Neil Armstrong Typed Letter Signed. One page, 8.5" x 11", Cincinnati, Ohio, April 4, 1975, on University of Cincinnati letterhead, to Barbara H. Edison. A letter sending sincere regrets for not being able to attend a function at Purdue University, his alma mater. In full: "Thank you for your kind invitation to attend the Iron Key Gala Week Celebration Breakfast on 27 April. At present, my schedule calls for an early morning departure out of Indianapolis to meet a commitment in Carolina on the 27th. It will, therefore, be impossible for me to accept. I know it will be an interesting occasion, and I'm sorry that I'll have to miss it. I do enclose my best wishes for the success of the Gala Week Breakfast. Sincerely, [signed] Neil Armstrong" as "Professor of Aerospace Engineering". Fine condition with original mailing folds, a couple of edge nicks, slight edge roughness.

The Order of the Iron Key is a senior leadership honor society founded at Purdue University in 1910 and limited to ten members per year. From A University of Tradition: The Spirit of Purdue by the Purdue Reamer Club (West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 2002): "New members are chosen by current members based on scholarship, positions held in student organizations, high ethical character, and the desire to lead on the Purdue campus anonymously... Funding comes from donations by the Purdue Alumni Association. Iron Key alumni, and other sources in the University and local community. Strictly nonpolitical in policy, Iron Key aims to be representative of the class and student body... It is the policy of the society to be secret so that no public announcement of membership is made until the close of the college year. The mission of the club... is to do good for the sake of goodness alone." (176-177)