John Glenn on Frasier: Season 8 (2001), #16

[Trajanus]

Yeah, I now they 'took a security oath' but if I were an astronaut over 80 years old I would be thinking carefully about 'courage' and what good I could do to tell what I knew.

Unfortunately, not a great deal. A number of others have gone into detail about what they allegedly saw or knew but, without physical proof, or authorization to speak for the government on this, it hasn't had much effect. An additional problem is, if he's 80, they'd say he has alzheimers or dementia.:frown:

So when I do see such a thing as this, I wonder why he says WE have to get to the truth.

He doesn't have conclusive proof.

If he has it and thinks we ought to have it, too, give it out. Thanks. If your reputation is more important to you than the truth,

If what he had to reveal would really make a big difference, then damage to his reputation might be worth it but...

 

[Ron Collins]

Personally I think Glenn and Armstrong want to tell what they know. I wish they would leave some sort of note or sworn statement to be shared at their death. But, they will not. They may elude to their knowledge by whatever means available but they will never spill the beans. Two reasons.
1) They may push the envelope of their oath but they will never break it. Their word defines them. It is part of that cloth they were all cut from. So is pushing that envelope. It is such a weird combination of balls and integrity.
2) They wouldn't want to burden their fellow astronauts by forcing them to tell yet another lie or into breaking their oath of silence.

For them it must all be very frustrating. I think the Glenn episode of Frasier kind of shows this frustration. It shows that this subject may weigh heavily on them and it may be constantly on their minds. If you had to live with a lie of that magnitude every day of your life it would effect you as well.

My personal belief on Armstrong is that he is a very honest and thoughtful person. I doubt that he cares about damaging his legacy and more about doing the right things in life. I think he does have knowledge of things otherworldly and I think he really wants to share what he has seen. But he took an oath and as a career military man that oath is part of his very being. Glenn is the same way. Though I think that personally they are very displeased with the handling of the matter.

These men were selected for the space program in large part because they fit a mold. They are all very intelligent, procedure based men with a superpower. They can literally flip a switch and turn off fear.

For Armstrong he thought nothing of jumping into a new airplane design and test flying it. Even though the last prototype killed a friend. He willingly strapped himself to a massive rocket and was shot into space. He put on a fabric suit and stepped onto the surface of a new world. None of that frightened him. But public speaking is supposed to terrify the man. It is his Kryptonite. My personal feeling is that he keeps himself out of the limelight on purpose. Partly because he is a recluse and partly to avoid these types of questions.

 

[Trajanus]

Maybe they will leave behind some written statement when they die. Saunders did it.