit (PPK) manifests to its e-Archives website.

MartinAir
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posted 07-16-2025 04:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for MartinAir   Click Here to Email MartinAir     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
So 30 (10 each) silver and nine (3 each) gold Robbins medallions were flown aboard Eagle?

Robert Pearlman
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posted 07-16-2025 04:31 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The way Armstrong uses "ea" (each) doesn't seem to be an indication of distribution among the crew, but rather a designation of quantity for each type of item he is carrying.

There were only three gold Robbins medallions minted and flown. Armstrong had all three in his PPK.

MartinAir
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posted 07-16-2025 05:21 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for MartinAir   Click Here to Email MartinAir     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks, you may be right. Still, the ten lunar surface flown silver Robbins medallions is new information.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 07-16-2025 05:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, though it may never be known which 10 Armstrong landed, unless he recorded their serial numbers elsewhere.

Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
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posted 07-17-2025 10:59 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
So this could take some time, but it would be interesting to match up (as best as possible) the items listed in the PPK manifests to the privately-owned, auctioned and museum pieces that are publicly known.

Starting with just the few pieces mentioned here before the PPKs were released:

  • "Apollo 11 medallions" (as cited in "First Man"): LM PPK nos. 22 and 23

  • "some jewelry for my wife and mother [simply the gold olive branch for each]" (again, from "First Man"): possibly LM PPK, no. 17 ("Pins [2 ea]")

  • "a piece of wood from the Wright brothers' 1903 airplane's left propeller and a piece of muslin fabric (8x13 inches) from its upper left wing" (from "First Man"): LM PPK no. 5 ("Wright Flyer Fabric") and CM PPK SN 1062, no. 25 ("Wright Flyer Prop [28 pieces]).

    A note about this: even though the propeller wood is listed as being in the CM PPK, Armstrong's letter of authenticity accompanying his donation to the Smithsonian reads, "the wooden and fabric materials provided by the Air Force Museum were placed aboard Apollo XI and carried to the surface of the moon by the lunar module 'Eagle'..."

  • Phi Delta Thera college fraternity pin (from "First Man"): possibly LM PPK no. 25 ("Pin [1 ea]")

  • pennant for Argentina's Independiente de Avellaneda (from the Latin American Herald Tribune): no clear match

  • World Scout Badge (from Facebook): LM PPK no. 12 ("BSA patch")

  • Apollo 11 flown commemorative covers (from SpaceFlownArtifacts.com): possibly CM PPK SN 1062, nos. 12 and 13 ("Envelopes [stamped] [11]" and "Envelopes [27]")

  • 20 Franc coin and necklace, ex Trish Butte/Jay Barbree (from Heritage Auctions): possibly CM PPK SN 1062, no. 19 ("Charm [1 ea]")

  • James Mattern's pilot license: possibly CM PPK SN 1062, no. 24 ("Aviator's Cirt." [1 ea]")

David Carey
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posted 07-17-2025 07:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for David Carey   Click Here to Email David Carey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Great stuff, Robert. To quote from your longer writeup;
And then there is the original number 22 on one of Armstrong's command module lists. He crossed it out, signaling that it did not fly, but it appears to have read "Von Braun Plate," seemingly something connected to the German rocket pioneer and NASA director, Wernher von Braun.
While there is no way to be sure, perhaps the original #22 was this item, from the estate of Mitchell Sharpe, a key Marshall Space Flight Center player involved in Saturn V development and later an author of much space-related history.

It certainly fits the description nicely and provenance (particularly with Sharpe's typed note) would be consistent as well since Sharpe worked closely with Von Braun.

A writeup on Sharpe and his NASA/post-NASA career can be found here.

Headshot
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From: Vancouver, WA, USA
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posted 07-18-2025 10:26 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Curiously, I did not see a listing for the opal that Guenter Wendt asked Armstrong to carry to the Moon and bring back (page 130 of The Unbroken Chain). It was to be a gift for Wendt's wife.

Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-18-2025 10:52 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Maybe that is the "stone" listed as no. 20 on the lunar module (LM) PPK manifest.

Some additional matches:

  • One of the two Ohio flags listed as no. 9 in the LM PPK was sold by Heritage Auctions as lot 52272 in November 2018. Three of the five Ohio flags listed as no. 6 in the CM PPK (SN 1062) were also sold by Heritage as lots 50388 in May 2019; 50079 in July 2019; and 50053 in November 2019.

  • There are two Purdue centennial flags listed, one on Columbia (no. 10) and one on Eagle (no. 7). It seems there is no way any longer to tell them apart, as both the flag presented by Armstrong to Purdue in 1970 and the flag sold by Heritage (lot 52269 in November 2018) are only identified as having flown to the moon.

  • Likewise, Armstrong flew two United Nations flags, one in Columbia (no. 8) and and one on Eagle (no. 10), but Heritage sold both (lots 52270 in November 2018 and 6206 in May 2019) as only having flown to the moon.

  • The two Mississippi state flags flown in the CM PPK (SN 1062) as no. 3 were sold by Heritage as lots 52274 in November 2018 and 50055 in November 2019.

  • The two California flags in the CM PPK (SN 1062), no. 4, were sold by Heritage as lots 50384 in May 2019 and 50078 in July 2019.

  • The two Indiana flags in the CM PPK (SN 1062), no. 5, were sold by Heritage as lots 50387 in May 2019 and 50054 in November 2019.

  • Three of the five Texas "Lone Star" flags flown in the CM PPK (SN 1062) as no. 7 were sold by Heritage as lots 52271 in November 2018; 50389 in May 2019; and 50080 in July 2019.

  • The one Colorado flag in the CM PPK (SN 1062), no. 15, was sold by Heritage as lot 50385 in May 2019.

  • The two Illinois flags in the CM PPK (SN 1062), no. 16, were sold by Heritage as lots 52273 in November 2018 and 50386 in May 2019.

  • The two Wisconsin flags in the CM PPK (SN 1062), no. 17, were sold by Heritage as lots 50390 in May 2019 and 50056 in July 2019.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 54926
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 07-18-2025 01:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
With regards to American flags:
  • Armstrong lists flying three "large" U.S. flags aboard Columbia (two in PPK SN 1062 as no. 11 and one in SN 1081 as fourth on the list). Heritage sold all three 17.75 by 11.5 inch flags as lots 52268 in November 2018; 50376 in May 2019; and 50069 in July 2019.

  • Armstrong also lists flying a "3'x5' U.S. flag" in his LM PPK (no. 26), which has its own serial number SN1001. This is the same size flag that was deployed on the moon. It is unclear where this flag is today (I was going to suggest it was the flag that flew in front of Mission Control until being brought back to the moon on Apollo 17, but that was ruled out as untrue.)

  • Armstrong flew 26 small American flags in his PPK (SN 1062, no. 9) aboard Columbia. Of these, Heritage has sold 19 of the 4x6 inch flags (listed here with CAG and lot numbers to help identify future resales):

    1001403-003 - 52267, November 2018
    1001403-004 - 50144, May 2019
    1001403-005 - 50379, May 2019
    1001403-006 - 50050, November 2019
    1001403-008 - 50077, July 2019
    1001404-003 - 50328, November 2021
    1001404-005 - 42033, July 2022
    1001405-002 - 52266, November 2018
    1001405-003 - 52747, November 2018
    1001405-004 - 50380, May 2019
    1001405-007 - 50378, May 2019
    1001405-008 - 50142, May 2019
    1001406-001 - 50205, May 2023
    1001406-008 - 50059, November 2019
    1001407-001 - 50057, November 2019
    1001407-002 - 50124, June 2020
    1001407-005 - 50033, June 2024
    1001407-008 - 47039, December 2023
    1001408-001 - 50377, May 2019

  • Armstrong also notes he carried 30 "3x5" flags in his second CM PPK, SN 1081, and five small U.S. flags in his PPK aboard Eagle (no. 8). It is unknown/unclear where these flags are today.

Headshot
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From: Vancouver, WA, USA
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 07-18-2025 05:27 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
Maybe that is the "stone" listed...
Good spot Robert. Wendt referred to it as an opal in one sentence and in a following sentence as a "stone." I was looking for Wendt's name after the item listing, like he had Slayton's after "Astro pin."

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