[troutman]

To the Moon and Back With Michael Collins, 1930-2021

My fellow astronaut was a great pilot, a great friend and a great patriot.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-the-...ion_major_pos4

Neil Armstrong and I were blessed to have had Mike as our crewmate on America’s first manned mission to the moon’s surface, in July 1969. No one is more responsible for our success—taking us out and bringing us home safely—than Mike.

What Mike gave our nation is hard to express. He was a fearless test pilot, inveterate scholar, cheerful crewmate; he was calm under pressure, self-disciplined, knew every detail of the Columbia command module. He was also a lifelong friend, focused on others and often hardest on himself.

Mike was the best of America, someone who instinctively put himself out for others, a lifetime commitment. He felt no mission was too hard, no challenge beyond trying, and that we should always be ready to serve. He was that example. I will miss my friend. America had no better friend.