Fifty-three years ago M0nday, Derry native Alan Shepard walked on the moon while on the Apollo 14 mission on Feb. 5, 1971.Shepard was the commander of the mission that launched on a Saturn V rocket. Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell were also on board.Shepard was also the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon. He later said that it traveled for "miles and miles and miles."This was his second space mission. He was also the first American to travel to space in May 1961 aboard a Mercury spacecraft. There is no shortage of Alan Shepard memorabilia at the Derry Heritage Commission that shows his global impact.He was born on Nov. 18, 1923, and went to Pinkerton Academy, where their mascot is now the Astroman, or the Astros.He worked on a ship during World War II and went back to school when the war ended. Shephard became a test pilot and in 1959, he became an astronaut. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. Shepard's daughter, Laura Shepard Churchley, traveled to space in December 2021 aboard the third Blue Origin flight.