James Webb - Arthur Raymond Correspondence

James E. Webb (1906 -1992) received an A.B. degree from the University of North Carolina in 1928. Webb joined the United States Marine Corps in 1930 and completed naval aviator training at the United States Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. In 1936, he was admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia after completing evening law courses at George Washington University and began his government career as a secretary to Representative Edward W. Pou of North Carolina. From 1936 to 1943 Webb held several executive positions at Sperry Gyroscope, but returned to the Marine Corps during World War II, where he served as commander of an aviation wing. After the war Webb worked in the United States Treasury Department, was appointed Director of the Budget by President Truman, and in 1949 he was reassigned by presidential appointment to the State Department where he served as Undersecretary of State. Webb left the State Department in 1952, and worked in the private sector for such companies as Kerr-McGee Oil Industries of Oklahoma, and as director of McDonnell Aircraft and president of Educational Services Incorporated. In 1961 Webb returned to the government when he was appointed Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In almost eight years of service Webb led NASA as it expanded from an agency with 17,000 employees and a {dollar}900 million budget to an agency with 34,000 employees and a {dollar}5.2 billion budget. During Webb's administration NASA successfully carried out Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Ranger, Surveyor, Lunar Orbiter, Nimbus, Tiros, and a host of other scientific and engineering programs.

Arthur Raymond (1899-1999) was the Chief Engineer at Douglas and his team built the DC-3. After retiring from Douglas in 1960, Mr. Raymond was a special consultant to James E. Webb, NASA's administrator. Raymond was put in charge of supervising outside contractors on both the Gemini and Apollo space projects until 1969. In November 1991, Raymond received the National Air and Space Museum Trophy for lifetime achievement.