January 2 is National Science Fiction Day. Today’s post comes from Thomas Richardson, a former archives technician at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. It examines one of the leading science fiction authors who drew much of his inspiration from his time in the U.S. Navy: Robert Anson Heinlein.
Science fiction is a wide landscape of literary possibilities. From utterly fantastical explorations of exotic worlds to nitty-gritty philosophical debates of the human condition, writers of the genre have molded, embellished, and stretched the definition of science fiction literature. One author with the analytical and disciplined approach of a military officer and an engineer elevated the genre with a rigorous application of scientific logic and pushed it into controversial aspects of contemporary social topics. His prolific writing earned him dozens of awards and the honorific moniker of Dean of Science Fiction: Robert Anson Heinlein.
Early Life
Robert Anson Heinlein was born on July 7, 1907, into a large German American family in Butler, Missouri, near the Kansas border. He was one of nine children of Rex and Bam Heinlein. His childhood consisted of both a rural upbringing in the Bible Belt region and urban living, spending time living with his grandfather in Kansas City. A fascination with astronomy took root at a young age following the 1910 appearance of Halley’s Comet, which was visible in the Midwestern United States.
As a teenager, Heinlein worked a multitude of jobs to support his family, some of which—like selling magazines and delivering newspapers—piqued interest in a future writing career. He attended Kansas City’s Central High School where he joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and was involved in other arts and academic groups. Before graduation, Heinlein joined the Missouri National Guard and hoped to receive an appointment to a military academy.
Following graduation from high school, Heinlein lobbied Missouri Senator James A. Reed (D) for an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. In the meantime, Heinlein took math and physics courses at Kansas City Community College, cultivating a further interest in science. His lobbying efforts finally paid off (with additional support by the Kansas City Pendergast political machine) and on June 15, 1925, Robert Heinlein reported to the U.S. Naval Academy for officer training.
U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis
At the time of Heinlein’s admission to the USNA, the academy had undergone substantial changes in its curriculum, staff, and educational philosophy since the U.S. Civil War. While initially focused on naval history and tactics, the campus was modernized to include expanded engineering and scientific subjects.
In 1911, the first aviation training school was established at Annapolis along with introductory courses on aeronautics, electrical engineering, and radio communications. These new pursuits were attractive to Heinlein, who excelled in math courses.
Between 1926 and 1928, Heinlein performed multiple 60-day temporary midshipman duties onboard various ships: the USS Utah, USS Oklahoma, and USS Arkansas [the Utah and Oklahoma were later destroyed on December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor].
Coursework and ship duties were not Heinlein’s only activities at the academy. He was an expert rifleman and champion fencer, winning trophies for épée competitions in 1927 and 1928. In June 1929, Heinlein graduated from Annapolis with an equivalent degree in electrical engineering (bachelor degrees weren’t issued by federal academies until May 1933, and retroactive degrees were issued in 1937).
Many of Heinlein’s fellow classmates believed he would go far in the aeronautical field and one day design airplanes for the Navy. He received his commission as an ensign on June 6, 1929, and then his orders: service onboard the newly constructed aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2).
Time as a Navy Officer
The interwar period when Heinlein served in the Navy was a time of technological innovation and foreboding preparation for the U.S. Armed Forces. Airplanes introduced a new dynamic to naval warfare as the first naval air squadrons were established following World War I. The Department of the Navy instituted a new program of military exercises called “Fleet Problems.” These exercises were meant to demonstrate new tactics and attack strategies using new technological features such as airplanes, aircraft carriers, and radio communications between multiple ships. Many of these exercises, which were simulations of aerial bombardments and amphibious landings, took place in Central American countries like Panama and Nicaragua, with other exercises occurring along Mexico and California.
Ensign Heinlein served onboard the USS Lexington from July 13, 1929, to June 20, 1932, and during that time he participated in Fleet Problems X, XI, XII, and XIII. Two fictitious fleets labeled Black and Blue ran scenarios of capturing enemy ports and attacking specific targets from aircraft carriers. Heinlein was responsible for handling the radio communications between the Lexington and respective squadrons, giving and receiving information.
The aftermath of Fleet Problem XIII was perhaps the most significant as it revealed the vulnerability of ships to aerial attacks. Adm. Harry Yarnell, then commander of the Lexington, famously argued that half a dozen aircraft carriers were necessary to provide a defensive shield for U.S. fleets in the Pacific Ocean. If carriers were not made standard, naval bases in the Philippines and Hawaii would become increasingly vulnerable. However, financial stresses caused by the Great Depression prevented the Department of the Navy from building new carriers.
Heinlein didn’t spend all his time participating in naval exercises. In December 1929, a months-long drought resulted in low water levels at Lake Cushman in Washington, causing power shortages in Tacoma from the hydro-electric dam. The Lexington’s generators were hooked up to the city’s power grid, keeping it alight until mid-January, when water levels rose high enough for the dam to resume operation.
In April 1930, he was temporarily assigned to the Ford Instrument Company on Long Island, New York. It was a unique assignment specifically made for him as the company produced some of the first analog computers for the Navy called “Rangekeepers.” These devices were the earliest forms of fire-control computers that could precisely calculate ballistic trajectories from unstable surfaces—perfect for ships moving through choppy waters and for Heinlein’s ever-growing scientific curiosity.
On March 31, 1931, a devastating earthquake struck Nicaragua’s capital, Managua, killing nearly 2,000 people and almost leveling the entire city. The Lexington was dispatched on a humanitarian mission to Nicaragua with medical personnel and supplies to relieve the displaced peoples.
Nineteen thirty-two was another busy year for Heinlein. In March 1932, he applied for a pilot training program for the newly created Aircraft Battle Force. However, he was medically disqualified based on his poor eyesight. It didn’t prevent a promotion to lieutenant (jg) in June 1932 and temporary duties to the Battle Force Gunnery School. Earlier in April 1932, Heinlein was transferred to the destroyer USS Roper (DD-147), but it was during his time on this vessel that his naval career would be cut short.
On September 7, 1932, Heinlein was admitted to the Naval Hospital in San Diego for an unknown ailment. He was discharged a week later but was back in December for further treatment. What was originally believed to be motion sickness was the dreaded diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. The Navy recognized that Heinlein contracted tuberculosis as a result of his service in tropical regions. He was moved to Fitzsimons General Hospital in Colorado, where on August 1, 1934, Lieutenant (jg) Heinlein was found “medically incapacitated for active service” and was medically retired with 100% disability from the U.S. Navy.
California Interwar Years
Heinlein had few prospects following his discharge. A disability pension from the Navy was not enough to cover expenses, and so he embarked on several ventures. He tried selling real estate, mining, and even went back to school at UCLA to study math and physics. Heinlein also became involved in California politics by assisting with Upton Sinclair’s 1934 gubernatorial campaign. The campaign, labeled EPIC (End Poverty in California), called for public works projects, and Heinlein spent days working tirelessly to promote Sinclair. He also joined the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee and the California State Central Democratic Committee. However, following Sinclair’s defeat and Heinlein’s own failed attempt to run for the California State Assembly, he decided to focus solely on his writing.
Heinlein’s political activities did not go unnoticed by the Navy. While attending UCLA and increasing his involvement in politics, Heinlein published a satirical article in April 1935 attacking local judges, police, and school board members for silencing dissident political views. He even signed it as a retired lieutenant (jg), which prompted a Navy investigation. As a retired naval officer, Heinlein was still bound by the Articles for the Government of the USN (now replaced by the Uniform Code of Military Justice) and was therefore admonished by the Secretary of the Navy for his violation.
The California years were also a formative period for Heinlein’s writing. Still struggling for financial support in the late 1930s, he dedicated himself to writing full time. Authoring and publishing short science fiction stories, he quickly gained a cult following among readers. Exposure to liberal politics would profoundly impact his writing and evolve over time. Then came another paradigm shifting event in Heinlein’s life: World War II
WWII – Philadelphia Navy Yard
Less than a week after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Heinlein wrote to the Eleventh Naval District Commandant requesting reactivation to active duty. Naval officers were desperately needed for the rapid expansion of U.S. Armed Forces, and Heinlein offered his services in academic and public relations (seasickness excluded him from overseas service).
In the meantime, he secured an aeronautical engineering job at the Naval Aircraft Factory at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in May 1942. Hopes for reactivation never came to fruition, as the Navy cited his medical disability as disqualifying. Heinlein would never again serve as a Naval officer.
Time working at the Philadelphia Navy Yard was by no means tedious. The Yard was a testing ground for bleeding-edge technology during the war. Physicist Philip Abelson developed the diffusion process for creating uranium-235 for the Manhattan Project at the Yard. Heinlein became acquainted with other promising science fiction writers Isaac Asimov (chemist) and Lyon Sprague de Camp (researcher), discussing different scientific topics such as sonar, radar, magnetism, and more. This scientifically saturated environment proved indispensable for Heinlein, who later used this experience as a launch pad for future writings.
Authorship and Death
Heinlein’s postwar writing career grew exponentially with the publication of Space Cadet, Red Planet, Farmer in the Sky, and Beyond This Horizon. His push into contemporary controversial topics came with two books that rocketed him to national fame: Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land. Themes of militarism, fascism, human sexuality, polyamory, and religion were explored in the two books, which were both praised and disparaged by literary critics. Another two books, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and Time Enough for Love, were also hailed as seminal science fiction works that delved into morality, self-determination, and libertarian philosophy.
Near the end of his life, Heinlein’s works The Cat Who Walks Through Walls and To Sail Beyond the Sunset focused on time travel, parallel dimensions, free love, and solipsism (philosophical theory that only our mind exists and everything else is unsure). These best-selling and groundbreaking books are only a fraction of Heinlein’s larger bibliography, which consists of dozens of short stories and novels.
Within a majority of these works, Heinlein inserts glimpses of his former Navy experiences and engineering acumen. The vignette of a Navy officer is seen in Time Enough for Love; Rico’s journey from civilian to commissioned lieutenant is chronicled in Starship Troopers; non-Euclidean geometry is the basis for the “continua device” that allows for multidimensional travel in The Number of the Beast; The Green Hills of Earth describes the plight of a medically disabled engineer trying to return to his home planet. Each publication made Heinlein a fixture in the science fiction community. His mathematical knowledge combined with an ability to create new terminology even expanded the English language (“WALDO,” “moonbat,” and “speculative fiction”) and popularized phrases such as “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” “pay it forward,” and “space marine.”
Into the late 1970s and early 1980s, Heinlein suffered from numerous medical issues. An attack of periodontitis prompted Heinlein to organize changes to the blood donor system. He suffered from periodic ischemic attacks (mini-strokes) and underwent multiple surgeries to remove blockages. He recovered enough to write five more novels but then suffered another downturn in his health. On May 8, 1988, Robert Anson Heinlein died in Carmel, California, from emphysema and heart failure.
Heinlein’s Impact
The social and cultural impact of Heinlein’s writing carried on following his death. Polls consistently show him as a tremendous influence on other authors who apply his “hard science fiction” approach to writing. The practical application of physics in outer world stories made space exploration a more plausible goal to readers in the 1960s.
Today the nonprofit Heinlein Society promotes and preserves his published works, maintains private collections, supports educational programs, and encourages critical thinking amongst readers. Much can be said about his writing accomplishments and Naval career that inspired generations of readers. To use Heinlein’s own terminology, he “groks” the importance of his Navy service, elevating the genre from science fiction to scientific reality.
