How did a scientist who came from China in 1935 become a US Army Colonel by 1945?

Upvote:-1

A colonel was originally a "column" commander. That is the highest ranking officer who will command "pure" columns of say, infantry, cavalry, or artillery.* That would be opposed to a general (or general officer), who is someone who commands "mixed" or combined arms units. In Qian's case, his "column" was rocketry, and he was at the top of his specialty, which is why he was made a colonel, and not some other rank. On the other hand, Leslie Groves who directed the Manhattan Project, was (initially) a (brigadier) general.

The U.S. military will from time to time employ people from outside to fill specialist roles that are deemed "mission critical." This includes foreigners and even former enemies. For instance, Wernher von Braun himself was employed first by the U.S. Army, and later by NASA after World War II. In Qian's case, it helped that he was a citizen of an allied country, China, and that his appointment was temporary, as Schwern pointed out.

*This would be for American, and other non- western European usage, as noted in the link in the first sentence. A commenter pointed out that by about 1800 CE, the western (and in some cases central) European usage was for "columns" to be larger bodies of soldiers commanded by the American equivalent of Major Generals, or what the Americans would call "division" commanders.

Upvote:11

There are perhaps some missing pieces here.

  1. He was a temporary colonel.
  2. Non-citizens are allowed to serve in the US military.
  3. China was a US ally.

He was a Chinese citizen living and working in the US with a doctorate from Caltech. He was hailed as a genius, and his work in jet propulsion made him very valuable to the US war effort.

Qian Xuesen was twenty-four years old in 1935, a fresh graduate of Shanghai Jiaotong University, when he used a scholarship to get to M.I.T. A year later, he moved to Caltech to earn his doctorate, and Theodore von Karman, a legendary Caltech professor, pronounced Qian an “undisputed genius.” When the U.S. went to war, he joined American scientists in the study of jet propulsion, and helped produce technology to counter German rockets. Then he joined the Manhattan Project.

Source: New Yorker, The Two Lives of Qian Xuesen

Mr. Qian served on the United States government’s Science Advisory Board during World War II. On the war front in Germany, he advised the Army on ballistic-missile guidance technology. At the war’s end, holding the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel, he debriefed Nazi scientists, including Werner von Braun, and was sent to analyze Hitler’s V-2 rocket facilities.

Source: NY Times, Qian Xuesen, Father of China’s Space Program, Dies at 98

My speculation is his job of debriefing Nazi scientists and inspecting German rocket facilities would involve moving around Europe and working with the US military, and that would be easier if he held the rank of Colonel.

Tragically, after Communists took over China he was accused of being a Communist on the thinnest of evidence and deported. He would go on to develop China's rocket industry.

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