United States, 2008 AD., Medal in honor of Apollo 11 and the first moon landing, German-American National Congress, Franklin Mint.

United States, Medal sponsored and distributed by the German-American National Congress (Chicago, Ill.), Inc., struck by the Franklin Mint in honor of Apollo 11 and the first moon landing, issued ca. 2008 AD.,
Medal (ø 38,6 mm / 24,69 g), bronze, axes medal alignment ↑↑ (0°), reeded edge (269 reeds),
Obv.: PIONEERS OF SPACE AND ROCKETRY / VON/BRAUN / OBERTH / LEY , heads of three German or German born pioneers : three portraits of Wernher von Braun (top), Willy Ley (left below) and Hermann Oberth (right below).
Rev.: FIRST MOON LANDING / JULY 20, 1969 , a space rocket starting: depiction of a Saturn rocket blasting off in a cloud of smoke.
Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection, Subgroup E, Series V: Artifacts: RBR 104 ; Arthur L. Newman '23 Collection of Aeronautical Medals, 1969-7-20kk ; http://issuu.com/germanamericanjournal/docs/journal_56-4 , page 15 . http://s3.amazonaws.com/zanran_storage/www.dank.org/ContentPages/2472350153.pdf

Year / Mintage / Material
1969 / 11512 / sterling silver (proof)
1969 / 2490 / bronze (proof)
1969 / 4000 / bronze (normal mint quality)

Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun (March 23, 1912 – June 16, 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Germany during World War II and, subsequently, in the United States. He is credited as being the "Father of Rocket Science".
In his 20s and early 30s, von Braun was the central figure in the Nazis' rocket development program, responsible for the design and realization of the V-2 combat rocket during World War II. After the war, he and some select members of his rocket team were taken to the United States as part of the then-secret Operation Paperclip. Von Braun worked on the United States Army intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) program before his group was assimilated by NASA. Under NASA, he served as director of the newly formed Marshall Space Flight Center and as the chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle, the superbooster that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. According to one NASA source, he is "without doubt, the greatest rocket scientist in history". His crowning achievement was to lead the development of the Saturn V booster rocket that helped land the first men on the Moon in July 1969. In 1975 he received the National Medal of Science.

Willy Ley (October 2, 1906 – June 24, 1969) was a German-American science writer, spaceflight advocate, and historian of science who helped popularize rocketry, spaceflight, and natural history in both Germany and the United States. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor.

Hermann Julius Oberth (25 June 1894 – 28 December 1989) was an Austro-Hungarian-born German physicist and engineer. He is considered one of the founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics.