Bernard Adolph Schriever General Bernard Adolph Schriever ( September 14 , 1910 – June 20 , 2005 ) , also known as Bennie Schriever , was a United States Air Force general . He was born in Bremen , Germany , and after immigrating to the United States , played a major role in the U . S . Air Force programs for space and ballistic missile research . Early years . Bernard Adolph Schriever was born in Bremen , Germany . His father was an engineering officer on a German ship which was interned in New York Harbor in 1916 . His mother , Elizabeth , was able to get passage for herself and her two sons aboard a Dutch freighter bound for New York so that she could rejoin her husband . The family arrived in January 1917 , just before the United States entered the war . Schriever and his family moved to New Braunfels , Texas , a community with a large German - speaking population , and then later to San Antonio , Texas . His father died in an accident in 1918 , leaving Schriever and his brother in foster care until his grandmother was able to come from Germany to take care of them so that their mother could work . Schriever became a naturalized citizen in 1923 . He earned a Bachelor of Science from Texas A & M University in 1931 while participating in the school ' s Corps of Cadets . He received a commission in the Army artillery , but in July 1932 began flight training at Randolph Field . He was commissioned into the Army Air Corps in June 1933 . He served in Panama where he was an aide to Brigadier General George H . Brett . He met , wooed , and married the General ' s eldest daughter , Dora Devol Brett . Career . After serving in Panama at Albrook Field , Schriever was forced out of the Air Corps in 1937 due to budget cuts and became a pilot with Northwest Airlines . The following year he rejoined the military , becoming a test pilot . He graduated from the Air Corps Engineering School in July 1941 , and received an Master of Arts in aeronautical engineering from Stanford University in 1942 , also receiving a promotion to the rank of major . Although Schriever had requested to be transferred to a combat zone after the bombing of Pearl Harbor launched the US into World War II , his request was not approved until after his studies were completed . In July 1942 he was assigned to the 19th Bomb Group in the Pacific theater as a bomber pilot . When his unit was reassigned to the States in 1943 , Schriever moved to the 5th Air Force Service Command where he eventually became commanding officer of advanced headquarters for the Far East Air Service Command , serving under General Curtis LeMay . This meant he was now in charge of maintenance for bases in New Guinea , Leyte , Manila , and Okinawa , Japan . By the end of the war he had worked his way to Colonel . After the war ended , Schriever reported to the Army Air Forces Headquarters , serving in various capacities for much of the next decade . In this time he also graduated from the National War College , and earned a promotion to Brigadier General . In 1954 he headed a group of USAF officers who formed the Western Development Division under the Air Research Development Command . This division was responsible for creating the intercontinental ballistic missile , among others . The research also led to breakthroughs that allowed satellites to be launched into space . Schriever ’ s work often brought him into conflict with the “ manned ” Air Force , especially his former commanding officer , Gen . Curtis LeMay . LeMay opposed Schriever ’ s development of rockets as strategic weapons delivery systems , believing that rockets deflected valuable resources , manpower , and funding away from LeMay ’ s manned bomber aircraft . LeMay believed that American nuclear superiority over ( or at least parity with ) the Soviet Union could only be maintained by the continued development and deployment of larger , faster , and more powerful manned bombers . After Schriever received the four stars of a full general , LeMay pointedly informed him that had it been up to LeMay , Schriever " would not have been wearing those " . Schriever was promoted to full general on July 1 , 1961 and became commander of a new organization , the Air Force Systems Command , which was responsible for acquiring all missiles . By 1963 , he oversaw 40 percent of the Air Force budget . Later years . He retired in 1966 , although he continued to act as an advisor for various corporate and government clients . In honor of his service , on June 5 , 1998 , Schriever Air Force Base was named for him . He was awarded the Delmer S . Fahrney Medal in 1982 . General Schriever ' s first marriage to Dora Devol Brett ended in divorce . On October 5 , 1997 Schriever married his second wife , popular singer Joni James . He had three children — Brett , Dodie , and Barbara — from his first marriage to Dora Devol Brett , daughter of Lt . General George H . Brett . In 2004 , the Space Foundation awarded General Schriever its highest honor , the General James E . Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award , which is presented annually to recognize outstanding individuals who have distinguished themselves through lifetime contributions to the welfare or betterment of humankind through the exploration , development and use of space , or the use of space technology , information , themes or resources in academic , cultural , industrial or other pursuits of broad benefit to humanity . General Schriever died on June 20 , 2005 at the age of 94 from complications of pneumonia .