Neil Armstrong Funeral: Hundreds Pay Tribute to Reluctant Hero [SLIDESHOW]

A private funeral service has been held for Neil Armstrong at Camargo Club, Cincinnati, Ohio, attended by the Apollo 11 commander's close friends and family.

"Neil Armstrong's first step on the Moon paved the way for others to be the 'first' to step foot on another planet," said Charles Bolden, head of NASA.

"As we take the next giant leap forward, we stand on the shoulders of this brave, reluctant hero."

The memorial service was attended by Armstrong's fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins along with John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, and astronauts like Alan Bean, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan, Walter Cunningham, James Lovell, William Anders, James McDivitt and Richard Gordon who flew other Apollo flights, ABC News reported.

The US flag was lowered across the country on orders of Barack Obama to mark the funeral and a public memorial would be held in Washington on 12 September for the first man on the Moon.

Armstrong, 82, died on 25 August of complications from recent cardiovascular surgery.

For Armstrong, flying had been a passion ever since his first flight in a Ford Trimotor at the age of six, in Warren, Ohio, in 1936.

He later became a fighter pilot in the US navy and took part in the Korean War before joining the U.S. space program. He also served as a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics High Speed Flight Station.

"That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind," said Armstrong upon landing on the surface of the Moon, marking man's first visit to the surface of another planet.

"Neil was among the greatest of American heroes - not just of his time, but of all time," said President Barack Obama earlier.

Over 500 million television viewers around the world witnessed the moment when he touched down on the Moon.

Armstrong remained a modest person and shunned the fame and glamour that space exploration might have brought.

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