Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin
Buzz Eugene Aldrin Astronaut Nationality: American Date of birth: January 20, 1930 Place of birth: Montclair, New Jersey Previous Occupation: Fighter pilot Rank: Colonel, USAF Time Spent in Space: 12d 01h 52m Selection: 1963 NASA Group Mission(s): Gemini 12, Apollo 11 Mission Insignia: Colonel Buzz Eugene Aldrin, Sc.D (born January 20, 1930 as Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.) is an American pilot and astronaut who became the second human to set foot on the Moon (after Neil Armstrong) during the Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar landing. Aldrin was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He graduated from Montclair High School and attended the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. As a boy, he was given the nickname "Buzz" by his sister - she mispronounced "brother" as "buzzer", and this was shortened to Buzz - and he made it his legal first name in 1988 . He graduated third in his class in 1951 with a bachelor of science degree. Aldrin was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and served as a jet fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, where he flew 66 combat missions in F-86 Sabres and shot down two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 aircraft. After leaving Korea, Aldrin was an aerial gunnery instructor at Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada, and later an aide to the dean of faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy. After leaving this assignment, Aldrin flew F-100 Super Sabres as a flight commander at Bitburg, Germany.
