You were probably thinking about the former German scientists and engineers...
like von Braun who helped with several of our rocket programs. I've seen nothing to suggest former Soviets helped with any of our spacecraft or rockets until the Atlas was reengined to use the excellent Russian RD-180 engine (considered by some to be the best rocket engine ever made). For that matter, I'm not aware of any former Germans who helped design Mercury, either. The MISS project was put together by a remarkably small team.