Neil was born in Auglaize county near Wapakoneta Ohio on August 5th 1930, to Steven Koenig Armstrong and Viola Louise Engel. He had a younger sister Joan and brother Dean. Stephen Armstrong worked as an auditor for the Ohio state government so the family moved around the state repeatedly, living in 20 towns. Neil's love for flying grew during this time, having started very early when his father took his two-year-old son Dean to the Cleveland air races when Neil was five. He had his first aeroplane flight in Warren, Ohio on July 20th, 1936 when he and his father took a ride in a Ford Trimotor, also known as the "tin goose". He later went to Blume high school then Purdue university where he left to serve in the US navy - flying as a fighter pilot in the Korean War.