Conversations: 1950

December 21, 1950

MEMORANDUM FOR THE FILE

SUBJECT: Conversation with Dr. Theodore von Karman.

Dr. H. P. Robertson having especially urged me to do so I yesterday afternoon called on Dr. Theodore von Karman at the Pentagon where he is spending a few days on one of his periodic visits. He is Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and is of course a distinguished scientist-of international repute and achievement. He is a professor of aeronautical matters at California Institute Technology. He is about 70 years of age but looks and behaves in a sprightly manner far less than his years. And I had a most interesting and delightful visit with him.

He agrees enthusiastically on the idea of a Scientific Adviser to the President and fully on a new OSRD-type organization as defined in my Memorandum to the President of December 18, 1950, which he read in my presence. He also read and retained a copy of the unclassified October 19 Memorandum to the President constituting my basic precept.

As to names for the Scientific adviser he suggested DuBridge and Oppenheimer. I asked him about Kelly and he spoke very favorably of him, returning to it from time to time and nodding and saying, yes, Kelly, a very good idea. He mentioned also names of Rabi and Bronk but discarded them for various reasons.

He gave me a copy of a one-page memorandum dated December 19, which he had given to Deputy Secretary of Defense Lovett the previous day. In this memorandum he proposes the establishment of a scientific liaison unit to be attached to General Eisenhower’s staff in the Supreme Command of the European Army. The idea is described in the memo filed under his name and is based on the existence of research and development commands in each of the military departments of the friendly European nations and on his belief that valuable brains and laboratory facilities exist here and that effective work is being done which it would be worth our while to know more about, and further which could perhaps be directed into more useful channels or modifications if a regular channel of intercommunications existed. His thought is that a few scientifically trained officers plus a few civilian scientists, preferably more mature ones who had passed their productive period but would be especially valuable for this kind of liaison work, should be established as indicated in General Eisenhower’s command. The security problem would of course be a difficult one, or rather one which would have to be very carefully born in mind. He would like to discuss this with Eisenhower whom he has never met. He said he had talked with General Phillips, the USAF Secretary in the RDB, about this matter and it intrigued the latter considerably. I suggested that he ought to talk with Robert Oppenheimer and Bob Robertson and Under Secretary of State Webb.

While I was in the office Colonel Balchen, a polar explorer, came in and we talked briefly. He said he is now stationed in Alaska in the Air Force. He had been very active, I was told this morning by Dr. Lloyd Berkner, in the Norwegian underground movement during World War II and had played a part in the blowing up of the heavy water plant during the Nazi occupation. He also had some relationship to a Norwegian airline at one time.

In connection with the scientific liaison matter mentioned above I suggested to Dr. von Karman that [Atomic Energy Commissioner] Lewis Strauss might be interested and that young Lewis H. Strauss might be a person to attach to the staff, either in a military or a civilian capacity in view of his scientific studies and particularly the fact that he was a member of the technical mission which went to Europe in the latter part of World War II. He spoke very highly of Lewis Strauss whom he knows quite well.

William T. Golden