Various correspondence with David Bowman from 1989 to 1991.
Courts-martial and courts of inquiry--United States
Defense information, Classified
Intermediate-range ballistic missiles
Jupiter missile
Leaks (Disclosure of information)
Huntsville (Ala.)
Madison County (Ala.)
Washington (D.C.)
These letters to David Bowman, reporter and editorial writer, all pertain to Bowman's story about Colonel John Nickerson. The first letter includes foot notes and states that he sent a copy of the story to a Washington Post writer. The second letter contains additional information relating to the missile program that may be helpful for the story and a diagram of the original prototype for the Explorer I earth satellite. This set of letters also includes the original letter from David Bowman to Brig. Gen. Harold W. Nelson in which Bowman states he finally photocopied the published transcripts of Colonel Nickerson's court martial. Nelson's reponse follows thanking Bowman for sending the series on Colonel Nickerson. The final letter from Colonel Thomas W. Sweeney includes a working bibliography on the Nickerson case and invites him to visit the Military History Institute.
Bowman, David
Green, Bill
McLain, John
Nelson, Harold
Sweeney, Thomas W.
University of Alabama in Huntsville Archives, Special Collections, and Digital Initiatives, Huntsville, Alabama
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Correspondence
Diagrams
Still Image
Text
Correspondence between David Bowman and Mary B. Dennis.
Falls Church (Va.)
Bowman writes to the U.S. Army Judiciary Clerk of Court Office to request a copy of the transcript of the Nickerson court martial proceedings. Mary B. Dennis, Deputy Clerk of Court responds that a large portion is classified and asks if he wants that material reviewed towards declassification though it would be a lengthy process. She also guides him towards other "publicably available documents" regarding the case. The following letters from Dennis regards the review of the classified transcripts of the Nickerson case and more details about the record of the trial. Bowman's second letter includes a check to pay for the transcripts and the review of the classified material. Dennis writes several more letters regarding more classified prosection exhibits and that Bowman's request to review the classified material has been denied. The final letter is the memo that states that the review has been denied from Deputy Director Robert J. Monahan.
Dennis, Mary B.
Monahan, Robert J.
Memorandums
Carlisle (Pa.)
A project of the U.S. Army Military History Institute, this contains the interview of Dr. John L. McDaniel by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph W. Camp, Jr. from 1985. The interview is about the US Army's first satellite into space. McDaniel brings up the case of Colonel Nickerson relative to the interview. This document contains only the portion of the interview that mentions Colonel Nickerson.
Camp, Joseph W., Jr.
Documents
A conversation between Lieutenant General Austin W. Betts, Colonel Henk, and Colonel Wahle, published as a part fo the US Army Military History Research Collection. This conversation details the "Army versus the Air Force difficulties in the late '50's" during the transfer of the missile and space program. This program switch was the basis of the case United States v. Colonel John C. Nickerson, Jr. as Nickerson was in charge of the program. This document contain only the portion relative to Colonel Nickerson.
Index entries under "Nickerson, John Charles, Jr."
This is a copy of an index that contains entries related to Colonel John C. Nickerson, Jr. and his court martial. The index contains entries that are found in the Army Navy Register and the Army Navy Journal.
Indexes (reference sources)
Letter to Charles F. Pfeifer from David Bowman.
Publications
New York (N.Y.)
Bowman writes to Pfeifer about a "two-pager" that he wrote, detailing its contents. He also includes several other of his resume highlights including four novels, playscripts, and other things he has written. Bowman also includes that he is the president of the Tallulah Bankhead Society, a society that honors and celebrates a 1930s actress from Alabama. Bowman is appealing to Pfeifer, a creative film manager, about his recent work on the Nickerson case.
Article from Missiles and Rockets publication.
This article, "Army 'Leak' Probe Agitates Redstone", published in the February 1957 issue, details secret information that went public in 1957 through Drew Pearson. The "leak" concerns the "Wilson Memorandum" that transfers the Army's role to the Air Force in the development and control of guided and ballistic missiles and rockets. The leak is traced back to Colonel John C. Nickerson, Jr. The article states that the "prevailing opinion is that Col. Nickerson is being made a scapegoat by persons very high up in the Army." The article further details the events that led to the court martial of Colonel Nickerson.
Magazines (periodicals)
Colonel John C. Nickerson was accused of leaking classified information after expressing anger when the missile and rocket program was transferred from the Army to the Air Force. He was tried by court martial, fined $1,500, and exiled to Panama for two years. A few years later on March 1, 1964, Nickerson and his wife, Carol, died in a car accident in New Mexico.
Photographs
Medaris assumed command of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in 1955 under which Dr. Wernher von Braun and the German Rocket Team developed the Jupiter missile in 1958.
Photo of Ray H. Jenkins surrounded by press.
Ray H. Jenkins (center) was a lawyer that, along with Robert K. Bell, Lt. Col. Charles Zimmer, and Lt. Lewis G. Cole, would make up Nickerson's defense counsel for his court martial trial. Jenkins was considered the best lawyer in East Tennessee and appeared on the cover of Time magazine on May 17, 1954 during the Army-McCarthy hearings.
Dr. Wernher von Braun was a part of the German Rocket Team that developed the Jupiter missile in 1958 under General John Bruce Medaris.
Photo of Robert K. Bell and Colonel John C. Nickerson, Jr.
Robert K. Bell (left) was an attorney based in Huntsville, Alabama. He would form a part of Nickerson's (right) defense counsel in 1957 along with Ray H. Jenkins, Lt. Col. Charles Zimmer, and Lt. Lewis G. Cole.
Two copies of a photo of Colonel John C. Nickerson, Robert K. Bell, and Ray H. Jenkins.
Pictured in this photo is Colonel Nickerson (left), Robert K. Bell (middle, standing), and Ray H. Jenkins (right).
Photo of Colonel John C. Nickerson, Jr. with his family.
Colonel John C. Nickerson married Carol Nickerson (right). Together, they had four children. Two of his children are pictured here.
Photos of Colonel John C. Nickerson, Jr. with press.
Photo of Ernst Stuhlinger speaking to the press.
Stuhlinger, Ernst, 1913-2008
Photo of General John Bruce Medaris, Dr. Wernher von Braun, and associates.
On back: "Key associates of vonBraun.Dr., pose with Maj. General. Medaris, J.B., immediately prior to the latters retirement from the Army in the fall of 1959.
On back written in pencil: "Dr. Wernher von Braun".