I have gone through so many examinations of what a hero is, between the World War II stuff and the astronaut stuff.

I think I'm lucky that I had kids as spread out as much as I did, 'cause my son, my oldest, was born when I was 21. And my youngest is 15 now. He was born when I was 40, you know?

My work is really a blast. When it stops being a blast, then it ain't no fun no more!

I don't think anybody's mind's gonna be changed.

I try to do what I call the three E's - educate, entertain, and enlighten. If you don't entertain, no one will show up. But you also have to educate, because people want to discover specific things about a world unlike their own - whether it's how hard it is to go to the moon or how scary it is to be on Omaha Beach.

If you have to have a job in this world, a high-priced movie star is a pretty good gig.

Every job requires a certain riding of a horse.