From Coast to Coast: A Joyous Welcome for Astronauts

Surging CrowdsFillthe StreetsinNewYork

By JOSEPH LELYVELD

The two lunar pioneers fromTranquility Base and the companion they had left hoveringin the solitude of space received a tumultuous and oftendeafening welcome here yesterday from their earthboundcountrymen .

New York was the first stop

on a one-day transcontinentaltour that also took the Apollo11 astronauts to Chicago and

Los Angeles .For Neil A. Armstrong, Col.

Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. and Col.Michael Collins, who recently

completed a journey of half a

million miles the visit of

three and a half hours here

might have seemed anticlimactic, even hackneyed .

Butthethreemen, who had

seemed coolly methodical asthey went through their ma

neuvers in space, respondedwarmly to the outpouring ofpride and adulation .

" have never been somovedanything inmy life," Colo

nel Aldrin said before boardingthe plane that carried the

astronauts on to Chicago. " Thiswas even more exciting than

Continued on Page 20 , Column

wNEW Colonel

or Lower on.

The New TimesPublished: August 14, 1969

Copyright © The New York Times

From Coast to Coast : A Joyous Welcome to the Lunar Astronauts of Apollo 11

OutpouringOf Warmth

From City

The New York Times JackAND DID THE PEOPLE : Though it began more than half an hourahead of scheduleand some peoplemissed it , the parade was a bighit. Familiescarsfollowed astronauts ' .

Continued From Page 1 Col. 3

some parts of our mission ."Millions of people watched

the motorcade and ceremonies,either from the sidewalks or

on television in their homes .Inevitably the game of esti

mating the crowds producedsome stupendous numbers .

The city's Public EventsCommissioner John (Bud )Palmer , said thatthe crowd onthe streets had been the

gest ever in the history of NewYork. "He put it at four million

figure hallowed by tradition ,having been used 42 years agoafter Charles A. Lindbergh became the first man to fly nonstop alone from New York toParis, and again seven yearsago after John H. Glenn Jr. became the first American to orbit the earth .

Many Arrive Too Late

Experienced observers saidthat those receptions had undoubtedly exceeded the one thethree astronauts were givenyesterday . If so , the differencewas probably less in the emotions of the city than in thespeed of communications today .

Many Americans had seenthe astronauts in their spacecraft and on the moon . Therewere no television cameras inthe Spirit of St. Louis or Colonel Glenn's Mercury capsule .

You were with us all the

way to the moon on board our

spacecraft , " Colonel Collins saidat City Hall, it's even nicer

to see you here in your native

habitat .

Whatever the size of the

crowds, there was no doubtthat they would have been evenlarger had the astronauts beendriven up Lower Broadway onschedule . The street was renamed Apollo Way for the day .Instead , they were more thanhalf an hour ahead of schedule, to the dismay of thousandsof people who reached the parade route after the parade hadpassed .

" When do the astronautscome by ? " a young woman

carrying an envelope stuffedwith shredded paper , asked a

patrolman at Park Place and

Broadway about 20 minutes before the astronauts were due to

arrive there ."Gone by already ," the pa

trolman replied .Secretaries who had been

hoarding tickertape were caughtunawares and left with muchof their hoard after the motor THEY LOVED THE PARADE : Col. Michael Collins , , Col. Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. center , and Neil A. Armstrong , the

The York Times by Lee Romero )

cade passed civilian commander of Apollo 11, riding up Broadway yesterday morning on the traditional route to City Hall." They threw it anyway . "

janitor at the Irving Trust

Building reported.But there was a more impor- " We've gone lunar over you," a huge scaffolding for photog- But the police, worried about

tant reason why the reception said a sign hung by a greeting raphers and cameramen be- the safety of the crowd undermay have been different from cards shop near Maiden Lane. tween the dais and the park. neath , demanded that the plate

earlier welcomes to heroes: Al Gruchacz and his family But it could be heard , and a be hauled back to the facade

Most people, including the had a signthatproclaimedgreat cheer went up . of the building where it would

astronauts , had difficulty put- " Montclair Welcomes Buzz- This is one of New York hang only over scaffolding .

ting into words the far -reach- a reference to Colonel City's great moments , the Confetti was still falling five

ing dimly comprehended sig- birthplace Mr. Gruchacz a Mayor said, greeting the astro- minutes after the motorcade

nificance of their achievement . photographer in the New Jersey nauts . passed 34th Street

At the United Nations , Mr. town , said he did not know The "true mission " of Apollo On 42d Street the confetti

Armstrong , the first man on the the astronaut but a friend of 11, Lindsay said , was " to made up more of paper towels

moon , spoke of the hope of the his daughter lived in the housewhat mankind and pages from telephone di

astronauts that " we, citizens of where Colonel Aldrin was born. rectories than tickertape

earth who can solve the The motorcade left the heli- dwelled on the wonders that was so dense that the astro

problems of leaving earth , port at about 10:10 and reached await us at home, if we choose nauts could hardly or bealso solve the problems of stay- Bowling Green in only seven to make them real " in the seen as the motorcade turned

minutes, which put it 38minutes struggles against poverty , pol east.

The three astronauts flew to ahead of schedule. The confetti lution of air and water, and

New York from Houston on and din of the crowds there war among nations.

the Presidential jet, Air Force were much as they must have One by one , the three astro- by the astronauts , some of

One, with their wives , children been when New York turned nauts rose to receive the city's them seemedtobe trying to

and officials of the National out to greet Charles Lindbergh Gold Medal hang- defy gravity as they leaned

Aeronautics and Space Admin- in 1927 three years before the out over the street to snap

istration . The big jet touched astronauts were born . photographs .down at Kennedy Airport at But the confetti thinned and to respond to the city's A Sikh in a turban turned

9:45 A.M. 15 minutes ahead the din wavered as the motor welcome. to a woman in a pink sari and

of the schedule that had been cade gathered speed . By Vesey Mr. Armstrong - the first observed , " This is a typical

published by the city . Street the procession was mov man on the moon , commander New York scene. "

The schedule did not catch ing so fast that photographers the crew and its only " No, it isn't," retorted a woup to the astronauts until 1:15 running alongside could not civilian spoke first. Smiling man in tight blue dress. " Wewhen they returned to the air stop to take pictures . boyishly , he thanked New don't have astronauts coming

port to board the jet for the " Astronauts! Astronauts ! Yorkers for their "warm , vi- back from the moon every

next leg of their journey across Look this way !" shouted an , suspectreception," quipped daythe continent .

The motorcade stopped for anamateur woman with

Mrs. Collins Objects reflex camera, from the side waswarmtoday , inspite of a 11-minute ceremony infront of

walk couple of chilly months. the General Assembly Building

The astronauts were dressed The astronautissaid to beThe three spacemen waved

at the United Nations. Repre

in conservative business suits . a keen and successful student sentatives of 50 of the 126

Mr. Armstrong's was blue, Co happily from the back of a of the stock market. member states and United Na

lonel Aldrin's blue- green and convertible, with Colonel Aldrin Colonel Collins called it " the tions staff members crowdedin the middle, flanked by Mr.

Collins's olive. Onlook Armstrong on his left andproudest day of my life. the grounds to catch a glimpse

ers at the airport were quick Colonel Collins on his right.Colonel Aldrin spoke in the of men who had done what no

to noticethat Colonel Collins Mayorfirm , formal tones of a military

Lindsay and Dr.others had done before them.

had shaved the mustache heThomas , the head of

commander . The astronauts , he Sees Identity

was sporting when he emerged said, should be " congratulatingNASA , rode with them .

from quarantine Sunday night;U Thant said it had been

you for your support, the supThe motorcade reached City

his wife, he explained, hadobport thatmadeour missionpos

unique moment in human his49 aheadminutes tory. "

jected to it. of schedule , at 10:31. CrowdsMayor Lindsay and his wife The City Hall ceremony pro

The Secretary General rewere still pouring out of sub ferred to the inscription on the

were on hand to greet the duced three casualtiesway stations along the route

guests. Then theparty boardplaque Mr. Armstrong and Co

only to see Sanitation Depart woman and a child who wereeda big Marine

Aldrin deposited on thement trucks up the hit on the head by a branch

from a tree kicked down bymoon : "We came in peace for

confetti from the streets.A fireboat hurled six jets of

all mankind."

Mayor Lindsay's press some young onlookers who had

water 60 feet high into the" The words are few he

retary, Thomas Morgan, atgone climbing for better

limpid summer air, where theysaid, " but they spell out the

tributed the break with the view. One of them, Miss Ann

sparkled in the sunshine. Tug schedule to NASA officials who Grayof Elizabeth, N.J.hadto

common identity for all the inboats and pleasure craft in the habitants of this planet our

he said were pressing to gain remain at theBeekman Down

East River sounded their time so as not to risk falling town Hospital fortreatment ofnever- ending search for peace.

whistles, creating an ear- behind schedule for the trans- head injuries.Responding for the astro

splitting din,as the copter de nauts , Mr. Armstrong presentedcontinental trip. The motorcade was still 31

scended on the Downtown HeliMr. Thant with a copy of the

But the astronauts had minutes ahead ofport on South Street at 10 A.M. plaquc. The Secretary Gener

when it left City Hall. Mr.reached City Hall wellahead

CrowdshadbeenpouringintoThant rode with the Mayor and

al's office said later that itwould hang in his reception

the canyon of Lower Broadway theastronauts.tinguished guests and hadto room

for hours . were the Mayor's office untilThe crowds in midtown were After leaving the United Na

still coming, for the Apollo the chairs on the dais the largest and most ecstatic tions, the motorcade crossedcrew was not expected to filled of the day . At 32d Street and

Bowling Green until 10:55 . Finally the First United Park Avenue South a hugethe Queensboro Bridge and

cast on Queens BouleAlong most of the route the States Army Bandof New York crane lowered a large metal vard . It was still ahead of

crowds were already four or struck a theme from Richard plate from the 13th floor of a but here, finally , itfive persons deep and Strauss' " Also Sprach Zara- building under construction and was allowed to slow downoffice workers were warming up thustra " that was used as dangled it over the avenue. The reachedfor the reception with practice thematic music for the space

astronautsThe plate had four flags at

throws of confetti, with aHangar 17 at Airport

Mayor Lind- tached to it and on it

admixture of data processing1:15, exactly on schedule

say led the three down painted a riposte to all who " I I have seen everyalong with the more tra- the steps to the front of the may have the health New Yorker that there is to

ditionaltickertape. dais . of this country : " It's great to

Relatively few signs were The throng in City Hall Park an American Thank youday. " Colonel Collins remarkedbefore boarding Air Force Onc

raised along Lower Broadway. could hardly be seen because of Apollo 11. for the flight to Chicago .

show us againeMayorthen

ingonit.

sible .

the flight into Manhalicopterfor

They

The New York TimesPublished: August 14, 1969

Copyright The New York Times