The order calls to convene a General Court-Martial at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama for the trial of Colonel John C. Nickerson, Jr. of the Army Ballistic Missle Agency. The document lists the names of the members of the members and counsel.
The request of March 28, 1957 asks for top secret clearance for the members of the General Court-Martial, the Court Reporter, and the Civil Counsel as classified information is vital to the defense of Colonel Nickerson. This letter from Lt. Col. John S. Tyler states that the request was forwarded to the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and that the request would be cleared for the "highest clearance necessary for the proper disposition of the case".
"Present prospective list of other witnesses to be called by the government on the merits in the case of United States vs. Colonel John C. Nickerson, Jr."
Robert K. Bell (left) was an attorney based in Huntsville, Alabama. He would form a part of Nickerson's (right) defense counsel in 1957 along with Ray H. Jenkins, Lt. Col. Charles Zimmer, and Lt. Lewis G. Cole.
Ray H. Jenkins (center) was a lawyer that, along with Robert K. Bell, Lt. Col. Charles Zimmer, and Lt. Lewis G. Cole, would make up Nickerson's defense counsel for his court martial trial. Jenkins was considered the best lawyer in East Tennessee and appeared on the cover of Time magazine on May 17, 1954 during the Army-McCarthy hearings.
