WAPAKONETA, Ohio -- The mother of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong said today "I was. worried that the moon might be too soft and that he might sink in too deeply. But I'm so thankful, they got there safely."
Mrs. Armstrong said she could tell by her son's voice that he was "pleased, tickled and thrilled" when he uttered man's first words from the lunar surface Sunday night.
She said Neil's words as he stepped on the moon, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," came as a surprise to her. Neil's father Stephen said, however, "It was the same old Neil."
Quiet Roomful
Mrs. Armstrong said when her son stepped onto the moon a room full of friends and relatives watching the historic space venture on television at the Armstrong home in this small western Ohio community "became absolutely quiet."
When the moon camera snapped on, Mrs. Armstrong leaned forward in her chair and said, "Oh there he is."
When Armstrong and fellow astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin bounced on the lunar surface Mrs. Armstrong said, "He looks like he's having fun."
"I hope this increases man's concept of God," Mrs. Armstrong said. "I hope this brings us closer together and does much for man and the world.
"Nice" of President
The elder Armstrong said it was "real nice"' of President Nixon to talk with the astronauts on the moon. He said the Russian Lunar 15 spacecraft circling the moon was "uncalled for and unfair," he did not elaborate. Mrs. Armstrong wished the Russians well in their space venture.
The Armstrongs, still in their Sunday church clothes, stepped out of their house briefly during moon walk to talk with newsmen. They had their hands over their heads with their fingers crossed.
They said they thanked God for the safe landing of the Eagle spacecraft on the moon, but added they still prayed for Neil's safe return.
