Armstrong burglary a giant leap for thieves

Wapakoneta, Ohio, population 9,816, is exemplary of many Midwestern communities. It’s encircled by farmland — corn and soybeans, mostly — and prone to spontaneous rainstorms that can erupt on a hot, dry summer day. Most everyone follows high school football, and they love the American icon who was born there.

There’s crime, but not a lot of it — making Friday night’s break-in at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum all the more unusual and unsettling for those who call Wapakoneta home.

State and federal investigators have joined local authorities to search for several historic artifacts that once belonged to astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon. Among the missing items is an 18-karat gold replica of the Eagle lunar module that shuttled Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their historic mission to the moon’s surface on July 20, 1969.

Thieves also made off with rare medals, coins and other heirlooms from the astronauts’ subsequent world tour.

“Everybody’s real surprised,” said Tom Wehrhahn, managing editor of the Wapakoneta Daily News. “People here are saddened and just hoping for the best. We’re extremely proud of Neil Armstrong, and everything in the museum is cherished by the community.”

Located 60 miles north of Dayton, Wapakoneta is Armstrong’s birthplace. The museum, which is owned by the state, opened in 1972 — three years to the day after the Apollo 11 commander told NASA mission control, “that’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Authorities say there were multiple perpetrators, although they’ve been unable to identify them. Surveillance video released by police Monday night shows little more than a gray blur.

The heist occurred just before midnight, when one burglar attempted to enter by picking a lock on the museum’s front door, Mayor Thomas Stinebaugh told the Daily News. An alarm was triggered, but the thieves had enough time to swipe the keepsakes before police arrived.

On Tuesday, as the investigation entered its fourth day, Wapakoneta Safety Service Director Chad Scott confirmed to The Washington Post that the thieves sought to leave a light footprint and appeared to know precisely what they wanted, concentrating on a single exhibit. Scott said, “They didn’t go in and ransack the place.” The matter remains under investigation, he said.

There’s concern the burglars intend to melt down the lunar module statue and sell the gold. Chris Burton, the museum’s executive director, cringes at that thought. He declined to estimate the missing items’ monetary value, saying their significance to all of humanity essentially renders them priceless.