1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 137

 

 For today's A Madman Turns 40, we look at Wernher Von Braun. The Father of Rocket Science passed away on this day in 1977. 

Von Braun, in civilian clothes along with high ranking
Nazi officials during a rocket test, 1941.

     Von Braun is controversial figure. He developed Nazi Germany's rocket program, in particular, the very nasty V2 rocket. Von Braun also used Jewish slave labor to build the deadly tools of World War II against the Allied forces. When the US government announced in 1945 that they had assigned the rocket scientist and his associates to America in hopes of boosting our defense programs, many people were up at arms.

     Von Braun did maintain throughout his life that he was not a Nazi. He would state that he was forced to join. Failure to do so could have jeopardize not only his life but that of his family or friends. In 1946, the German would also convert to evangelical Christianity and renounce his part in the Nazi war effort. From that day forward, he would also refuse to participate in the production of American weapons. 

Von Braun surrendering to Allied agents during the
last days of WW2. He had broken his arm in a car accident a few days prior.

      Von Braun's non-violent new way of science actually wasn't too upsetting to the US military. They were in the beginning days of space exploration and actually jumped at the chance to have Von Braun head up that program. Plus, if the Army could turn his space exploration rockets into weapons later on- it was a win-win. (Although now more of dove than a hawk, the scientist did develop ideas for orbital defense against the Russians during the Cold War. Back then, a good defense against Communism wasn't considered war-like but a part of everyday survival.)

The scientist celebrating the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon,
July 1969.

      Thanks for Werhner Von Braun's efforts in the field of rocketry, the US won the space race. He helped create the Saturn V rocket that would provide enough thrust for American astronauts to enter the stratosphere. Later he would become the director of the Apollo Program, resulting in a manned moon landing in July, 1969.

       About three years later with his mission accomplished, Von Braun retired from NASA. He would work in the private sector for a few years before ultimately having to retire for good due to failing health. A life-time smoker, Von Braun would battle cancer a couple of times. Finally in 1977, he succumbed to pancreatic cancer.

       The world lost a science superstar that day. His work with rockets would go on to inspire countless TV and movies about flying rockets to the farthest reaches of space. Eventually, those shows would inspire a little-known director in Southern California to create a film about wars in space. The rest would be Madman history.

      So that's my look at my birth year for today. Come back soon when I'll discover another glimpse at my favorite year.