Raymond Adam Kline
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Raymond Adam Kline (September 14, 1926 – April 14, 2010) was a leading
public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
practitioner. Kline was the former President of the National Academy of Public Administration; former Deputy and Acting Administrator,
General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...
(GSA); and former Associate Administrator, Management Operations,
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
.


Early years

Kline was born in the town of New Ringgold, Pennsylvania to Rev. Raymond Adam Kline and Marie (Herb). He, and his three sisters, were raised by their mother after their father died in 1936 from respiratory complications brought on by
mustard gas Mustard gas or sulfur mustard are names commonly used for the organosulfur compound, organosulfur chemical compound bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide, which has the chemical structure S(CH2CH2Cl)2, as well as other Chemical species, species. In the wi ...
exposure in World War I. Economic circumstances after Rev. Kline's death compelled the family to move to the Lutheran Orphans Home in Topton, PA. Kline, along with his mother Marie and three sisters, Helen, Marguerite and Yvonne, lived for two years at the orphanage from 1938 to 1940. Kline attended Lebanon High School in
Lebanon, Pennsylvania Lebanon ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,814 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lebanon was founded by George Steitz in 1740 and was originally named ...
from 1941 to 1944 where he was actively involved in academic clubs and sports. After graduating high school, Kline attended the
Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...
in the Army Specialized Training Program in 1944. He then volunteered in the U.S. Army during World War II, serving in active duty as Staff Sergeant and platoon leader, 1st Division, 26th Infantry Regiment in the European theater from 1944 to 1946. While in Germany, he stood guard at the
Nuremberg trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
of
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war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
s. Kline attended Lebanon Valley College from 1946 to 1950 on the
G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...
and graduated with an A.B. degree in political science ( Pi Gamma Mu). Kline was later recalled back to the U.S. Army during the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
and served in the Military Police Corps from 1950 to 1951. After his years in military service, Kline took on various jobs including working as a police officer in
Ocean City, Maryland Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic resort city in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County, Maryland, along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 United States c ...
. Kline attended George Washington University School of Public Administration at night from 1952 to 1954 and fell short of his master's degree when he learned that his thesis topic had already been taken. His work and
law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...
superseded efforts to complete the thesis. From 1954 to 1957, Kline attended
George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...
and graduated with an LL.B. degree (
Phi Delta Phi Phi Delta Phi (), commonly known as Phid or PDP, is an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Founded in 1869 at the University of Michigan as a professional fraternity, ...
). The law degree fulfilled a promise that Kline made to his father just prior to his death. Kline was admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia in 1958. In 1959, he was admitted to Federal Bar Association. He later received Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from both
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
(1982) and Lebanon Valley College (1990).


Career

Kline enjoyed a long career in
public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...
in Washington, D.C.. His career began at the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships from 1952 to 1956. After studying law in Washington, D.C., he moved to
Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...
where he was employed by the Army Missile Command (
Redstone Arsenal Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base adjacent to Huntsville, Alabama in the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. A census-designated place in Madison County, Alabama, United States, it is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistica ...
). Kline became a Management Analyst at Army Missile Command in 1958. While in Huntsville, he taught Political Science at the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
1958–1963. He was recruited by NASA to serve as principal staff advisor to Dr. Wernher von Braun in the Executive Staff for the Management Development office during the Apollo era at the newly formed George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville from 1962 to 1968. During the time of the first United States crewed missions in space, Kline served, among other duties, as von Braun's congressional speech writer. A notable speech included the often repeated phrase "the moon is our Paris," written for the Fourth National Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Space in 1964. Kline maintained several close ties with the astronauts and staff involved in the early Moon missions. Kline moved back to the
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
suburbs of Washington, DC in a new capacity at NASA as the Associate Administrator for Management Operations from 1968 to 1979. Kline remained involved with space exploration and crewed space missions, which became a lifelong passion. After his tenure at NASA, Kline took the job of Deputy Administrator at GSA from 1979 to 1985 and was GSA's Acting Administrator 1981, 1984–1985. In 1982, Kline was awarded the Presidential rank of Distinguished Senior Executive by President Reagan. As Acting Administrator of GSA, Kline worked to restore independence of the
National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...
from GSA and directly contributed to passage of the National Archives and Records Administration Act of 1984. After his retirement in 1985 from public service after 33 years in the
Federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
, Kline became President of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), a non-partisan, nonprofit corporation established in 1967 and chartered by
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
to provide research and counsel to increase the effectiveness of American government at all levels. Kline served as NAPA's president from 1985 to 1992. During this time at NAPA, Kline appeared before several congressional committees to provide testimony on various topics. Since retirement in 1992, Kline was voted onto the board of the Kerr Foundation, a non-profit charitable and educational organization in
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
, where he served until 2009. Kline also served on other boards including the Procurement Round Table and the Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership at
American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
. Kline also holds the top awards from three federal agencies: the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the GSA Distinguished Service Award and theArchivists' Distinguished Service Award from the
National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...
.


Personal life

After retiring in 1992, Kline remained in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., serving on several
advisory board An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to the ...
s. He enjoyed his family, travel, and various intellectual pursuits. Kline married Jeanelle Batley April 26, 1958, and they had two children: Robin Jeanelle (b. 1962) Raymond Ashley (b. 1969).


References

*''Who's Who in America'' 1992–1993, 47th Edition, Volume 1 A-K *''Procurement Round Table

*''World Statesmen

*''NASA

*''Highbeam

*''National Academy of Public Administration'' *''NASA History

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19940029443.pd

ref> *''Apollo Program/Marshall Reconstruction

*''American Technology Alliances (AmTech)

*''Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership

*''U.S. Department of Justice; NARA Act

*''University of New Mexico; Kerr Foundation Board of Trustees

*''Robert S. Kerr Foundation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kline, Raymond Adam 2010 deaths 1926 births NASA people General Services Administration officials Apollo 11 20th-century people from Washington, D.C. Lebanon Valley College alumni George Washington University Law School alumni People from Lebanon, Pennsylvania Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration alumni Reagan administration personnel Virginia Military Institute alumni United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army non-commissioned officers United States Army personnel of the Korean War American military police officers