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. On the back of the photo is written: "Medaris".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
