The United States Army | Redstone Arsenal Historical Information

MG John A. Barclay

Major General John A. Barclay was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on 27 August 1909. He received his primary schooling in Salt Lake City, Utah, graduating from East High School in 1927. That same year he was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy, graduating in 1931.

He was assigned to the 15th Field Artillery, 2n Division, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, until 1934. He was then detailed to the Ordnance Corps and commanded the 2n Ordnance Company, Second Division. In 1935-36, he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received the degree of Master of Science. This was followed by a year at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, and attendance at the Ordnance Officers Course. He was also graduated from the Army Aviation School, Fort Rucker, Alabama.

General Barclay's early service with the Army Ordnance Corps was primarily in the area of troop maintenance and supply. After a tour of duty, at the Aberdeen Proving Ground as a Test Officer for Artillery weapons and ammunition, he served as the Assistant Armament Officer in the Panama Canal Zone, where he supervised the maintenance of all types of equipment up to and including 16-inch seacoast guns.

At the beginning of World War II General Barclay was assigned to the Supply Division, Office, Chief of Ordnance, Washington, D.C. He continued supply assignments at Detroit, Michigan, and Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois until transferred to the China Theater in early 1945. He served as the Ordnance Staff Officer to General Wedemeyer in China until the deactivation of that headquarters. He was them a member of the group under Brigadier General Francis E. Brink, who planned and organized the Military Advisory Group to China. He remained with the Military Advisory Group until re-assigned to the Embassy Executive Office in China.

After World War II, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College, and upon graduation was assigned Executive Officer, Ballistic Research Laboratories, Aberdeen Proving Ground. There, he became heavily involved in the development of the first computer known as ENIAC. The ENIAC was the first electronic digital computer.

ENIAC

He later attended the National War College and was assigned Executive Officer, Research and Development Division, Office, Chief of Ordnance until 1954. In 1954 he was appointed commander of the Picatinny Arsenal, the Army's research and development center for ammunition and nuclear warheads.

In May 1956, Barclay became the Deputy Commander of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), Redstone Arsenal, and served in that capacity until April 1958, when he assumed command of the agency. In April 1960, he was appointed Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC), RSA, and in May 1960, he was promoted to Major General. He remained in this position until his retirement on 23 June 1961.

General Barclay also distinguished himself in Redstone Arsenal history in 1958 by being the second of Redstone Arsenal's highest ranking officers to win his pilot's wings.

General Barclay died in 1983. The funeral service was held at Redstone Arsenal's Bicentennial Chapel and was officiated by the Reverend John B. Medaris, a retired Major General who also commanded ABMA. It was noted at the service that shortly before his retirement, Dr. Wernher von Braun said "Without him there would have been no REDSTONE missile, no MERCURY-REDSTONE rocket, and no American astronaut in Space." Barclay was inducted into the Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame on 10 May 1985.