Wernher von Braun

Wernher von Braun was the chief rocket engineer of the V-2 program at Peenemünde during the Second World War, an architect of weapons fired by the Nazi regime against London, Antwerp, and other Allied cities. After the war he was relocated to the United States under Operation Paperclip, where he worked first at the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, and later as director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (1960-1970). At Marshall he led development of the Saturn V, the launch vehicle that carried Apollo 11 to the Moon in July 1969 ^[1] Source 1 Wikipedia, Wernher von Braun Website .

He retired from NASA in 1972 and moved to Northern Virginia, settling at 816 Vicar Lane Place 816 Vicar Lane Cul-de-sac suburban house off Quaker Lane that was the residence of from his 1970 NASA retirement until his death at Alexandria Hospital on June 16, 1977. in Alexandria — a cul-de-sac off Quaker Lane directly across from 3737 Seminary Road Place 3737 Seminary Road Episcopal theological seminary founded in Alexandria in 1823 and relocated to its present hilltop campus in 1827. Occupied by Union forces during the Civil War and used as a … . He and his wife Maria reportedly looked at fifty properties before choosing the house. He died of pancreatic cancer at Alexandria Hospital on June 16, 1977 and is buried at 2823 King Street Place 2823 King Street Garden cemetery established 1856 on the western edge of Alexandria; among its interments are several mayors and Confederate veterans. NRHP-listed 2025. ; his gravestone bears Psalm 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” ^[2] Source 2 Mount Vernon Gazette, 'Space-Struck Resident,' 2012 Article ^[1] Source 1 Wikipedia, Wernher von Braun Website .

Per spec sec 11.2 the platform documents his actions factually with citations, including his Peenemünde role; we neither lionize the Apollo achievement nor minimize the wartime weapons program. The proximity of his Alexandria home to the Episcopal seminary and his Episcopal-inflected funeral service are matters of public record.