THE FATHER OF THE U.S. SPACE PROGRAM ~ BORN ON THIS DATE IN 1912

 Wernher_von_Braun,_German_rocket_pioneer-SPL

Wernher von Braun  was a German born rocket scientist, engineer, space architect,
and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Germany  
and the United States during and after World War ll. A former member of the Nazi  
Party and a commissioned SS officer, von Braun would later be regarded as the 
preeminent rocket engineer of the 20th century in his role with the U.S. civilian
space agency NASA. In 1955, ten years after entering this country, Von Braun
became a naturalized citizen. He lead the development of the Saturn V booster
rocket that helped land the first men on the Moon in 1969. Von Braun received the
National Medal of Science in 1975. He died on June 16, 1977 of pancreatic cancer 
at the age of 65. 

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life  werner von braun

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COMEDIAN MARTY ALLEN ~ 89 TODAY

 MartyAllen main

Marty Allen  is a popular stand-up comedian and actor. He has worked as a comedy
headliner in night clubs and as a dramatic actor in TV roles .He joined the Air Corps
during World War ll and earned a Soldier’s Medal for his bravery during a fire which happened while a plane was being refueled.

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Marty in 1960

Marty One

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ROBERT CONRAD ~ 76 TODAY

Robert Conrad 2010l

Actor Robert Conrad is best known for his role in the CBS-TV series The
Wild Wild West
(1965 – 1969) , in which he played the sophisticated Secret
Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II flying ace Pappy Boyington in the NBC-TV series Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976 – 1978). He was
a recording artist of pop/rock songs in the early 1960s as Bob Conrad before
he started acting. He currently hosts a weekly 2 hour national radio show
called “The PM Show with Robert Conrad” heard on CRN Digital Talk Radio.  
 

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Robert Conrad with co-star Ross Martin (left) 

Baa_Baa_Black_Sheep_(TV_series)__Pappy__Boyington
Robert Conrad in Baa Baa Black Sheep

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THE BATTLE OF IWO JIMA BEGAN ON THIS DATE IN 1945

Navy Landing Craft iwo jima
The invasion of Iwo Jima continued to March 26, 1945. The battle was a major initiative
of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The Marine invasion, known as Operation Detachment, was charged with the mission of capturing the airfields on the island
which up until that time had interfered with U.S. bombing missions to Tokyo. Once
the bases were secured, they could then be of use in the impending invasion of
the Japanese mainland.  

IWO-Jima

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U.S. Marines on the beach of Iwo Jima

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Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima  taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal

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WORLD’S FIRST COMPUTER MADE PUBLIC ON THIS DATE IN 1946

eniac makers 
Left to right above are John W. Mauchly and John P. Eckert

ENIAC short for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, was the world’s
first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems. ENIAC was designed to calculate artillery firing data for the U.S. Army’s Ballistic Research Laboratory. The computer was conceived and designed by John W. Mauchly and John P. Eckert
(photo above) of the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical
Engineering. The project was financed by the U.S. Army during World War ll.

ENIAC02
eniac_spl_416
ENIAC 
Above are photos of the ENIAC and programmers at the University of Pennsylvania

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