Famous Alcoholics: Buzz Aldrin, the Astronaut

Just as having a mother named “Moon” seemed to denote a special destiny for Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr. out among the stars, it is easy to believe that her alcoholism and eventual suicide played a role in the development of his own addiction.

Known as Buzz” since his childhood, Mr. Aldrin is best known for piloting the lunar module from Apollo 11 and landing it on the moon. He became the second person to ever set foot on the heavenly body for which his mother was named after stepping out of the lunar module behind mission commander Neil Armstrong. Unfortunately, Buzz never handled being second or success very well.

Always an overachiever; he was a jet fighter pilot in the Korean war, obtained an degree in astronautics from M.I.T., and was critical in creating the complex science required to rendezvous module with capsule in orbit before actually performing the maneuvers himself. After the lunar landing, there seemed little left to accomplish. Following an overwhelming media and publicity blitz Mr. Aldrin began to suffer from an ironic sense of inadequacy, depression, and alcoholism.

After we got back, I wasn't prepared to be in the public eye. I traveled around the world and met many people. At one point, we visited 23 countries in 45 days. I also thought that going to the moon couldn't be topped. So I left NASA and returned to the Air Force. But I don't think the Air Force knew what to do with someone who went to the moon. ~ Yahoo

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I have always admired the man, but never knew our common bond until recently. The Apollo 11 images are stuff of fantasy for me, I still dream to this day of piloting a ship in space. During the mid seventies while I was in grammar school drawing crude pictures of my hero in the lunar module “Eagle”, behind the scenes his disease progressed, he lost his marriage, and his family fell apart. He struggled for years finding sobriety for short terms only to relapse. He contributes his eventual recovery to AA, spirituality, and his present day wife. With 28 years in recovery, Mr. Aldrin is now at age 78 a still very active advocate for both recovery and mental illness.

''There is much more hope for people that in the past just didn't face a good promise of recovery,'' he told reporters at a press conference organized by Broward Housing Solutions, an organization that provides affordable housing for homeless people who have mental illness. ~ March 08 Faces and Voices of Recovery

So here is a much deserved TDA salute to Buzz Aldrin, I always looked up to him as hero for what he did in space and I now still admire him for what he is accomplishing today on the ground.