[1] In NASA documentary films, Wendt appears as the bespectacled, thin man in a bow-tie and white cap and coat, usually standing near the hatch, clipboard in hand; or bending over seated crew members, pulling their safety harnesses snug for launch.

"I volunteered again to be a member of the close-out crew for Guenter Wendt, or as we fondly called him, 'der Fuhrer of der Launch Pad'" (p94) A native of Berlin, Germany, Wendt studied mechanical engineering and then fought for Nazi Germany during World War II, serving as a flight engineer aboard Luftwaffe night fighters.

[2] After the Allied victory, there were few job opportunities for engineers in Germany under the Occupation, so Wendt decided to emigrate to the United States in 1949 and joined his divorced father in St. Louis, Missouri.

Defense contractor McDonnell Aircraft was interested in employing Wendt as an engineer, but could not hire a German citizen since the company was working on U.S. Navy contracts.

[2] As a McDonnell engineer, Wendt supervised spacecraft launch pad preparations at Cape Canaveral during the Mercury and Gemini crewed space programs beginning with the flight of Ham the chimpanzee in 1961.

He came to be regarded as a welcomed good luck figure to the astronauts; always the last reassuring Earth-bound face the crew members saw, kidding with them and wishing them a successful flight as he directed completion of the complex pad close-out procedures just prior to launch.

Schirra personally convinced North American's vice-president and general manager for launch operations, Bastian "Buz" Hello, to change Wendt's shift from midnight to daytime so he could be pad leader for Apollo 7.

[5] Wendt later served as a technical consultant for several TV and movie features, and co-wrote his 2001 autobiography, The Unbroken Chain, with Russell Still (Apogee Books, ISBN 1-896522-84-X).

[3] His survivors include his three daughters, Irina Thompson, Norma Wendt, and Sandra Taylor; five grandchildren; a great-grandson; and a great-great-grandson.

The main-belt asteroid 429033 Günterwendt, discovered by German astronomer Felix Hormuth at Calar Alto Observatory 2009, was named in his memory.