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Dear Visitor
Welcome to our second newsletter for the year 2003. This newsletter
is being brought to you by our e-mail distribution service called
Constant Contact. In a time when all of us are being bombarded by
unwanted junk mail, we need to take extra precautions to insure that
only those interested in the history of the Manhattan Project receive
this newsletter. If you have received this newsletter in error and are
not interested in preserving the history of America's atomic bomb
effort during World War II, please "click" on UNSUBSCRIBE at the
bottom of this newsletter and that will permanently remove you from
further distributions. For those of you who wish to continue to
receive this newsletter throughout the next year, please "click" on
Edit Your Interests at the bottom of this newsletter and review the
information there. You may update the information as you see fit.
Much has been happening with our organization over the past two
months. Please take a moment to read each of the included articles.
Each of the thumbnail photos throughout the newsletter represent new
photos sent into us over the past 2 months. If you have any
information that you would like included in our next newsletter,
please let us know prior to June 30th. Also, we would like to thank
all of the individuals who have become members and those who have
contributed historical content to our organization. In particular, we
would like to thank Dr. Eugene Sensel, a retired educator and school
administrator, and Joe Papalia, a historian and collector, for their
tremendous assistance in helping to make our project a success.
Manhattan Project Digital Library
We are proud to announce that we have formed a partnership with the
School of Education at Syracuse University and the State University of
New York at Albany to collaborate on funding initiatives for our
Manhattan Project collections of artifacts. Funding will be used to
catalogue, tag, and archive each of the pieces as well as to construct
a major scientific digital library on the Internet.
The importance of this collaboration cannot be over- emphasized
since it will be the first attempt to bring the history of the
Manhattan Project into the mainstream educational environment. This
digital library will have multiple entry points targeted to the
following five groups: Middle School, High School, College, Life-long
Learner, and the Serious Scholar/Researcher.
At the present time we have close to 3,000 primary source documents
related to the Manhattan Project. These are in the form of photos,
personnel lists, announcements, travel orders, ID cards, certificates,
official letters, personal letters, reminiscences, stories, diaries,
etc.
Each item is being examined for appropriateness for the targeted
audience. Also, each item will be tagged with up to 10 keywords for
dynamic searches. For instance, show me all letters where the subject
matter is 'Trinity' or show me all documents signed by 'Oppenheimer'
or 'Nichols'. More about this partnership in our next newsletter.
Visit New Digital Library Collections HERE!
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New Members |
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Since our last newsletter, the following individuals have joined
our organization:
Beatrice Kreinik, interested in preserving the history; Barbara
Kuwent, daughter of Seymour Calvert, a member of the Los Almaos
SED; Elead Reitz, a member of the Provisional Engineers at Los
Alamos; William Thomas, interested in preserving the history;
Stanley Galler, a member of the SED at Los Alamos; Florence
(Mullins) Osvath, a civilian technician with the Health
Instruments Group at Los Alamos.
Anker Jorgensen, a member of the SED at both Allis- Chalmers in
West Allis, WI and at Los Alamos; Jay Searcy, a son of an Oak
Ridge veteran; Thomas Whalen, grandson of Charles Stearns, a
veteran of the Naval Research Lab at the Philadelphia Navy Yard;
Mimi Fittipaldi, granddaughter of inventor J. C. Hobbs, the man
credited with inventing the 'G' and 'H' valves crucial to the
succss of the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant at Oak Ridge; Thomas
'Pete' Stark, a member of the military police at Los Alamos.
We now have 174 members of which 112 are Manhattan Project
veterans. This is about 40% of where we thought we would be after
12 months of operation. We need more members, especially the
children of veterans who can help keep the legacy of the Manhattan
Project alive. Please encourage your children to become actively
involved in preserving the history by becoming a member of this
very important project.
Please Take a Moment to Join HERE »
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Manhattan Project Reunion and Symposium |
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We are at the point now where we have to make an irrevocable
decision whether to go forward with our plans for a reunion. Once
we commit to a hotel and sign a contract, we are responsible for
the payment of several thousands of dollars.
Approximately 70% of the cost would be covered by registration
fees with the remainder coming from other sources, such as
corporate and foundation contributions. We have about 100 who have
expressed an interest in attending, but we need a minimum of 250
to 'break even'.
In addition, even though this would be a major historical
event, we have received lukewarm responses from several companies
and organizations that we have approached for funding for the
additional 30% of the cost. It may be that the economic times are
simply making the idea an impossibility.
Included in our budget is approximately $6,000 for a nationwide
advertising campaign to alert veterans of the reunion/symposium.
Being a non-profit organization, we will have some advertising
provided at no charge, but not all. We have to make a final
decision by the end of May. Please let us know if you have any
suggestions. |
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New Material on the Web Site |
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Since our last newsletter, we have continued to receive several
collections of memorabilia. These include photos, letters, oral
histories, and documents related to the Manhattan Project between
1942 and early 1947.
Since the first of January, we have posted more than 700 new
artifacts to our web site and we are now adding close to 15 per
day. Following is a few of the items recently added: Joe Papalia
Collection: - Several new photos including 30 photos of Tinian
Island in 1945 taken by Paul Metro of the Radar Section of the
509th Composite Group. Marvin Davis Collection: - 80 new photos
and documents related to Los Alamos and the Trinity Site. Marvin
was with the Military Police Mounted Patrol and was with the first
12-man group to occupy the Trinity Site. Included several photos
of the horses. Howard Bush Collection - Lt. Howard Bush was the
commanding officer of the Trinity Base Camp. 23 photos from his
personal mementos. These were provide to us by MP Marvin Davis.
Paul Filipkowski Collection - 2nd Release - Paul collected letters
from many Manhattan Project veterans. Included here are 50
recently added letters. We have more than 400 yet to add.
In the next month or two, we will begin adding the material
that was donated by the family of Joseph Gorman, the Records
Administrator for the Manhattan Engineer District. Joseph Gorman
was at the New York Office of the MED and then transferred to the
Oak Ridge site. This collection contains some very rare de-
classified documents, mostly related to personnel. This is a first
class collection and will add immeasurable value to the content of
our digital library.
Also coming in the next few months will be an enormous
collection of mementos related to the WAC detachments of the
Manhattan Engineer District. We will notify you when this is
completed. Finally, we are working on the addition of more than
9,000 veterans to our national database of Manhattan Project
veterans. This latest addition will bring the total names on our
web site to approximately 19,000. 5,000 of these new names are
from Oak Ridge and will be broken down by approximately 30
different contractors, ie., Tennessee Eastman, DuPont, Stone &
Webster, etc.
700 New Photos & Documents Added in 2003! »
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New Book Planned |
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We have initiated plans for our first book for publication
sometime in late 2003 or early 2004.
Although a title has not been decided upon, our working title
is "Securing the Atomic Bomb". This book will cover the complete
history of the military police, security guards, and military
intelligence at Los Alamos from early 1943 through mid-1947 when
security was turned over to the Atomic Energy Commission.
We have an enormous amount of material in our possession that
will make this book very interesting. We have spoken with several
veterans from both the military police and the security guards. If
anyone is interested in collaborating with us on this project,
please contact us. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go
toward supporting our non-profit organization.
Don't forget that we have a number of items for sale in our
eBay store, including photos, t-shirts, etc.
Visit the Atomic Bomb General Store »
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Please Support Our Mission to Preserve and Exhibit |
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April 30, 2003 marked the end of our first year as a non- profit
organization and approx. 3 1/2 years for our national web site.
During that period we managed to raise approximately $15,000. This
was accomplished through memberships, sale of items on eBay, and
other donations. Unfortunately, during this same period, we spent
close to $21,000. Of the $21,000, the majority went to web hosting
fees ($5,000), office rent ($3,000), office supplies ($3,000), and
postage ($2,800). No one has received any payment for the labor
put into the project.
Our mission is to preserve, exhibit, interpret, and teach the
history of the Manhattan Project. This is a major endeavor and one
which is critically important. Up to this point we have been
successful beyond our expectations. However, until we receive
major funding we are dependent upon the generosity of individuals.
Over the past 12 months, we have been fortunate to receive two
$1,000 donations, two $500 donations, two $250 donations, and 14
$100 donations. We need more of the larger donations to carry us
through our second year. Until we receive major funding (still 8
to 10 months away) we need help with the following items:
2 new computers, new web development software, Microsoft Office
Professional, digital projector, archivist supplies, etc. Those
donating $500 or more will receive special recognition as a
primary sponsor of the new Manhattan Prioject Digital Library.
Please remember that we are a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt
organization and your contributions are 100% tax deductible.
Please make checks payable to MPHPA and mail to: Manhattan Project
Heritage Preservation Assoc.; P.O. Box 366; Montour Falls, NY
14865-0366
Please 'Click' HERE to Support Our Historic Endeavor! »
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New Manhattan Project Material Wanted |
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Now is your opportunity to be included in the Manhattan Project
Digital Library. We are averaging more than 1,000 visitors per day
and this number increases by about 15% each month.
We can use any photos, documents, letters, etc. Everything
provided is being digitized, enhanced, and optimized for
presentation on the Internet. Space is not an issue; our web site
is a little over 1GB in size and we have unlimited space
available.
Please consider donating your mementos to our non- profit
organization or simply provide them to us temporarily so that we
may add quality material to the web site.
Most people interested in the history of the Manhattan Project
have seen all of the 'official' photos. What we are interested in
primarily is the personal photos and documents. These lend a whole
different perspective to the history and our visitors love them.
Please contact us with any questions that you have.
New Material Wanted »
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NEW History of Science Project |
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As though we didn't have enough to do, we are in the process of
exploring the creation of a new web site emphasizing the impact
that the Manhattan Project had on the history of science. This web
site will focus on the STEM disciplines: Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics.
The purpose of this new web site will be to examine the
creativity and ingenuity that was brought to bear to solve
hundreds of seemingly insurmountable problems.
Each discipline ie., physics, chemistry, engineering,
mathematics, metallurgy, health physics, biology, etc. will be
separately reviewed. The 'problems' will be identified and the
'solutions' closely examined. The Special Engineer Detachment
played a major role in using creativity and ingenuity to solve
many of these problems and will be extensively covered.
New materials, new industrial processes, new equipment, new
measuring devices, new instruments, and computers sprung from the
fertile ground created by the wartime urgency to create an atomic
bomb. Any information that you might be able to provide on these
problems and how they were solved would be greatly appreciated.
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Does Anyone Out There KNOW!!! |
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As always, we are looking for information on many Manhattan
Project veterans. We have close to 200 messages posted on our
message board. Please click on the link at the bottom of this
section to go to our message board.
We are looking for any information on the following Los Alamos
veterans: Dayton Carritt, chemist; Jeanne Carritt, medical
technician; Miriam Young Krollman, WAC; Dr. John G. Waugh,
physicist; Walter Pocock, metallurgist; Hans Heinrich Staub,
physicist; and Ernie Bigari, electrician. - - - Oak Ridge
veterans: Earline Walls, Y12 plant; Ralph Wyrick, unknown; Edwin
Paul Meiners, unknown. - - - Met Lab: Dr. Joseph Royal - - -
Kellex Corp.: Dr. Raphael Rosen.
If anyone knows of someone who worked for military intelligence
(G2) at Los Alamos during the war years, please contact us. Also,
anyone who was with the military police at Operation Crossroads in
the summer of 1946.
Also, don't forget to check out our Manhattan Project Veteran
Archives. We have close to 150 veterans profiled in this section.
Please click on the 'Veteran Archives' link below under 'Quick
Links'.
Go to the Manhattan Project Message Board »
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Quick Links... |
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