On July 20, 1969 two Americans stepped onto the lunar surface. But getting there took eight years, some twenty manned or crewed missions and three American lives lost. The U.S. was in the midst of the Cold War with the Soviets and the Space Race was a big part of it. On May 16, 1961 in his address to Congress President Kennedy said "... I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth." For four years the U.S. trailed the Soviets always at least one step behind, but midway through the Gemini program they took the lead, never looked back and rode that lead all the way to the moon.