Astronaut Neil Armstrong mourned at Washington National Cathedral On Thursday morning, the last man to walk on the moon took the podium at Washington National Cathedral and honored his friend, Neil Armstrong, the very first man to walk the moon. Fate looked down kindly when she chose Neil to venture to another world and to have the opportunity to look back from space. It could have been another. But it wasn't. And it wasn't for a reason," said Eugene Cernan, who visited the moon in 1972 as commander of Apollo 17. No one - no one, but no one - could have accepted the responsibility of his remarkable accomplishment with more dignity and more grace than Neil Armstrong. Neil, wherever you are up there . . . as you soar through the heavens, beyond where even eagles dare to go, you can now finally put out your hand and touch the face of God. Farewell, my friend. Hundreds of mourners filled the cathedral to celebrate Armstrong's life, including Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, the two other astronauts who piloted Apollo 11 to the moon on July 20, 1969. All the speakers praised Armstrong for being a "reluctant hero," for his Midwestern roots and for his wonky love of engineering. Armstrong was routinely hailed as the ideal man to assume such a prominent role in history precisely because he never wanted to be a prominent figure. The memorial service, which precedes Armstrong's burial-at-sea on Friday, also featured tributes by Charles F. Bolden Jr., the administrator of NASA, and John W. Snow, the former Treasury Secretary who was friends with Armstrong. The singer Diana Krall, wearing a golden moon necklace, delivered a slow, plaintive version of "Fly Me to the Moon." Collins, reading a prayer, also spoke briefly and said: "Creator of the universe, your dominion extends through the immensity of space: Guide and guard those whose seek to fathom its mysteries. Especially we thank you this day for your servant Neil Armstrong, who with courage and humility first set foot upon the moon.