Rock bottom came when Aldrin, in a drunken rage, was arrested for smashing in the door of his girlfriend's apartment. Unfortunately, Aldrin was too honest with people to be a convincing salesman, and he spent much of his time on the job signing autographs and regaling clientele with anecdotes of his NASA days. He found a solid support system through AA, at least, with one member helping him land a job as a Cadillac dealer in Beverly Hills. By the end of 1976, he was headed for his second divorce. Times article titled, "Troubled Odyssey – 'Buzz' Aldrin's Saga: Tough Role for Hero."īut Aldrin soon fell off the wagon again, leading to his first extensive involvement with Alcoholics Anonymous. Shortly before he formally retired from the Air Force on March 1, 1972, Aldrin publicly revealed his difficulties in an L.A. Aldrin publicly revealed his personal struggles It was enlightening, but Aldrin wasn't yet ready to explore the problem that went hand-in-hand with depression – one that had led him to stash a bottle of Scotch in his baggage for the trip.Īldrin returned to Edwards in late fall in a better state of mind, but a couple of test plane crashes sealed his fate at the school, and he agreed to step down as commandant after nine months on the job.
Taking leave to check into Brooks, ostensibly for his physical pains, Aldrin finally had the opportunity to open up about the aimlessness that had engulfed him for nearly two years and delve into deeper-rooted problems, including the pressures of pleasing his father and a family history of mental illness that included the suicides of his mother and grandfather.