Call Number:

C1679

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 5 linear feet
• 7 boxes

Language:

English

Date:

1947-1957 (inclusive) and 1950-1952 (bulk)

Creator:

Stark, Warren Alfred, 1928-2011

Form:

Correspondence -- 20th century and photographs -- 20th century

Abstract:

Consists of correspondence, photographs, newspapers, and ephemera belonging to missile researcher Warren Alfred Stark that document his time in the United States Army at the White Sands Proving Grounds in New Mexico during the Korean War and the early years of the Cold War. The majority of the collection consists of correspondence between Warren Stark and Jean Anne Baldwin Stark (1928-1999), his girlfriend and later wife, and other family members and close friends.

Warren Alfred Stark (1928-2011) was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Elizabeth (Mary) Adele Stark and Peter Joseph Stark. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Pratt Institute in 1949 and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from New York University in 1956. During the Korean War, Stark was stationed with the 1st Ordnance Guided Missile Support Battalion at White Sands Proving Grounds, New Mexico, where he worked on the development and testing of the V-2 rocket and other guided missile programs as part of a group of engineers colloquially referred to as "Broomstick Scientists." Following his military service, Stark spent the rest of his career working in the aerospace industry for Reaction Motors, Thiokol Chemical, Grumman Aerospace Corporation, Allied-Signal/Bendix, and General Electric's Astro-Space Division, retiring in 1995. He married Jean Anne Baldwin Stark (1928-1999), with whom he had two children, Lisa Stark Walsh and Peter Stark. He later married Carmela Stark.

Consists of correspondence, photographs, newspapers, and ephemera belonging to missile researcher Warren Alfred Stark that document his time in the United States Army at the White Sands Proving Grounds in New Mexico, including detials on the Terrier Missile Program, during the Korean War and the early years of the Cold War. The majority of the collection consists of correspondence between Warren Stark and Jean Anne Baldwin Stark (1928-1999), his girlfriend and later wife, and other family members and close friends.

The correspondence includes letters from Warren Stark to Jean Stark, mostly from White Sands, New Mexico, with others from Fort Dix, New Jersey, where he completed basic training, and the William Beaumont Army Hospital in El Paso, Texas, where he was briefly hospitalized due to a ruptured appendix. There are also letters from Jean to Warren Stark as well as letters to Warreb and Jean from various family members and friends.

While the correspondence also pertains to personal matters, Warren Stark's letters provide detailed descriptions of his experiences at White Sands Proving Grounds during his service in the 1st Ordnance Guided Missile Support Battalion, whose members were colloquially referred to as "Broomstick Scientists." This group comprised men with advanced education in science and engineering who were drafted by the United States Army and assigned to work on the development and testing of V-2 rockets and other missiles. Stark's letters discuss the grounds of the military base, security precautions, his daily routine, the command structure, missile tests being conducted, and technical matters related to engineering and rocketry. In one long letter, dated March 8th, 1951, he provides sketches of the base and describes a V-2 rocket launch he observed. The correspondence also provides insights into Warren and Jean Stark's relationship via discussions of wedding planning, health matters, family disputes, religion, and other topics.

Many of the letters, especially those from Warren Stark, include numerous enclosures such as newspaper and magazine clippings, Catholic devotional booklets, lists, and other ephemera, and there are also several issues of the White Sands Missile Range's newspaper, Wind and Sand. The collection also includes several dozen photographs, a few of which depict V-2 and other rocket launches at White Sands Proving Grounds, though the majority document the Armed Forces Day Parade in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on May 17th, 1952. There is also one 1947 photograph of Stark's class at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, with surnames written on the back.

Materials are grouped by type/genre based on how the materials arrived to the library from the dealer.