So today a hero has passed away…I don't own Hetalia or the song that gave me the idea for how to go about writing this. I own nothing really. 'Animals' is by BT.
It is another day at the UN. All the nations, save one, are there and the meeting is about to take place. Rushing through the halls, America lets out many apologies to people walking around the hallways as he brushes past. Meanwhile, the other nations hear this and while a few voice their displeasure, the rest are silent.
"Ok dudes! Sorry I'm late! I had some heroic business to attend to!" America pants while wearing his iconic smile as he runs into the conference room.
There's no response from the others, in fact, many seem to be a bit downcast.
"What? Did I miss something important?" America asks.
Japan rises from his seat and walks over, "Ah, America san. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Huh?" America asks, clueless as to what Japan's talking about.
"Oh, don't tell me that you don't know when one of your heroes dies," says England as he also rises from where he was and walks over.
"Hey!" America says, slightly irritated.
"Please America san, if there's anything we can do, tell us," Japan politely says.
"I'm really confused guys. What are you going on about?" America asks. Then it hits him.
"Oh! You're talking about Neil Armstrong!"
"Da. He was one of your heroes during the Cold War." Russia states, deciding to join the three.
"All right, we will have a 20 minute break. During this time, you can say whatever it is that you want about the death of Herr Armstrong. After that, it is back to the meeting and the next break will be for lunch!" Germany yells so everyone can hear him.
Italy comes over, "Do you want pasta? It'll make you feel better! Oh! I can make some for you to give to Mr. Armstrong's family too!"
Noticing that America is still smiling, China asks as he walks over, "Aren't you sad that he has died?"
"Well, yeah. I was sad earlier, but I'm feeling happy right now," America says.
"America san, I do not understand," Japan says.
"Well, I was bummed that he died. Death is pretty sad after all," America begins.
"Thanks for stating the obvious," England sarcastically says.
Ignoring him, America continues, "But I can't remain sad about it you know? If I stay stuck on his death, I forget what he did during his life that made him a hero!"
"What did he do that made him so great?" a childlike voice asks.
"Sealand! What are you doing here?!" England exclaims at the micronation by his side.
"You jerk! I'm here to be recognized as a nation, but I want to know about this Armstrong," Sealand states.
America laughs for a few minutes before starting his story, "Well, he was the first man on the moon! He's also the one that said 'that's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind' and helped me beat Russia in the space race!"
"Oh, my men were first into space. Do not try to take that accomplishment from me," Russia states, with his creepy smile.
"I know that you were first in space, but you never got to the moon. My guys did that!" America says proudly. "So, I won in the end!"
"Ah, guys the cold war has been over for a while now," says a soft voice.
Everyone looks around and America freaks out. "Oh no! There's a ghost here isn't there?!"
"Hoser! It's me, Canada," says the voice and Canada appears next to America irritated.
"Oh, sorry Canada," America apologizes. "Anyway, like I was saying before, Neil was a swell guy. When he was on the moon, he left some items there to respect the sacrifices of both the astronauts and the cosmonauts that had died while trying to get to space. Hey, Russia! What was the name of your guy that got to space first?"
"Yuri Garagin," Russia states.
"Yeah well, that dude had died before Neil got to the moon. Dude died from a plane crash during a training flight and to be honest, I felt sad. To get to space is an accomplishment and for a guy to pull that off and then die from a plane crash is just weird," America says.
"But yeah, Neil had an impressive history. Everyone remembers that he was an astronaut, but he started out as a Navy pilot first! I always liked talking to him. He was so humble and nice. Good guy all around, I'll miss him."
"He sounded like a great guy," Sealand says.
"Da. People like him and Yuri come along once a couple of generations," Russia interjects and America nods in agreement.
"I'm going to get to the moon next then!" Sealand proclaims.
"Not if I get there first," China says, amused at the micronation's determination.
"Aren't your guys looking for life on Mars, what with that new robot that you sent there recently?" England asks.
"Yes! The rover's called Curiosity!" America proudly exclaims. "Whenever I'd talk to Neil, he'd always tell me to keep on with exploring space. I may not be able to send people, but at least I can continue to do something that'll help with exploring the universe!"
"But don't you find it sad that Mr. Armstrong died and won't know if there's any life on Mars or other planets?" Italy asks.
"Not really. While Neil won't be there physically to see if there is or isn't life out there, I'm sure that he is content to know that he started the journey and was with it until his end," America calmly states.
"I don't understand," Italy says confused.
"I like to think that there are other worlds that he is visiting now," America softly says. "Worlds that one day we'll have mapped out and logged in some sort of database. Worlds that we can visit and talk about how beautiful they are and use them to expand on what we already know. I'm sure that he took one last look at the moon before leaving on his next journey to wherever he decided to go."
"But don't you think he'll be lonely?" Italy asks.
"No, not at all," America says as he casts a look over to Russia. "There are all the astronauts and cosmonauts that have already died, and there are a lot of people that are interested in space and what's out there, some of which have died already. There will be more that have that interest and will eventually pass on. So no, he's not alone."
"Alright, the 20 minutes have passed and the meeting is to now continue!" Germany hollers.
The nations scramble back to their seats, except for Sealand. Germany escorts him outside the room and then shuts the doors. Meanwhile, America takes a seat by the window. As Switzerland begins his presentation, America looks out the window. He lets his eyes wander until they find the moon on the horizon. He smiles at it, and for a minute, swears that it had a strange glow about it.
Eternal Father, King of birth,
Who didst create the heaven and earth,
And bid the planets and the sun
Their own appointed orbits run;
O hear us when we seek thy grace
For those who soar through outer space.*
*It's the United States Navy Hymn for astronauts. I got this from an faq on the history of the Navy and it's a military source, so it should be right. It is appropriate for Neil Armstrong, as he was a Navy pilot first before getting involved in the space program.
Neil Armstrong died at the age of 82 due to some complications from cardiovascular procedures. Apollo 11 was the space craft that took both him and Buzz Aldrin to the moon on July 20th, 1969. There was a third person named Michael Collins, but he stayed in orbit while the two were on the moon. It came fairly soon after Apollo 8, which was the first time the US left Earth's orbit, and got to the moon, orbited around it and came back to Earth. That occurred on December 21st, 1968 and had different crew members on board.
My dad was a kid then, so he grew up watching and learning about space and hearing about people like Armstrong and Aldrin. He also got into airplanes and because of his love for science; he passed along the fascination for the unknown and a love for science to me. The universe is a very beautiful place and I hope that we continue to look to the unknown and try to understand it bit by bit. So, this is a thank you and goodbye to the man who has transcended from Earth to the heavens for the last time. Rest well, you've certainly earned it.