The number of foreign visitors has also continued to rise. In the month of November, we had over 3,500 visitors from 71 different countries. The ten top countries were Germany (581), Canada (566), United Kingdom (260), France (214), Australia (176), Japan (108), Italy (83), Belgium (76), Netherlands (62), and Denmark (60). In addition, we were notified in November that our web site was completely translated into both Spanish and German.

One of the primary reasons for the increased traffic is that we are constantly adding new content. As of the end of November, we had over 1,600 web pages, 1,100 photos, and the names of over 8,000 veterans. By "clicking" on either of the thumbnail images in this section (upper left or lower right), you can see for yourself some of the statistics. The first image was taken at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, December 3rd. Notice that we have already had 2,040 visitors and 11,200 pages viewed in 2 and 1/2 days. The other chart shows the visitor growth since January 2002. You will note the slight dip during June thru August when schools are out of session.

Very Interesting Statistics »

Awhile back we were entertaining the idea of establishing a Manhattan Project Memorial Museum & Research Facility. Although this idea is not dead by any means, we were advised to capitalize on our strengths and first look at establishing a virtual museum on the Internet. Many may consider what we have right now is a virtual museum, and, they would be right in that we do exhibit historical artifacts for public viewing. However, there is much that could be done to enhance the experience of all those who wish to learn the history of the Manhattan Project from the comfort of their home or office.

In the upcoming year, we will be seeking funding for a revolutionary idea that incorporates the power and ease of the Internet with the immense desire of people from around the world to learn interactively about the most important technological achievement in modern history. This "virtual" museum would Preserve, Exhibit, Interpret, and Teach an accurate and unencumbered history of the Manhattan Project. There are several web sites that depict Manhattan Project history but we are the only one that allows interaction between the visitor and the history. Our web site is "manned" 18 hours a day to answer questions and to assist visitors in locating information about a particular veteran or a specific area of the Manhattan Project. This communication between the visitor and the "virtual" museum will be the hallmark of this project.

Our first "collection" was provided to us by Joseph Papalia, a long-time collector of 509th Composite Group memorabilia. Joe has been regarded in some circles as the "unofficial" historian of the 509th. Over the past years, Joe has attended many of the reunions and is friends with many of the veterans of the 509th. Thus far Joe has contributed the images of more than 80 unique photos and documents relative to the 509th Composite Group. We have prepared 35 of these images for immediate viewing. The remainder will be added over the next 10 days. Please "click" on the link provided to view these remarkable photos, many of which have never been seen by the general public.

Our second "collection" is an original Telephone Directory of the Clinton Engineer Works dated January 1945. This directory was donated to us by Robert Spinelli, a long-time collector of Manhattan Project memorabilia. This directory contains the names of more than 5,000 Oak Ridge veterans along with the facility they were assigned to. In order for family members and others to search for a name contained in this directory, all 5,000 names must be manually entered into the web site. We will soon have some volunteers entering the names along with their assigned facility into Microsoft Excel. Once entered, they may be sorted by facility and then copied onto the web pages. This is a major effort on our part to recognize as many veterans as we can locate. Please "click" on the link provided to see the complete 48 page directory.

We have recently received another tremendous collection of memorabilia from Marvin Davis, Sr., a former military policeman at Los Alamos and the Trinity site. Mr. Davis has contributed photos, complete rosters of the military police detachments, and other "one of a kind" documents. Mr. Davis was one of the first arrivals at Los Alamos in early 1943 as part of the mounted police contingent from Fort Riley, Kansas. Later, he was one of the first 12 military police assigned to Trinity and remained there until late 1945. He also witnessed the first atomic test. We are working on the material he provided and will make it available on the web site in January 2003. Most of the thousands of visitors to our site are students and they tell us that they gain more from viewing the original documents and photos than they do from reading the history. I encourage anyone with documents and photos to consider adding them to our "collections" area. Also, we are still interested in Manhattan Project certificates. Please contact us with any questions that you may have.

"Click" Here to Go to New Featured Material »

One of our most successful items is "Atom Bombs - the Top Secret Inside Story of Fat Man and Little Boy" by John Coster Mullen. Everyone who has purchased this book has commented on the level of detail. Please visit our eBay Store by "clicking" on the image in the upper left of this section or on the below link for much more detail about this book and other items. The perfect gift for the Manhattan Project enthusiast.

Another very successful item is the book "Decision at Nagasaki - The Mission that Almost Failed", by LTC Fred Olivi, USAF (Ret), the co-pilot of Bockscar, the B29 that carried Fat Man. Please visit our eBay Store by "clicking" on the image in the upper left of this section or on the below link for much more detail about this book and other items. Another perfect gift for the Manhattan Project enthusiast.

Any of our items may be shipped to a 3rd party as a gift. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Visit the Atomic Bomb General Store »

In addition to memberships, we also can use any type of monetary contribution. Although our organization is manned soley by volunteers, we do have s lot of operating costs such as rent, utilities, web hosting fees, advertising, postage, printing, phone, travel, etc. Unlike many other non-profit, tax-exempt organizations, we do not pay to solicit contributions, therefore 100% of contributed monies go directly toward supporting our organization. Please send any amount, $1, $2, $5, or whatever to: Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Assoc.; P.O. Box 366; Montour Falls, NY 14865. In addition, we are in need of the following equipment: 2 computers w/displays; laser printer, postage meter, hi- resolution scanner, & Microsoft Office Professional. Anyone wishing to donate any of the above used equipment, please contact us. Your contribution is 100% tax deductible.

We also need volunteers to help in some of our areas of operation. We need assistance in membership, event planning, newsletter publication, etc. Anyone interested in helping out, please contact us.

One last thing, please keep in mind that our organization is much more than simply providing photos and text on a web site. We are one of the "lone" voices fighting against historical revisionism that seeks to apologize for our actions in World War II. We are a primary source of information about the Manhattan Project for thousands of schools around the country. Keep in mind that in this "electronic age", high school students are more likely to visit our web site for an accurate interpretation of the development of the atomic bomb during World War II, than they are to pick up the "Making of the Atomic Bomb" book by Richard Rhodes. We have an awesome responsibility and we do not take it lightly.

Please JOIN Today; "Click" HERE »

As many of you know, we are a National Partner of the Veteran History Project, an initiative of the Library of Congress. We are the sole entity for the collection and presentation of biographies of Manhattan Project veterans. Thus far, we have collected and are exhibiting the profiles of more than 130 veterans in our Veteran Archives section. These profiles include short biographies, photos, the Manhattan Project location worked at, years of service, and links to documents and other photos contributed as part of the profile collection. Many of these profiles include wonderful stories and should be read by everyone to glean special insights about some very remarkable people. We thought that we would have over 500 profiles thus far because of the hundreds of contacts that we have made with the family members of veterans. We encourage all of you who know of a Manhattan Project veteran to send in a profile now. It's free and will be a lasting tribute to a very special person.

We receive many questions about the possibility of any governemnt compensation for illnesses directly related to work on the Manhattan Project. There are a host of illnesses related to exposure to radiation as well as exposure to other toxic substances such as plutonium, beryllium and polonium. Please "click" on the below link to visit the Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation web site!

We have a few other veteran's issues to relate to you. First, two of our veteran contacts have passed away during the past few weeks: Raymond L. Hamilton, a former member of the Los Alamos provisional engineer detachment and Michael Olsen, a former member of the special engineer detachment at Los Alamos. Our thoughts go out to their families. They should always be remembered for their contribution in bringing about an end to World War II. Also, LTC (Ret.) Brenda Finnicum is documenting the history of Native American women in the military. If anyone knows of any Native American women involved in the Manhattan Project, please contact us.

Compensation - Energy Employees! »

"Slats" Cieslicki - Chicago Met Lab and Los Alamos 02) Paul Felix Nemenyl - Unknown Location 03) Thomas J. Anderson - Los Alamos (Fusing) 04) Francis (Frank) Wozniak - Los Alamos 05) Elmer Foust - Oak Ridge K25 06) William Deem Jr. - Wendover, B29 Modifications 07) Patrick Youtz - Unknown Location 08) James H. Rhodes Sr. - Oak Ridge, J. A. Jones Construction 09) Cletus J. Volpert - Oak Ridge 10) Jack W. Aeby - Los Alamos 11) George Beichl - Los Alamos, Explosives 12) William A. Sturm - Oak Ridge SED 13) Warren Sharp - Oak Ridge, Kellex, K25 14) Arnold "Ace" Grubb - Crane Company 15) Edward G. Carlson - Los Alamos, Project Alberta 16) Melvin B. Snell - Hanford, Engineer 17) Forrest "Buck" Nearing - Hanford, Civilian Pilot 18) Roy T. Mullen - Oak Ridge 19) Allen L. Moore - 509th, Great Artiste, Mechanic 20) R. H. Miller - Oak Ridge 21) Charles Menafee - Los Alamos, Driver & Courier 22) John J. Mendl - 509th, 1st Ordnance 23) Joe Holt Ralston - Unknown Location 24) Ruby May Dykes - Unknown Location 25) Capt. Albert Thompson - Oak Ridge, Physician 26) William F. Heise III - Los Alamos SED 27) Ernest K. Willer - Unknown Location 28) Clinton Pirtle - Oak Ridge, Stone & Webster 29) Charles R. Gantner - Oak Ridge, Masonry Contractor 30) Raymond D. Frank - Met Lab, Metallurgist 31) Roy G. Bradee - Allis Chalmers 32) Romain Witmer - Unknown Location

We are looking for anyone who was a member of the military police at anytime between late 1942 and the Fall of 1947. This would be for all locations including Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Hanford, Columbia, Berkeley, Met Lab, 509th Composite Group, DuPont, Kellex in New York, Allis Chalmers, Chrysler Corporation, Mallinckrodt Chemical (New Jersey & St. Louis), Linde Air, the Dayton Mound Project, the Naval Research Lab at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Chapman Valve, International Nickel, the Crane Company, Houdaille-Hershey, and others.

Thank you very much for reading our newsletter. All of us here at the Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Association sincerely wish that you and your family have a very joyous holiday season and a very peaceful and prosperous New Year!