CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio boy who has fought an incurable skin disease and hearing loss since birth has been invited to the national memorial service for his hero, Neil Armstrong.
Fourteen-year-old Shane DiGiovanna’s (DEE’-gee-oh-vahn-ah) says Armstrong has been an inspiration for his goal of becoming an aerospace engineer like his idol. He says his skin condition would prevent him from being an astronaut.
The teen’s passion for space and admiration for the hero he never met so touched Armstrong’s family that they invited him to attend Thursday’s national memorial service in Washington honoring the first man to walk on the moon.
The eighth-grader from Cincinnati hopes to meet some Armstrong colleagues there and ask about the man whose career he has researched for years.
