Werner von Braun

Werner von Braun

EL INGENIERO ALEMÁN QUE NOS LLEVO A LA LUNA

"It was deep in Austria, and with the swift collapse of the German Army, a flood of civilian and Wehrmacht personnel came pouring through the Tyrolean mountain passes seeking to surrender.  Suddenly a young German came to members of Anti-tank Company, 324th Infantry and announced that the inventor of the deadly V-2 rocket bomb was a few hundred yards away—and wanted to come through the lines and surrender. The young German's name was Magnus von Braun, and he claimed that his brother Werner, was the inventor of the V-2 bomb. Pfc Fred Schneikert, Sheboygan, Wis., an interpreter, listened to the tale and said just what the rest of the infantrymen were thinking, 'I think you're nuts,' he told von Braun, 'but we'll investigate.' Then a hectic night of interrogation, plans and counter-proposals followed as the Germans, even in defeat, tried to act like big-shots. Finally Magnus went out and in a short time returned with his brother,  Maj. Gen. Walther Dornberger of the German General Staff, and a dozen Fritz scientists. Later developments showed that the party captured by the 324th Anti-tankers had been the key personnel at the great German research center at Peenemunde on the Baltic Sea ... but the dough-boys weren't impressed and their 'distinguished' prisoners were soon cooling their heels in a 44th POW enclosure."

 





At 9:32 a.m. EDT, the swing arms move away and a plume of flame signals the liftoff of the Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle and astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A.