Many gave him the sobriquet the “Rocket Man,” the one who developed theSaturn V rocket that put six teams of American astronauts on the moon from 1969to 1972. He was the father and superstar of our space program.

Werhner von Braun and three others flew from Huntsville, Alabama toWalnut Ridge AFB, where they drove to Jonesboro on December 26, 1959. The four traveled to Wallace Claypool's legendary and famous Wild Acres, located near Weiner, Arkansas,where Claypool told Von Braun they would hunt tomorrow in his favorite hole: “HotSpot.”

Monday morning at the clubhouse, von Braun said with so muchanticipation and eagerness, “I can hardly wait. This will do us some good. Let’sget it done. It will be shooting time before we know it.” Von Braun, Wallace Claypool, “MissSally,” Wallace's wife and also manager of the clubhouse,” and Claypool’s Lab George went to the green-timberhole Hot Spot, later painted by the famous artist Maynard Reese. The other elevenhunters split into three groups, each with one of Claypool’s and Miss Sally’sLabrador retrievers—Ike, Rip, and Buck, the latter being the son of Winchester-WesternJohn Olin’s Buck on the 1959 Federal Duck Stamp, the first and only time a dogever appeared on a U.S. duck stamp.

Beneath a clear blue sky with a morning temperature of 39 degrees, Claypool’sand Miss Sally’s calling had the ducks helicoptering down through the timber,where Von Braun made some very skillful and tough shots among the limbs. Hisshooting with his Browning Auto 5, 12-gauge was “uncanny,” knocking down alimit of four mallards with his first four shots. Soon thereafter, Claypooland Sally got mallard limits, shooting Winchester Model 12 pumps, while theothers returned with their limits.

At the clubhouse, he remarked earnestly, “I had more fun shootingtoday than ever before. This hunt was fantastic. Getting away to Wild Acres,which has become famous across the nation, you just leave all your stressbehind. This couldn’t have come at a better time. We have been so busy thatthere has been no occasion where we could escape from the pressure. I can’twait until our hunt tomorrow. Miss Sally is one of the finest shooters and duckcallers I have ever been around. ‘Clay’ taught her well.”