Lewis: How my father helped win the space race
My father risked his life to put a man on the moon. He was not an astronaut. He never worked at NASA or as a space contractor, yet he was instrumental in the United States landing the first person on the moon. My father was a spy for the . He was a real-world “James Bond.”
At the end of World War II, Germany was divided into four controlled by the U.S., Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Our leaders knew that the German’s technical abilities relating to rocket technology were far superior and years ahead of any country in the world. The objective, originally named “Operation Paperclip,” was to bring this scientific talent to the United States to advance our military and rocket technology.
The challenge was that many of these scientists were located in the Soviet occupation zone which ultimately became East Germany. My father’s job was to recruit key individuals in East Germany and then smuggle them to West Germany so they could ultimately be moved to the U.S.
My father never talked about his job at the CIA. Much of what I learned about his role and accomplishments came years after he died. After leaving the Navy, he got an engineering degree and was recruited by the CIA. Being half German in ancestry and a savant at picking up languages, he was an ideal choice.
My parents spent almost eight years in Germany, only returning to the United States when my mom was eight months pregnant (with me) so I would be born in the U.S. 鈥� as all mothers think their kid might want to be president. I asked my dad one time if he had any close calls but he remained circumspect only noting that he did have a close call with a live-fire exercise while training at Camp Peary, also known as “.”
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Ultimately, more than forming the backbone of our space program including , a former V2 rocket scientist, who became the director of NASA.
It is hard to imagine how the world might have evolved had the U.S. not had the foresight to capitalize on the value of this talent. Would we have won the space race? Not likely. Would we have won the “?”
This story is relevant to our current times where we are now embroiled in a fight over discontinuing for key specialists. It’s both shocking and perplexing to see how our thinking has changed. The concept of getting the best and most capable people here in the U.S. has been corrupted by a misguided belief that these “immigrants” are somehow hurting the country. Nothing could be further from the truth.
One of the reasons I became an engineer and computer scientist was that I saw the opportunity. Working in technology, I quickly realized that we simply lacked the people and resources needed to maintain a U.S. lead in technology. While we tried to get more kids interested in science and technology, we still faced a huge gap between supply and demand.
The H-1B process was cumbersome and bureaucratic, but it offered a way for us to remain competitive. The only other alternative was to outsource work to other countries, weakening our competitiveness.
We are at a key moment in history where the choices we make could determine our place in the new world order. Our next “landing a man on the moon” events, like leading the way in Artificial Intelligence and other new technologies, are dependent on having the most qualified people. Make no mistake, we are in a race, just like the race to the moon.
Companies need more skilled workers, and our government should do everything possible to make that happen. This should include more incentives for students going into key fields and, I believe, an expansion of the H-1B program.
It comes down to a simple question. Do we want to be a leader or not? If so, then just like a sports team, we need to get the best and the brightest on our team.
Mark Lewis, a Colorado native, had a long career in technology, including serving as the CEO of several tech companies. He’s now retired and writes thriller novels. Mark and his wife, Lisa, and their two Australian Shepherds 鈥� Kismet and Cowboy, reside in Edwards.
