Before Neil Armstrong commanded Apollo 11 as the first man on the moon, he also led a successful career as a naval aviator. His journey started on January 26, 1949, requiring him to report to NAS Pensacola for flight training with class 5-49. There, he completed his first aircraft landing on USS Cabot, an achievement he revealed was tantamount to his first solo flight, before heading to NAS Corpus Christi in Texas to train to fly the Grumman F8F Bearcat. Armstrong formally became a naval aviator on August 18, 1950, and his sister and mother attended his graduation ceremony before he headed to NAS North Island to complete subsequent training on the Grumman F9F Panther and fly with VF-51, becoming its youngest officer before being promoted to ensign. 

The Korean War had already reached a tumultuous opening by the time Armstrong finished his training, and 30,000 members of the Naval Air Reserve called to augment active personnel. Since NASG was headquarters for both naval and marine reserve commands, the base quickly sprung into action, deploying five carrier-based squadrons to Korea: NAR-702, VF-721, VF-725, VA-728, and VF-727. Armstrong also saw action in Korea after completing fighter-bomber training with VF-51, his squadron from NAS North Island, at NAS Barbers Point in Hawaii, where he was assigned to the USS Essex carrier. 

With his squadron, Armstrong performed duties such as escorting photo reconnaissance missions over Songjin and armed recon over the village of Majon-ni. It was during this mission that 6 feet of Armstrong’s wing was torn off after colliding with a cable stretched across a hill as a booby trap when he made a low-level bombing run. While the heavy anti-aircraft fire in the area didn’t hit Armstrong and allowed him to limp back to friendly territory, the extreme damage to the aileron, a hinged surface on the wing necessary to control lateral balance, forced him to eject. Armstrong tried to make a water landing so he could be picked up by a Navy rescue helicopter, but the wind blew him inland, landing him in a boggy rice paddy. Covered in muck, Armstrong staggered up only to break into a wide smile as he saw a jeep speeding toward him, manned by none other than his flight school roommate, Marine Lieutenant Goodall. In total, Armstrong would fly 78 missions over Korea for 121 hours in the air, receiving the Air Medal for 20 combat missions, two gold stars for the next 40, the Korean Service Medal and Engagement Star, the National Defense Service Medal, and the United Nations Korea Medal. 

Armstrong’s regular commission ended on February 25, 1952, and he was assigned to a transport squadron for six months before being released from active duty. Choosing to remain in the naval reserves, he flew with VF-724 at NASG and was promoted to lieutenant junior grade O-2. Armstrong left the reserves in 1960, where he would go on to kickstart the astronautical career we would remember him for. 

SOURCES

https://www.midway.org/blog/a-wing-and-a-half-and-a-prayer/ 



https://www.navyleague.org/news/highlighting-our-heroes-neil-armstrong/