By Henry Hanks
(CNN) -- Neil Sobleski of Dayton, Ohio had been looking forward to it more than anything else.
"I was 4 years old in May of 1980 and already a certified 'Star Wars' maniac," he said. "I had a slew of the toys, and they were my most prized possessions".
On the fateful day when he went to see "The Empire Strikes Back," the second movie in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, Sobleski had little patience for the movie to start.
"I remember that my mom and I were going to see the movie with my aunt, and I found the wait to get to the theater at the local mall in St. Clairsville, Ohio, excruciating," he said. "After what seemed like an eternity, we were finally seated at the theater, and the familiar 'Star Wars' title logo was blazing from the screen, larger than life, with the opening crawl going by as fast as I could read it. For the next two hours, I was riveted to the screen".
There is one moment everyone remembers from the "The Empire Strikes Back" more than anything else: The revelation that Darth Vader is, in fact, Luke's father.
Then 9-year-old John Booth remembers the moment well.
"I heard from some kids that Darth Vader was Luke's father, and even though it was spoiled, it made me want to see it even more," he said.
Still, that was nothing compared to hearing Vader himself say it in the movie. He vividly remembers the reaction he and his friends had at the time. "We were just kind of frozen and just kind of gaped at each other".
For Booth, there were little moments that stood out as well, like seeing the back of Darth Vader's head. "It really creeped me out and fascinated me when I was little".
It's moments like these that left a mark on so many "Star Wars" fans.
Thirty years to the day after its release, iReporters and others are remembering what made "Empire" so special and how it's affected them to this day. Link
