In early February 1945, the new 2nd LTs. were interviewed for a special assignment. But by late afternoon only Bill was left in the waiting room and the WAC receptionist said all interviews had been completed. His ego totally deflated, Bill prepared to leave when the office door opened and several officers entered, led by his old friend, now Major, Fred "Dusty" Rhodes. They laughed when Dusty said, with a straight face, "I thought you knew - you were already pre-selected!" It was a gag that Dusty had set up for Bill The other Major with Fred was Frank Smith, the brother of Bill's friend Larry, from Military Police O.C.S. The two majors were key assistants to Col. John Lansdale, the Security Intelligence Officer under Major General Leslie R. Groves, head of the Manhattan Project. That evening over dinner and drinks Bill took a good ribbing from his friends.

     Bill's new assignment was to the Intelligence Security Division, M.E.D., Area Engineer, New York City branch office. But on May 21, 1945, Bill was ordered by the Adjutant General of the War Department to be relieved of his duties with the M.E.D. and was sent to Washington D.C.   Two days later he was assigned to the 1st Technical Service Detachment by order of the Secretary of War. All documents, orders, etc. showed no connection with or reference to either the Manhattan Project or the 509th Composite Air Force Group. The purpose of the 1st Technical Service Detachment was to serve as the connecting link between the two organizations. It was clear to Bill by the end of May that, assuming the bomb program stayed on track, he would be going overseas for some official purpose. Bill was cleared at this time as an official courier by the War Department and Major General Groves signed the order.

     Bill's first courier activity (May 31 through July 19) was by water - on a cargo ship from Port Chicago CA to Tinian. The ship transported classified material - high explosives, bomb casings, electronic equipment, etc. Bill traveled back to the states via a 509th Green Hornet C-54.

     Events specific to the movement of the "Fat Man" core started on July 23, 1945 when orders came from the War Department. Bill was ordered to proceed to Albuquerque to await air transportation to Guam, Marianas Islands by special plane. He flew from Washington DC to Albuquerque by commercial airplane and was issued a .45 pistol and a hunting type knife. He was driven to Los Alamos in an Army staff car and stayed overnight at Fuller Lodge. The next morning, a small group of Security Intelligence Officers at Los Alamos - (names known at the time but now forgotten) - took him to a small storage shack - actually an "icehouse" - on the shores of Ashley Pond within the highly classified Tech area. They brought out a container which Bill jokingly called the "bird cage". It was a steel rod frame with a sphere in the middle, approximately 8 to 12 inches in diameter and between 2 to 3 feet in height. The lead lined sphere contained the plutonium, for what was to be the heart of the Nagasaki bomb - "Fat Man". The group headed for Kirtland Field in Albuquerque escorted by a few cars with Military Police guards. The only delay en route was a flat tire as they descended the winding mountain road from Los Alamos to Albuquerque.

     A Green Hornet C-54 was waiting at Kirtland Field to take Bill and the "bird cage" to Tinian via San Francisco and Hickam Field in Hawaii. They landed at Hickam in the early morning hours and were met by a friend of Bill's from Pittsburgh. The Honolulu counter-intelligence officer, George B Raisin, and a contingent of guards, were ready to watch over Bill and the plane. While the plane was refueled, the guards cleared the dining hall at 3:00 AM so that Bill could eat and wash up - with the bird cage always at his side.