Hellcat News, (Fullerton, Calif.), Vol. 57, No. 11, Ed. 1, July 2004 Page: 1 of 20
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★ Rhineland
★ Ardennes-Alsace
★ Central Europe
HELLCAT NEWS
Published by the
12th Armored
Division Association
VOL. 57
JULY 2004
NO. 11
HELLCAT
HISTORY
12
ARMORED
DIVISION
Edward Waszak, Historian
4222 Drake Dr., Crystal Lake IL 60012-2018
Phone (815) 455-2446 E-maii: EDZAK44@A0L.com
The Capture of Wernher von Braun
Today most people know of Wernher von Braun, the famous
German rocket and space scientist, but let us go back 59 years to
April-May 1945.
Who, among the officers and enlisted men, knew of the notorious
German civilian that was the brains behind the development of the
V-2 Rocket? I would guess that most of the U.S. troops on the front
lines were looking for uniformed Nazis, trying to get them to
surrender and not bothering to get their names and generally ignor-
ing the civilians.
But who was this important Wernher von Braun? Wernher von
Braun was the second of three children of Magnus von Braun and
his wife Emmy Quistorp. Father von Braun was a government
administrator. Wernher was born on March 23, 1912, in Wirsitz,
Posen. His younger brother, Magnus, Jr., was born on May 10,
1919.
At an early age, Wernher became very interested in space ex-
ploration and rocketry by reading the science fiction of Jules Vern
and H. G. Wells. His favorite was the classic study of Herman
Oberth, "Die Rakete zu den Planetenraumen" (By Rocket to
Space), that was the important article of its time.
Who really did capture Wernhner von Braun on May 2> 1945,
some Navy captain, or some unknown soldier from the 714?
We'll probably never know for sure.
Wernher studied trigonometry, calculus and physics so he could
understand the science of rocketry. From his teenage years, he had
been interested in spaceflight. As early as 1929, he had been a
member of "Verein fur Raumschiffarht" (VfR), a German rocket
society.
At the age of 20, von Braun received his bachelors degree from
the Berlin Institute of Technology and two years later, he got his
Doctorate in Physics from the University of Berlin. In order to
further his dream of space and rockets, in 1932 he went to work for
the German army to develop ballistic missiles. While working for
the military, he also continued his education and in 1934 he
received a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering.
By 1934 von Braun was directing Germany's military rocket
development program at Kummersdorf, 60 miles south of Berlin.
Here, von Braun directed a team of 80 engineers designing and
building rockets. In addition to his superior scientific abilities, he
was also a natural-born leader and an able negotiator.
With the success of two major rocket systems, von Braun pro-
posed to add work on jet-assisted aircraft and rocket fighter planes.
His request was granted and the entire "Rocket Team" was re-
located to a larger facility at Peenemunde on the Baltic coast.
Work continued at Peenemunde with Hitler demanding larger
rocket bombs and von Braun pre-occupied with space travel.
(continued on page 3)
56TH ARMORED INFANTRY BATTALION
Frank Barndollar, 102 Sparrow St., Keene, NH 03431
Phone (603) 352-3388 E-mail: fbarndollar@top.monad.net
What's the old saying: Bad luck always comes in threes. Like a
strike out, three of them and you are out of there. And so it has been
here. Despite the gorgeous spring weather, a black and destructive
cloud has been hanging over my head. It struck three times.
1 - My computer had a major dysfunction, it crashed.
2 - My fax machine, shortly before the computer disaster, also
had a failure of serious proportions. It stopped working.
3 - The material I had gathered for this column is still AWOL,
lodged, somewhere in the 50 to 60 packing boxes that it took in the
family's move from Fox Circle to 102 Sparrow Street. We have
many boxes still to unpack, but have yet to find the notes and
clippings I had saved for this column.
Rest assured you will read them in next month's report, because
they ARE there somewhere.
But this column looks like it will be shorter than usual and photos
may not be so numerous. I have a few reports that have come in, but
I wish I could give you more details on the reunion in Abilene,
Sept. 15-19, 2004.
However, make your reservations, both at the hotel and for the
reunion itself, and trust me and trust the hard work the 12th
Armored members have done, that it will work out. Registration
forms are elsewhere in this issue, so make your reservations.
I do have some second-hand information on the reunion which I
will pass on to you.
Information on the battalion dinner, scheduled for Friday
evening, Sept. 17, is skimpy at the time this is being written. There
will be one, trust me on that.
The details indicate that it will be a buffet, and although nothing
definite has reached my desk, it appears it will cost in the early 20s,
dollars, that is. One Unit Rep has listed a buffet for the dinner and
is asking $22.50 per person. Any difference in the final cost will be
settled at the dinner, or later at the reunion.
It also appears, at this time, that battalions will have to pay for
the hospitality room. I'm assuming the unit dinner will be at the
Ambassador Suites, headquarters for the reunion.
Because of the failure of my computer, with a loss of consider-
able data and down time, I may have missed some of the specifics
of the banquet. But like the Hellcats of many years ago. we shall
prevail!
Floyd Vanderhoef [A] has registered for the reunion in Abilene,
and, looking ahead, he is planning on attending the 2005 reunion in
Tulsa, OK. And why not? It's just a three-hour drive down Interstate
44 from his home in Monet, MO.
(continued on page 4)
Your Editor Apologizes
Between my computer crashing, and boxing up and sub-
sequently losing things in our move, this issue of the HCN is
missing such items as the 23rd, 44th and 82nd columns, the
President's Message, and the "In Memoriam" page. In other
words, my dog ate my homework. Really. Hopefully all will be
straightened out before the August issue rolls around. Oh yes,
my fax machine bit the dust also.
With apologies, Frank Barndollar, editor
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Twelfth Armored Division Association (U.S.). Hellcat News, (Fullerton, Calif.), Vol. 57, No. 11, Ed. 1, July 2004, newspaper, July 2004; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth410537/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum.