BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their way out of the lunar module in 1969, a former Bakersfield news broadcaster was reporting on the event while anchoring the news in Tripoli, Libya.
David Moore was in the Air Force and stationed in the North African country while the Apollo 11 mission happened. He was reporting for a U.S. military television network.
He says it’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years.
"We were all holding our breath because it was a really scary time as they were descending to the moon. Everybody was sort of holding their breath," Moore said
It was 4 a.m.. in Tripoli, Libya as he scanned various news wires so he could deliver live updates on the moon landing to his television audience.
“it’s probably the highlight of my career in broadcasting certainly, you can hardly get much better than that," he said.
Moore spent much of his formative years in Tehachapi, graduating from Bakersfield College in 19-66 before being drafted to the U.S. Air Force. He was with Armed Forces Radio and Television at the time of Apollo 11, anchoring broadcasts following every step of the eight-day mission.
“Being in the military, being part of the air force, being an American, it was, it really gave you a sense of pride of accomplishment that we did," Moore said.
After returning from the Air Force in 1971, Moore worked in local news in Bakersfield for a decade. Now living in Texas, he underlines the importance of Apollo 11’s 50th anniversary.
“People like Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin who are still alive now probably won't be like on the 60th or certainly on the 75th or something. None of us will be. So I think the 50th anniversary is probably the biggest one that they’re going to have," he said.
