A Message from Space (tap to read)

In July of 1969, much of the world’s attention was on the moon. At that same time, more than 34,000 scouts were attending the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Farragut State Park in Idaho. Astronaut Col. Frank Borman delivered a message from President Nixon on the closing night of the jamboree and presented a film from Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon, which had occurred a few days before. Only a handful of Scouts had seen the televised event, so the entire crowd sat spellbound watching the scene from the moon and hearing Armstrong’s words. Both Borman and Armstrong were former Scouts.

Armstrong acknowledged the Scouts from space on his way to the moon, saying “Hello to my fellow scouts and scouters at Farragut National Park in Idaho.” No one bothered to tell Commander Armstrong that it was actually a state park.