<P> The astronauts planted a specially designed U.S. flag on the lunar surface , in clear view of the TV camera . Aldrin remembered , `` Of all the jobs I had to do on the Moon the one I wanted to go the smoothest was the flag raising . '' But the astronauts struggled with the telescoping rod and could only jam the pole a couple of inches into the hard lunar surface . Aldrin was afraid it might topple in front of TV viewers . But he gave `` a crisp West Point salute '' . Before Aldrin could take a photo of Armstrong with the flag , President Richard Nixon spoke to them through a telephone - radio transmission which Nixon called `` the most historic phone call ever made from the White House . '' Nixon originally had a long speech prepared to read during the phone call , but Frank Borman , who was at the White House as a NASA liaison during Apollo 11 , convinced Nixon to keep his words brief , to respect the lunar landing as Kennedy 's legacy . </P>
<P> The astronauts planted a specially designed U.S. flag on the lunar surface , in clear view of the TV camera . Aldrin remembered , `` Of all the jobs I had to do on the Moon the one I wanted to go the smoothest was the flag raising . '' But the astronauts struggled with the telescoping rod and could only jam the pole a couple of inches into the hard lunar surface . Aldrin was afraid it might topple in front of TV viewers . But he gave `` a crisp West Point salute '' . Before Aldrin could take a photo of Armstrong with the flag , President Richard Nixon spoke to them through a telephone - radio transmission which Nixon called `` the most historic phone call ever made from the White House . '' Nixon originally had a long speech prepared to read during the phone call , but Frank Borman , who was at the White House as a NASA liaison during Apollo 11 , convinced Nixon to keep his words brief , to respect the lunar landing as Kennedy 's legacy . </P>
who was president when we walked on the moon
who was president when we walked on the moon
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon