--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I just wanted to be the first one to fly…" description: "\"I just wanted to be the first one to fly for America, not because I'd end up in the pages of history books.\" — Alan Shepard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/alan-shepard-11358_america_i-just-wanted-to-be-the-first-one-to-fly_2931782.png" --- # I just wanted to be the first one to fly for America, not… ![“I just wanted to be the first one to fly for America, not because I'd end up in the pages of history books.” quote by Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/alan-shepard-11358_america_i-just-wanted-to-be-the-first-one-to-fly_2931782.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/alan-shepard-11358_america_i-just-wanted-to-be-the-first-one-to-fly_2931782.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/alan-shepard-11358_america_i-just-wanted-to-be-the-first-one-to-fly_2931782.png) > “I just wanted to be the first one to fly for America, not because I'd end up in the pages of history books.” [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He sought personal achievement in pioneering flight, not fame or historical record. **In simple terms:** Wanted to fly for country, not for fame. Key Takeaway Focus on purpose over recognition. Themes patriotism exploration humility Mood proud reflective Type inspirational historical When to use this quote - military service - space program - career decisions - public speaking Key Concepts Aviation personal motivation Questions to Reflect On - What drives you more: personal fulfillment or public legacy? - How do you balance ambition with humility? A Different Perspective May overlook personal sacrifices needed for pioneering work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-books/) [Plane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plane/) ## Related quotes > [No. I just wanted to fly airplanes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-parker/no-i-just-wanted-to-fly-airplanes/) Jackie Parker > [I love to fly. I always wanted to fly. It's been one of my dreams since I was 3 years old. I remember saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-anaya/i-love-to-fly-i-always-wanted-to-fly-it-s-been-one-of-my-dreams-since/) [Elena Anaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-anaya/) > [The conviction of our Ukrainian nation is embedded in the pages of its history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-yushchenko/the-conviction-of-our-ukrainian-nation-is-embedded-in-the-pages-of/) [Viktor Yushchenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-yushchenko/) > [I will write on the pages of history what I want them to say. I will be myself. I will speak my own name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-will-write-on-the-pages-of-history-what-i-want-them-to-say-i-will/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“in the pages of the history of the great. Her entire life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/in-the-pages-of-the-history-of-the-great-her-entire-life/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [When they turn the pages of history, when these days have passed long ago-- will they read of us with sadness for the seeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/when-they-turn-the-pages-of-history-when-these-days-have-passed-long/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [I always wanted to fly. When I was in theatre, I used to go up on Dunstable Downs on my day off to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jason/i-always-wanted-to-fly-when-i-was-in-theatre-i-used-to-go-up-on/) [David Jason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jason/) > [“#301. ""Don't lock up something that you wanted to see fly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-temple-pilots/301-don-t-lock-up-something-that-you-wanted-to-see-fly/) Stone Temple Pilots > [I wanted to fly when I was little. I still want to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendall-jenner/i-wanted-to-fly-when-i-was-little-i-still-want-to-fly/) [Kendall Jenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendall-jenner/) > [“All I wanted to do was fly. Is that too much to ask for?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-holch/all-i-wanted-to-do-was-fly-is-that-too-much-to-ask-for/) Greg Holch > [If God wanted us to fly, He would have given us tickets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/if-god-wanted-us-to-fly-he-would-have-given-us-tickets/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [He wanted to fly in lightweight contraptions with her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/he-wanted-to-fly-in-lightweight-contraptions-with-her/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [The pilot looked at his cues of attitude and speed and orientation and so on and responded as he would from the same cues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/the-pilot-looked-at-his-cues-of-attitude-and-speed-and-orientation/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [Of course I was delighted the flight was over, but I still had to worry about cleaning up inside the cabin, I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/of-course-i-was-delighted-the-flight-was-over-but-i-still-had-to/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [The first plane ride was in a homemade glider my buddy and I built. Unfortunately we didn't get more than four feet off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/the-first-plane-ride-was-in-a-homemade-glider-my-buddy-and-i-built/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) ## More by Alan Shepard > [I realized up there that our planet is not infinite. It's fragile. That may not be obvious to a lot of folks, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/i-realized-up-there-that-our-planet-is-not-infinite-it-s-fragile-that/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [“If you don't use your experience, your past is wasted, and you are betraying yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/if-you-don-t-use-your-experience-your-past-is-wasted-and-you-are/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [Unfortunately, the suit is so stiff, I can't do this with two hands, but I'm going to try a little sand-trap shot here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/unfortunately-the-suit-is-so-stiff-i-can-t-do-this-with-two-hands-but/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [I think about the personal accomplishment, but there's more of a sense of the grand achievement by all the people who could put this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/i-think-about-the-personal-accomplishment-but-there-s-more-of-a-sense/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [The first plane ride was in a homemade glider my buddy and I built. Unfortunately we didn't get more than four feet off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/the-first-plane-ride-was-in-a-homemade-glider-my-buddy-and-i-built/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [It's been a long way, but we're here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/it-s-been-a-long-way-but-we-re-here/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [I must admit, maybe I am a piece of history after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/i-must-admit-maybe-i-am-a-piece-of-history-after-all/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [Of course I was delighted the flight was over, but I still had to worry about cleaning up inside the cabin, I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/of-course-i-was-delighted-the-flight-was-over-but-i-still-had-to/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [Because of the suit I was wearing, I couldn't make a good pivot on the swing. And I had to hit the ball with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/because-of-the-suit-i-was-wearing-i-couldn-t-make-a-good-pivot-on-the/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [There's no question that all the generations got excited about the first flights, with Kennedy's inspiration to go to the moon, leaving the planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/there-s-no-question-that-all-the-generations-got-excited-about-the/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [Then I thought, with the same clubhead speed, the ball's going to go at least six times as far. There's absolutely no drag, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/then-i-thought-with-the-same-clubhead-speed-the-ball-s-going-to-go-at/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [The pilot looked at his cues of attitude and speed and orientation and so on and responded as he would from the same cues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/the-pilot-looked-at-his-cues-of-attitude-and-speed-and-orientation/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [So everything turned out fine, and we were given the opportunity to go to Washington and be briefed on the project of man in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/so-everything-turned-out-fine-and-we-were-given-the-opportunity-to-go/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [Miles and miles and miles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/miles-and-miles-and-miles/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) > [Then there was the challenge to keep doing better and better, to fly the best test flight that anybody had ever flown. That led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-shepard/then-there-was-the-challenge-to-keep-doing-better-and-better-to-fly/) [Alan Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) [Explore all 60 Alan Shepard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-shepard/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... 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The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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