Bernard Adolph Schriever
United States Air Force general
Died when: 94 years 279 days (1137 months)Star Sign: Virgo
Bernard Adolph Schriever (14 September 1910 – 20 June 2005), also known as Bennie Schriever, was a United States Air Force general who played a major role in the Air Force's space and ballistic missile programs.
Born in Bremen, Germany, Schriever immigrated to the United States as a boy and became a naturalized US citizen in 1923.
He graduated from Texas A&M in 1931, and was commissioned as a reserve second lieutenant in the U.S.Army.
He transferred to the United States Army Air Corps and was awarded his wings and a commission as a reservist second lieutenant in 1933.
In 1937, he was released from active duty at his own request and became a pilot with Northwest Airlines, but he returned to the Air Corps with a regular commission in 1938.
During World War II, Schriever received a Master of Arts in aeronautical engineering from Stanford University in June 1942, and was sent to the Southwest Pacific Area, where he flew combat missions as a bomber pilot with the 19th Bombardment Group until it returned to the United States in 1943.
He remained in Australia as chief of the maintenance and engineering division of the Fifth Air Force Service Command until the end of the war.
After the war, Schriever joined the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) headquarters at the Pentagon as chief of the Scientific Liaison Branch in the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Materiel.
In 1954, Schriever became head of the Western Development Division (WDD), a special agency created to manage the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) development effort.
There he directed the development of the Atlas, Thor, Titan and Minuteman missiles.In 1959, he became commander of Air Research and Development Command (ARDC), and in 1961, of the Air Force Systems Command.
He retired in 1966.
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