When those men, 40 years ago, literally went where no man had gone before, I wasn't quite around, being born in 1971. But I grew up glued to picture books about the Space Race and the moonlanding.
To me, the exploration of space always was "the big adventure", surely later fuelling my geekdom for science fiction to no small degree.
Those guys did one amazing journey and they were watched by the whole world. That day they landed it wasn't just those men or the Americans that went to the moon, it was us humans who, for the first time, walked on another world.
Following the discussion with Brian Barker about Esperanto in the Karl Bartos comments I felt like watching the Great Dictator once more. And this final, timeless speach is one of the reasons I like the movie as much as I do - not just the comedy bits.