The Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Association, Inc.
"Preserving, Exhibiting, Interpreting and Teaching the History of the Manhattan Project"
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The Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Association, Inc. "Preserving, Exhibiting, Interpreting and Teaching the History of the Manhattan Project" |
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| In conjunction with our commitment to the Veteran History Project of the Library of Congress, we proudly present the Veterans of the Manhattan Project. Below are the personal histories of 12 of these veterans. Please "click" on a name below to go directly to that veteran's section or simply page down to view them all. Please "click" here to go to the Veteran Archives Directory. |
Manhattan Project Veteran Archives
Archive Section
6 of 50
| Raymond L. Murray | Donald P. Ames | Roy W. Greenlee |
| Seymour Calvert | William S. Hartnett | Raymond D. Frank |
| Howard D. Peters | Richard C. Baker | Egbert W. Sudlow |
| Arthur L. Watmough | Ruth C. Boe | Daniel Lasovick |
6-1
| Name:
Raymond L. Murray |
Table | Location: Berkeley & Oak Ridge Assigned Unit: Civilian - Scientific Job/Position: Physicist Dates of Service (if Known): 5/42 to 12/46 Information Submitted By:
Archival Record #: OR-CS-MURR-0402 | Picture 1 | Document 1 | Story 1 | |
In 1941, Raymond Murray was a graduate student in physics at UC Berkeley
studying under J. Robert Oppenheimer. In May 1942, at age 22, he
joined the research on the electromagnetic method of uranium isotope
separation under Ernest Lawrence at the Radiation Laboratory. He was
then transferred to Oak Ridge in December 1943 as Assistant. Building
Superintendent of the Y-12 Beta Building No. 2 in charge of production
operations. After the war, Dr. Murray stayed on at Oak Ridge until 1950 when he went to N. C. State as Professor of Physics. There he remained for more than 50 years. "Click" on Story 1 at left for more information on his outstanding career. |
6-2
| Name:
Donald P. Ames |
Table | Location: Met Lab; Univ. of Chicago Assigned Unit: Military - SED; T/3 Job/Position: Jr. Chemist Dates of Service (if Known): 3/44 to 9/46 Information Submitted By: Donald P. Ames Archival Record #: ML-SD-AMED-0402 | Picture 1 | Document 1 | Story 1 | |
Born 9/13/1922, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, parents USA citizens. B.S. 1944 Chemistry Univ. Wisconsin-Madison. Phi Beta Kappa. Special Engineering Detachment, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army 1944-1946. Bikini Resurvey, Scripps Inst. Oceanography 1947. Wisconsin Alumni Res. Fellow 1946-1948. Atomic Energy Research Fellow 1948-1949. Ph.D. Physical Chemistry & Physics 1950. Sigma Xi. Chemist, J Division, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory 1950-1952. Assistant Professor, Chemistry, Univ. Kentucky-Lexington. 1952-1954; Assoc. Professor 1954. Senior Chemist, Savannah River Laboratory, DuPont 1954-1956. Senior chemist, Monsanto Co. St. Louis, MO 1956-1959; Fellow 1959-1961. Senior Scientist, McDonnell Research Laboratories 1961-1968; Dep. Director, 1968-1970; Director, McDonnell Douglas Research Laboratories 1970-1976; Staff Vice President 1976-1986; Staff Vice President/General Manager 1986-1989 McDonnell Douglas Distinguished Fellow 1986-1989. Retired 1989. Honorary L.L.D. Univ. Missouri-St. Louis 1978. President and Co-Owner Fluotech 1991-present. Advisor AFOSR, Univ. Illinois, Lehigh Univ. Washington Univ. Univ. Missouri-St. Louis, Univ. Missouri-Columbia. Member Am. Chem. Soc.., Am. Phys. Soc. |
6-3
| Name:
Roy W. Greenlee |
Table | Location: Met Lab & Oak Ridge Assigned Unit: Civilian - Scientific Job/Position: Chemist/Engineer Dates of Service (if Known): 1/44 to 11/45 Information Submitted By: Roy W. Greenlee Archival Record #: OR-CS-GRER-0402 Picture 1 | Document 1 | Story 1 | |
Roy Greenlee was born near Charleston, WV where the technology of the "chemical valley" influenced his decision to pursue a chemistry profession. After preliminary studies at Kanawha and Morris Harvey colleges, and a year as a DuPont analyst, he graduated from Ohio State and spent 2 years as a Graduate Research Fellow there before being recommended (Dec. 1943) to and accepted by Dr. Seaborg for work at the Met Lab. At the Met Lab, he worked primarily on plutonium separation and was credited with being the first to establish the half-life of Pu-240. A few months later, Roy put on his engineer uniform and worked at Oak Ridge redesigning the columns for the liquid thermal separation of U-235. See "Story 1" to the left for more... |
6-4
| Name:
Seymour Calvert |
Table | Location: Los Alamos, NM Assigned Unit: Military - SED Job/Position: Chemical Engineering Dates of Service (if Known): 4/43 to 3/46 Information Submitted By: Phyllis Calvert, Wife Archival Record #: LA-SD-CALS-0402 Picture 1 | Document 1 | Story 1 | |
Seymour Calvert served for 11 months on the Special Development (the initiator) and undertook and carried through experimentation that involved great hazard to his health (lungs). His technical and manual skills were gained from his courses in chemical engineering. His service dates were April 2, 1943-March 1, 1946. After service he went back to college and earned his BS in chemical engineering from Michigan Tech Univ.. He then earned his MS and PhD. in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He taught and specialized in small particle technology at Case Western Reserve, Penn State Univ. and the Univ. of CA as Prof. of Engineering. In later days he established his own firm, Air Pollution Technology, for research and development. After a period of time, he began manufacturing air pollution control equipment through Calvert Environmental Products, both companies located in San Diego, CA. Seymour Calvert died in Feb. 2002. His death was caused by berylliosis related to work in Los Alamos on the Manhattan Project as an SED. He held five(5) US patents and one(1) Canadian patent on Wet Scrubbers. He was one of a handful of experts worldwide on wet scrubbers. Dad was also one of the technical advisors for the Clean Air Act of the US in 1967. |
6-5
| Name:
William S. Hartnett |
Table | Location: Hanford, WA Assigned Unit: Civilian - Scientific Job/Position: Plutonium Metallurgy Dates of Service (if Known): 1/43 to 12/46 Information Submitted By: MaryMichel Hartnett-Peters, Daughter Archival Record #: HA-CO-HARW-0402 Picture 1 | Document 1 | Story 1 | |
Bill Hartnett worked in plutonium metallurgy at the Hanford Engineer
Works. He always referred to himself as a "glorified foundryman". One interesting story is that Bill would always mail his laundry back home to Kansas City to his wife, Margaret. He always had it back faster than his co-workers who used the local laundry service. Also, one day he got off the local bus and walked home with the legs of his trousers missing and wearing paper shoes. He said they had been ruined while working on some process. We show his date of service ending 12/31/46 which was the ending date of the Manhattan Project. Actually, Bill worked there until 4/75. |
6-6
| Name:
Raymond D. Frank |
Table | Location: Univ. of Chicago - Met Lab Assigned Unit: Civilian - Scientific Job/Position: Metallurgist ? Dates of Service (if Known): Unknown Information Submitted By: Bill Frank, Son Archival Record #: ML-CS-FRAR-0402 | Picture 1 | Picture 2 | Picture 3 | Document 1 | Story 1 | |
Bill Frank submitted some information about his father, Raymond Frank, who
he believes worked at the Met Lab after finishing college at the age of
22. We have found information that a R. Frank was a metallurgist. If anyone remembers Raymond Frank (or, R. Frank), please contact us via Feedback. |
6-7
| Name:
Howard D. Peters |
Table | Location: Hanford, WA Assigned Unit: Civilian - Other Job/Position: Truck Driver Dates of Service (if Known): 7/43 to 12/46 Information Submitted By: Leonard R. Peters, Son Archival Record #: HA-CO-PETH-0402 Picture 1 | Document 1 | Document 2 | Story 1 | |
My father, Howard Peters, came from Oklahoma via Colorado to work as a Heavy Duty truck driver in the summer of 1943. My mother stayed in Denver until I was born in Aug. 1943 and then we moved to Hanford in Oct. 1943. My father loved his work very much and was full of stories about the "early days". Howard Peters actually worked at Hanford until Mar. 1967 but we show his Manhattan Project service ending in 12/46 when the Project formally ended. |
6-8
| Name:
Richard C. Baker |
Table | Location: Hanford, WA Assigned Unit: Civilian - Other Job/Position: Office Supv. - Construction Dates of Service (if Known): 5/43 to 12/46 Information Submitted By: Richard C. Baker, Self and Susan Baker Hoover, Daughter Archival Record #: HA-CO-BAKR-0402 Picture 1 | Document 1 | Story 1 | |
Richard Baker was born in Fayette, IA in 1915. He attended public schools in Fayette and received a BA from Upper Iowa Univ. and a BS degree from Iowa State in 1938. Employed Curtis Co. in Clinton, IA 1938 - 40, DuPont Cellophane (Construction) 1940, DuPont Const. at Indiana Ordnance 1940 - 41, Alabama Ordnance 1941 - 42, Gopher Ordnance, MN 1942 - 43, then transferred to Hanford 5/43 as office supervisor (construction). Transferred from construction to operations in 1945. Retired as a Project Engineer - 200 Areas in June 1977. Responsible for major projects from conceptual design, final design, construction (fixed-price contractors) to turn key operations. Favorite story: Arrived in Pasco employment office in May 1943 and was assigned to Barracks #10 at Hanford Site. I was to report there the next day. That night Barracks #10 burned down...Omen? Richard also remembers the new hires, seeing sand blowing every day, would pick up their final check and head for the shipyards on the coast. Most had been hired off the streets on the east coast and had no skills. |
6-9
| Name:
Egbert W. Sudlow |
Table | Location: Oak Ridge, TN Assigned Unit: Civilian - Other Job/Position: Installed Telephone Systems Dates of Service (if Known): Unknown Information Submitted By: Jim T. Sudlow, Son Archival Record #: OR-CO-SUDE-0402 Picture 1 | Document 1 | Story 1 | |
Egbert Sudlow worked on the Manhattan Project installing phone systems at
Oak Ridge. With over 45,000 employees and four large complexes
spread over several square miles, one can imagine the complex phone
systems required. His son remembers him telling about how he would be "blind-folded" on his trips from and to Atlanta. Egbert died in 1971 from a rare blood disease. If any other workers or children of workers at Oak Ridge suffered from similar ailments, please contact us via "Feedback" |
6-10
| Name:
Arthur L. Watmough |
Table | Location: DuPont Chamberworks - New Jersey Assigned Unit: Civilian - Scientific Job/Position: Electrical Engineer Dates of Service (if Known): 1941 to 1947 Information Submitted By: Cynthia Painter, Granddaughter Archival Record #: CP-CS-WATA-0402 Picture 1 | Document 1 | Story 1 | |
 Arthur
Louis Watmough graduated from Penn State with a degree in Electrical
Engineering in 1935. He first worked for General Electric Co. 1935-1941 as
a field engineer. From 1941 to 1947 Arthur worked for DuPont.His resume reads: During the war years I was an electrical engineer at one of DuPont's large chemical plants where I was assistant to the superintendent of electrical maintenance and the supervisor of a 45-man crew that had the responsibility of maintaining plant utilities such as the compressed air lines, electrical transmission and distribution system, and the gas, water, and steam piping. The last two years I was the plant electrical project engineer and concerned myself with the adequacy of the electrical system, including some of the chemical process control. My grandmother, Arthur's wife, Told me that he never spoke of his involvement with the Manhattan Project until after Hiroshima. Basically all he said is that he had worked on the bomb, and that he was a member of the "blue group", nothing more. I now have a copy of his death certificate that shows he had metastatic melanoma, and I also have a copy of his War Department Army Service Forces~ Corps of Engineers certificate. If anyone has any knowledge of the Chamberworks operation or remembers Arthur Watmough, please contact us. |
6-11
| Name:
Ruth C. Boe |
Table | Location: Univ. of Chicago - Met Lab Assigned Unit: Civilian - Scientific Job/Position: Lab Asst. Dates of Service (if Known): 11/43 to 6/45 Information Submitted By:
Archival Record #: ML-CS-BOER-0402 Picture 1 | Document 1 | Story 1 | |
 Ruth Boe worked at the Met Lab from Nov. 1943 thru June 1945. She
was in Farrington Daniels division, in the graphite research section.
Her group leaders were Ted Neubert and Aaron Novick. Her group was
formed in Jan. 1944 to study the effect that radiation, heat, and time
would have on the crystal structure of the graphite which was used as a
moderator of the atomic chain reaction. There was a concern that it
might collapse unexpectedly...this eventually proved groundless."Click" on Story 1 to the left to read more of Ruth Boe's story. (Under Construction) |
6-12
| Name: Daniel
Lasovick |
Table | Location: Los Alamos, NM Assigned Unit: Civilian - Scientific Job/Position: Unknown Dates of Service (if Known): Unknown Information Submitted By: Susan Losovick, Daughter Archival Record #: LA-CS-LASD-0402 Picture 1 | Document 1 | Story 1 | |
From his daughter, Susan: My father was a young scientist of
the Manhattan Project. I visited Los Alamos with my mother 6 months
after the first detonation. My father refused an offer to go to the
Univ. of California with the to be Atomic Energy Commission, and went into
private industry. He was also one of the developers of polyurethanes
for commercial use, and developed the first tinted urethane in the early
sixties. He died at age 54, very suddenly, subsequent to a diagnosis
of Lymphoma (non-Hodgkins), later deemed to be a radiogenic disease as
defined by the US Gov't. If anyone remembers Daniel Lasovick, please
contact us via "feedback" above.
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Raymond L. Murray