A rare and unique gift given to the Apollo 11 Astronauts was stolen from the Armstrong Air and Space Museum Saturday overnight.
Members of the Wapakoneta Police Department, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the F-B-I are looking into a robbery that happened at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum.
According to Wapakoneta Police Chief Russel Hunlock, his officers were dispatched to the museum at 11: 59 Friday night when a burglary alarm went off. When officers arrived, they discovered that someone made entry into the museum and a solid gold replica of the 1969 Lunar Excursion Module that landed on the moon.
Executive Director of the Armstrong Air and Space Museum Chris Burton described the exhibit.
“It was an 18 karat gold model of Lunar Module, made by Cartier and given to Neil Armstrong. This was part of their return, when they traveled the world. They had a stop in Paris. This is what the three (Apollo 11) Astronauts were given during their time. We had it here at the museum and was given to us by Neil Armstrong and so it is a one of a kind item.”
Police say because only three of the modules were made and presented each Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, the value of the gift cannot be determined. But it is a great loss to the museum which preserves these objects.
“You know it’s a public institution. We are here to serve the public, to preserve these objects and to share them with the people, to make them available. And so someone decided that they were more important than the rest of the public.”
The museum was closed down while investigators were collecting evidence of the break-in. Burton and the rest of the employees say they were disappointed that they had to turn away visitors during a Saturday in July. But they were able to open Saturday afternoon.
