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The Manhattan Project |
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May & June 2001 Newsletter |
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Volume II - Issue 3 This newsletter is sponsored by the Society for the Historical Preservation of the Manhattan Project (http://www.manhattanprojectmemorial.org and the Children of the Manhattan Project (http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org ) Topics covered in this issue: 01)
Site Statistics 02)
Site Renovation Completed 03)
New Additions to the Site 04)
Preserving the History 05)
New Education Focus 06)
Veteran Search & The Memorial Site 07)
Quote of the Month 08)
Question of the Month 09)
Did You Know? 10) Final Comments 01)
Site Statistics... There are
several measurements to the success of any given web site. The two
primary ones are the number of "new" visitors to your site in
any given month and the number of "page hits" your site has
received. "Page hits" refers to the number of pages viewed by
the visitors to the site. For instance, if you visited our site for the
first time in February and viewed 5 different pages, our site would have
received 5 "page hits". The below
table will give you an idea of the growth:
In addition, we have been experiencing much more activity from foreign visitors. In May we had 400 visitors from 31 different countries, with Canada, England, Australia, Sweden and Germany being the top 5. 02)
Site Renovation Completed… We have completed the renovation of the “Manhattan Project Veteran’s Memorial” web site; http://www.manhattanprojectmemorial.org. This renovation primarily involved changing the color scheme and the layout of the “home page”. Please let us know if a link is not working properly or you are having any difficulty in accessing the site. 03)
New Additions to the Site… Since our
last newsletter in April, we have added close to 20MB of material to the
web site. Below is a
sampling of a few of those additions: ·
Photos
– In the past 60 days, we have added more than 140 photos, including
20 of the Trinity Test, 15 of Robert Oppenheimer, and 15 of Oak Ridge.
In addition, we have included more than 40 rare photos of several
of the scientists who worked on the project.
Check out our new Photo Directory for a complete listing. http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/HICC/HICC_PD.htm · United States of America vs J. Robert Oppenheimer – Many people do not realize the extent that our government went to label Robert Oppenheimer a “communist”, thereby destroying the reputation of a brilliant theoretical physicist. Although many of the wrongs against Oppenheimer were later corrected, the process still left an ugly scar. Several careers were ruined in the long ordeal, including many of the protagonists. We have added a large section dealing with this issue including photographs. http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/MP_Misc/Photo-Pages/MPPG_03.htm ·
After
careful research, we have finally published our new “Lingering
Controversy” section that deals not only with the decisions to use the
atomic bombs but also the post-war efforts of revisionist historians to
distort the factual events that comprised the Manhattan Project. http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/HICC/HICC_LC.htm ·
Fully
1/3 of our visitors are interested in the 509th Composite
Group, the Army Air Force component of the Manhattan Project, charged
with the responsibility of delivering the new weapons.
We have expanded this section greatly to include three new
timelines of the historic missions, new pictures from descendents of 509th
veterans, and an analysis of the Los Alamos Scientific Team that was
sent to Tinian Island. http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/HICC/HICC_CG.htm 04)
Preserving the Historical Importance of the Manhattan Project… Most of you
receiving this newsletter realize that this is one of the major
objectives of our organization. However,
there are others who share this objective and we would like to make you
aware of their efforts. We
have devoted a full web page dedicated to each of these organizations
and I encourage you to visit either Los Alamos or Oak Ridge to see them
first hand. · Los Alamos Historical Society – Los Alamos – Housed at Fuller Lodge, they sponsor a historical museum located next door. http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/MP_Misc/Preserve/LAHS.htm · Los Alamos Education Group – Los Alamos – This is a group of retired LANL employees and concerned citizens whose mission is to set the record straight as to why the atomic bombs were necessary to bring an end to World War II. They have a wonderful exhibit at the Bradbury Science Museum. http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/MP_Misc/Preserve/LAEG.htm · Bradbury Science Museum – Los Alamos – This museum is operated by the University of California and devotes a huge area to Manhattan Project history including replicas of “Fat Man” and “Little Boy”. http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/MP_Misc/Preserve/bradbury.htm · American Museum of Science & Energy – Oak Ridge – This museum has loads of historical information on the Manhattan Project, mostly dealing with Oak Ridge’s role. http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/MP_Misc/Preserve/AMSE.htm 05)
New Education Focus… Our most
ambitious project will unfold this summer in preparation for the
upcoming school terms to begin. A
huge number of visitors to our site are high school and college students
who are working on research projects dealing with the Manhattan Project.
As a rule, there is very little information in the history books,
and most of what is has been distorted.
Students are relying heavily on the internet for accurate
information and we are proud of the fact that we are now on top of most
of the major search engines, including AOL and Yahoo/Google. We have
begun a comprehensive historical information center to complement the
hundreds of photos and documents. The
Manhattan Project is so overwhelming in scope that many students have a
difficult time deciding where to begin.
We will provide them with 50 or so sub-topics that will allow
them to concentrate on a specific area. Please visit
our table of contents to see our planned project.
We always welcome comments , so please let us know if any changes
to our approach are warranted. Please
click on the link below to visit this education center. http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/History/ERC-1.htm 06)
Veteran Search and the Memorial Site… We must not
lose sight that our primary focus has always been and will continue to
be the Manhattan Project Veteran. We
have several initiatives started that should improve our success in
locating veterans. If anyone
has information on any of the following veterans, please contact us. 1) Dr. Rose
Mooney - Professor at Newcomb College then to Los Alamos 2) Dr.
Joseph Morris; Prof. at Tulane; then to Los Alamos 3) Grover H.
Catt; 509th Composite Group 4) Dr.
Arthur Hughes; Prof. at Washington Univ.; St. Louis 5) Edward
Robert Beckendorf; Probably Los Alamos 6) John
Frank Boling; Civilian employee; Oak Ridge 7) Paul
Gilham Lowe; With Manhattan Project; unsure location 8) John
Westerling; Chemical engineer; SED; Los Alamos 9) Ralph
Wascher – Driver; SED we believe; Los Alamos 10) Alice
(Hails) Compton – Chief Coding Clerk; Washington, DC In addition,
we have a fantastic new message board where several people have posted
messages looking for information on relatives.
Please visit this message board often to see if you recognize the
names of any Manhattan Project veterans.
Click on the link below to reach the Message Board! http://www.bulletinboards.com/view.cfm?comcode=cotmp 07)
Quote of the Month... "Having
found the bomb we have used it. We used it against those who
attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have
starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those
who have abandoned all pretext of obeying international laws of warfare.
We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save
the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans."
08)
Question of the Month... First, the
question from our last newsletter: What was
the MAUD Committee? We received
only 7 replies. The correct
answer: A group of British
Scientists who conducted an early feasibility study on the development
of an atomic weapon. The
report issued by this committee is widely accepted as the catalyst which
moved America’s uranium research efforts into second gear. This
Month's Question: As
part of an overall strategy of the Manhattan Project, General Groves
initiated the ALSOS Missions (there were three).
What were these three missions? 09)
Did You Know?... When Germany
surrendered in April of 1945, an order was given for all U-boats to pull
into the nearest allied port and surrender their boat and crew.
When U-boat 234 pulled into Portsmouth, Virginia, she was
carrying a secret cargo bound for Japan.
“Click” on the link below to read the entire story. http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/History/H-07c.htm 10)
Final Message… Again, we
wish to thank all of you for your continued support and interest in
preserving the historical importance of the Manhattan Project. We are
always eager for new content for both our newsletter and web site. We have recently received several unique photos of the 509th
Composite Group from Mike Carol, whose father Andrew Carol, was a
fitness instructor with the 509th.
The interest amongst our young people is growing by leaps and
bounds. Anything that you
can contribute would be greatly appreciated.
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