Part III: An Award from Dr. von Braun
    And beneath that letter, there is yet another that says,

"Dear Mr. Seitz,"  (This was the year before I got my Ph. D.)

          "I have just finished reading Astronautical Engineering and Science. I
would like to tell you how much I enjoyed it and how much I appreciate your
effort in making this publication possible. The great reward in this spaceflight
business is accomplishing the job with the help of people you admire and
respect--here I am speaking of people like yourself.

          "I consider it a signal honor for me tthat you have taken the time to
create this volume. Please accept my sincerest appreciation.
 

Sincerely,   (His signature)   Wernher von Braun

    At the time, it didn't mean much. But he composed that letter himself. I can
tell by the wording. Of course, it was an "Attaboy!" letter. But it's funny. We
all took it so for granted. We were so enmeshed in our daily struggles that it
was hard to feel that history was looking down upon us, even though,
intellectually, we knew that it was. I think that once the patina of age settles
upon it, our 1950's-1960's era, and the preceding epochs at Kummersdorf West and
Peenemünde, will become historic watersheds as historians illuminate from some
remove this pivotal stage at which humankind first crossed the threshold of the
final frontier. It seems as though it were yesterday, and yet, 40 years in
arrears, it's already congealing into history.