July & August 2001 Newsletter

Volume II - Issue 4

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)   New Veteran Profiles

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)   Books and Publications

11)   Awards and Commendations

12)   "Incident" at the Philadelphia Navy Yard

13)   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 July we had over 500 visitors from 42 different countries, with Canada (46), England (52), Australia (80), New Zealand (77) and Japan (27) being the top 5.

02)   Several Veteran Profiles Added…

We have recently added more than a dozen new Veteran Profiles to our “Manhattan Project Veteran’s Memorial” web site;

http://www.manhattanprojectmemorial.org/veteran%profiles/photo_directory.htm. 

 These are photos and stories which have been sent to us by family members or friends.  This part of our project is probably the most important and the slowest going.  Keep in mind that we are trying to create the only public record of Manhattan Project participation for the thousands of civilians and military personnel who were not so lucky as to be named in the history books.

03)   New Additions to the Site…

Since our last newsletter in June, we have added close to another 20MB of material to the web site.  Our primary site is now over 400 pages and 75MB in size.  Below is a sampling of a few of those additions:

·       Photos – In the past 60 days, we have added more than 80 photos, including 30 of the 509th Composite Group, 15 of Robert Oppenheimer, and 15 of Oak Ridge.   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.   New material has been added this past July.

http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/HICC/HICC_LC.htm    

·       We have added a new page commemorating the Army Engineer's Hospital at Los Alamos.  Many doctors, nurses, WAC's, and volunteers worked at the hospital from early 1943 through 1946.  We have identified several people but still need help filling in many of the blanks.  If anyone has any remembrances about the hospital, please e-mail us. 

http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/MP_Misc/Hospital-LA.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.

Note:  As of the date of this newsletter, we have completed close to 70% of our objective.  We are looking forward to the school year to begin.

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) Arthur Isserstedt - Worked on Timing Device at Los Alamos

2) Sgt. Robert Breneman - Military Police at Los Alamos

3) Grover H. Catt; 509th Composite Group

4) Bert Sigler - Provisional Engineer at Los Alamos

5) Bill Elmore - Civilian Scientist or SED at Los Alamos

6) John Frank Boling; Civilian employee; Oak Ridge

7) Lillian O. Crist - Secretary at Oak Ridge 1943-45

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

11) William Dugal Campbell - 509th Composite Group

12) George Schaeffer - Chemist at University of Chicago

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

Look for an upcoming tribute to Harry K. Daghlian and Louis Slotin, two Los Alamos scientists who lost their life in the pursuit of the first atomic bomb.

07)  Quote of the Month...

"I was very sorry that I should not see you again before my return to Denmark, but, due to difficulties in arranging a passage for Margrethe and me, we could not, as we had intended to, return to the U.S.A. before the secret of the project was lifted, and then it was thought advisable that I no longer postpone my return to Denmark. 

"I need not say how often Aage and I think of all the kindness you and Kitty showed us in these last eventful years, where your understanding and sympathy have meant so much to me, and how closely I feel connected with you in the hope that the great accomplishment may contribute decisively to bringing about harmonious relationships between nations..."

08)  Question of the Month...

First, the question from our last newsletter: As part of an overall strategy of the Manhattan Project, General Groves initiated the ALSOS Missions (there were three).  What were these three missions?  

The correct answer:  A group of scientists led by Samuel Goudsmit and Manhattan Project security officers worked with advancing Allied Armies as they made their way through Italy, France and Germany.  Their mission was two-fold:  learn how far the Nazi's had come in their atomic development efforts and capture any available nuclear materials, such as uranium and heavy water.  ALSOS I - Italy; ALSOS II - France; and, ALSOS III - Germany.

This Month's Question:

After the war, Robert Oppenheimer was inundated with offers from many academic institutions.  Which prestigious university did Oppenheimer become associated with?

09)  Did You Know?...

After the war's end, several scientists were encouraged to stay and continue work on the "Super" - The Hydrogen (fusion) Bomb.  Pioneered by Edward Teller and Stansilaw Ulam, the first successful test took place on November 1, 1952, and was code-named "Mike".

Whereas the Fat Man bomb which exploded over Nagasaki had the power equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, Mike had the equivalent of 10.4 Million tons of TNT.  The explosion was so powerful, it created a crater which was 2 miles wide and 1/2 mile deep.