Today the White House issued a proclamation that all U.S. flags are to be flown at half staff  “as a mark of respect for the memory of Neil Armstrong” on the day of his burial.

So, I made a little edit to an image of the flag planted by Armstrong and Aldrin at the Apollo 11 landing site. Were it still standing (which, sadly, it isn’t) and were there any likewise intrepid astronauts standing nearby when the proclamation was…er, proclaimed, this is what one might see shortly thereafter.

The full statement can be found below:

DEATH OF NEIL ARMSTRONG

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

As a mark of respect for the memory of Neil Armstrong, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that on the day of his interment, the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset on such day. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

The White House blog has also assembled a nice gallery of photos of America’s first man on the Moon. Check it out here.

Godspeed, Mr. Armstrong. You may have been a “reluctant hero”, but you were a hero nonetheless. May we live up to your endeavors.