Honoring the Purdue Moonwalkers!

Purdue Moonwalkers Update! Please see the March 16th update below. The busts are fully funded and complete, and we will have a public open house showing of the life-sized bronze busts of Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan on Friday March 28th, 2025 from 10:00am to 5:00pm at my Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house on the Purdue campus located at 690 Waldron St, on the corner of West Stadium Ave, two blocks west of Armstrong Hall in West Lafayette Indiana. Please stop by to see them.

My name is Mark Easley, a Purdue University graduate in computer science in '78, and I commissioned the creation of two memorial sculptures of Purdue University graduates and Apollo Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Commander of Apollo 11 and the first Apollo Astronaut on the moon, and Eugene Cernan, Commander of Apollo 17 and the last Apollo Astronaut on the moon. These life size busts will be donated to Purdue soon to be displayed on the Purdue campus at the Memorial Union, Neil Armstrong Hall, or another suitable location.

The sculptures have been created by famed sculptor and NASA fan Dale Holbrook of https://www.veteransculptor.com/ who has done a meticulous job of recreating both men in their Apollo space suits as they appeared in 1969 and 1972 for their missions. The finished life size busts are forged in bronze with the bronze uniforms painted in the original colors and mounted on walnut bases for display.

The sculptures are complete and we had the first public open house viewing of the Moonwalkers on the Purdue campus on Friday September 27th 2024 from 9:00am to 4:00pm at my Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity house in West Lafayette Indiana as part of the Purdue Homecoming festivities. Many visitors stopped by and expressed their admiration and appreciation for these beautiful sculptures that honor these two amazing alumni.

Unpacking and Display Day!

My college roommate and fraternity brother Mike Gillam and several of the current Sig Ep fraternity brothers helped get the display ready. The sculptures were shipped in from Florida in custom crates.

We mounted the custom nameplates on each sculpture.

There was plenty of posing for pictures with the Astronauts on display day. Here's Mark and Mike with the sculptures after unpacking. Thanks for your help Mike and the other brothers, couldn't have done it without you!

Maria and Mark Easley with the sculptures.

Here are some Sig Ep brothers from back in the 70s who remember the Apollo missions well. George Plesac, Mark Easley and Norm Nabhan.

And we were pleased to have a visit from former Sig Ep housemother "Mom" Nonnie Owens and her husband Bruce.

Our thanks go to the Purdue community, all NASA fans, and those who remember the Apollo program for supporting this project. Any funds collected beyond the goal will be donated to Purdue.

Best regards, Mark Easley, Purdue BSCS '78.

Giving Club Levels

Your name as a donor will be displayed on a plaque mounted near the sculptures as follows:

See the photo in the March update below.

Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong in 1969

Original clay version of Neil Armstrong by Dale Holbrook

Final bronze version of Neil Armstrong by Dale Holbrook

Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan in 1972

Original clay version of Eugene Cernan by Dale Holbrook

Final bronze version of Eugene Cernan by Dale Holbrook

Armstrong and Cernan ready for display

'Sculptures of Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan' video on YouTube below was made by Dale Holbrook as he was creating the clay versions of the sculptures. He visited NASA in Florida to take measurements and get all the details correct on the Apollo uniforms, including name badges, American flags, NASA badges, and uniform and collar details. Amazing to see, many thanks to Dale for his brilliant work!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6YjH8_i4Lg

'The Eagle Has Landed' song and video on YouTube below is a 50th anniversary tribute song for Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 mission written in (C) 2018 by Mark Easley and Ellis Paul.

The song is inspired by the beautiful statue of Neil Armstrong on the Purdue campus in front of the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering which shows Neil as a Purdue engineering student in 1955. As he stared at the moon back then, he had no idea he would be the first person to stand on it 14 years later. My father Jack Easley was a Purdue engineering grad in 1948, Neil graduated with an engineering degree in 1955 (the year I was born), and I graduated from Purdue with a computer science degree in 1978. Like all Purdue alumni of my generation, I feel a strong connection to Neil and the Apollo program. Thanks to Neil and Eugene and all those NASA Apollo program astronauts, engineers and scientists for successfully completing the greatest engineering project in history in only 8 years after it was proposed by President Kennedy in 1961.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4awrSjH0A4

Here I am on the Purdue campus in front of the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering with that amazing statue they have of Neil as an aeronautical engineering student in 1955.

We are pleased to honor Boilermaker Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan!