Joseph S. Bleymaier

Joseph Sylvester Bleymaier (31 December 1915 – 10 October 1998) was a major general in the United States Air Force (USAF). He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1941, and flew 25 combat missions in the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II.

As a senior officer with the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division in the late 1950s, he was responsible for the development and integration of propulsion, guidance and reentry vehicle subsystems of the Atlas, Titan and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles. As deputy commander for launch vehicles of the Space Systems Division, he was responsible for the development of launch facilities for the military space program, and supported the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ranger program and Project Mercury, and the US Navy's Transit satellite navigation program.

In November 1961 he became the system program director of Air Force Program 624A (the Titan III) and 623A (Large Solid Motor Development), and deputy commander of the Space Systems Division for Manned Systems. He commanded of the Air Force Western Test Range from 1965 to 1967, when he became the Manned Orbiting Laboratory Systems Office in the Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO).

Early life

Joseph Sylvester Bleymaier was born in Austin, Texas, on 31 December 1915, the son of Jacob Bleymaier and his wife Mary Ann Frish, two immigrants from Germany. Jacob was in charge of the athletic grounds at the University of Texas, from which Bleymaier received a Bachelor of Arts in business administration in 1937.

World War II In May 1941, Bleymaier enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. He married Rosemary Matthias on 25 June 1941.

In October 1958, Bleymaier moved to the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division in Los Angeles, California, as head of its Subsystems Directorate. assistant for subsystems development. He became the Ballistic Missile Division's assistant commander for Subsystems in December 1958, and then its deputy commander for ballistic missiles in May 1959. In this capacity he was responsible for the development and integration of propulsion, guidance and reentry vehicle subsystems of the Atlas, Titan and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles. and the Air Medal with an oak leaf cluster. headquartered in Boise, Idaho. As head of the US offices of the Morrison–Knudsen Saudi-Arabia Consortium, he oversaw construction of facilities at King Khalid Military City in Saudi Arabia. He died on 10 October 1998,

Youngest son Gene was a collegiate athletic director at Boise State and San Jose State, best known for installing the first blue AstroTurf at BSU's Bronco Stadium in 1986. He played college football at UCLA as a tight end (1972–1974), and graduated from law school at Loyola Marymount in 1978.

Dates of rank