A large crowd gathered at Purdue University Monday to honor the memory of Neil Armstrong.

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Speaking in front of the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering, guests like Purdue astronaut Greg Harbaugh called Armstrong an inspiration to generations. "He made a profound committment not only to himself, not only to America but to human kind, to take a bold step, to stride forward in a way that everybody might, in the end, be proud of."

Dr. Leah Jameson, Dean of Purdue's College of Engineering, said Armstrong was always proud to be an engineer from Purdue. She said Armstrong once said engineering was about what could be. "It is the best definition of engineering that I've ever heard and Neil Armstrong, more than anyone in memory, gave us an unforgettable image of what can be."

Armstrong graduated from Purdue in 1955 and was given an honorary doctorate in engineering in 1970.