And they would be wrong. Niel Armstrong didn’t seem to carry a nickname; he was an aviator in the US Navy, who usually end up with callsigns, but I’m struggling to find what his was. Google “assistant” is hallucinating; it’s saying that Neil Armstrong’s navy callsign was “WARL” and links to a Wikipedia page about the oceanographic research ship RV Neil Armstrong(AGOR-27) whose maritime radio callsign is WARL. I know of no personal nickname or callsign of his.
Aldrin, on the other hand…I’m just now learning this. I assumed he got the nickname Buzz as a USAF pilot callsign, but no. His sister Faye mispronounced “brother” as “buzzer” which was shortened to “Buzz.” And he legally changed his name to “Buzz Aldrin” in 1988. It was still a nickname during the Apollo program.
Yes, most people are wrong about a lot of things. But the zeitgeist of “Buzz” and “Armstrong” on the moon likely informed the naming conventions of fictional characters.
The first two men to walk on the moon were named Niel and Edwin. The next two were named Charles and Alan.
But if you asked most people to name the first person on the moon they’d say “Buzz Armstrong”
What are you talking about??
And they would be wrong. Niel Armstrong didn’t seem to carry a nickname; he was an aviator in the US Navy, who usually end up with callsigns, but I’m struggling to find what his was. Google “assistant” is hallucinating; it’s saying that Neil Armstrong’s navy callsign was “WARL” and links to a Wikipedia page about the oceanographic research ship RV Neil Armstrong(AGOR-27) whose maritime radio callsign is WARL. I know of no personal nickname or callsign of his.
Aldrin, on the other hand…I’m just now learning this. I assumed he got the nickname Buzz as a USAF pilot callsign, but no. His sister Faye mispronounced “brother” as “buzzer” which was shortened to “Buzz.” And he legally changed his name to “Buzz Aldrin” in 1988. It was still a nickname during the Apollo program.
Yes, most people are wrong about a lot of things. But the zeitgeist of “Buzz” and “Armstrong” on the moon likely informed the naming conventions of fictional characters.
Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. is much more commonly known as Buzz Aldrin, and Buzz Lightyear is named after him.
Obviously the answer to buddy’s question is “whoever was the second guy on the moon” though.