Story 002 - Michael Vickio - Military Police

Michael J. Vickio was born in Montour Falls, NY on October 13, 1911. One of ten children, he spent his early years working in his father's candy and ice cream parlor. After graduating from high school, he worked as a bus driver on the local route between Montour Falls and Ithaca, NY and then went to work for Shepard-Niles Company as a machinist.

In March 1943, Mike was drafted and went to Camp Drum (New York) for basic training. Upon completion of basic training, he went to Fort Dix in New Jersey for training as a military policeman. His first job as an MP was as a security guard at Rhodes General Hospital, a military hospital in Utica, NY. In less than three months, he found out he was going to Camp Butner in Henderson, NC for further training and to await further orders.

In the wee hours of the morning one night in late October 1943, Mike was awakened and told to pack his things and be ready to move out. He was taken to a train and was not told where he was going. The car he boarded did not have any windows and it was in this car that he headed west. A day or so later, the train stopped and he and a few others were told to disembark. A sign at the train station informed him that they were in El Paso, Texas. Mike then boarded another train on the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe Line, and again they headed out. A few hours later he arrived in Santa Fe, NM and was met at the station by a bus, which immediately left for the 1 hour trip up treacherous mountain roads to Los Alamos.

From the moment he stepped foot inside the main gate at Los Alamos, Mike began trying to figure out how he might be able to arrange for his wife, Bernice, an RN, to come out to Los Alamos even though at that time it was specifically disallowed. How he was able to accomplish this is not known, but in June of 1944 he arranged for Bernice to come to Santa Fe on her own and get a job there while he worked to get her accepted at the Los Alamos Hospital. (See Bernice Vickio's story here). In October 1944 she was offered employment as a general duty nurse at the Los Alamos Hospital.

The living conditions were poor but at least they were close together, but not living together. Mike stayed at the Military Police Barracks and Bernice was at the Nurses Dormitory but they managed to see each other often and prepared meals in the dayroom of the dormitory.

Working as a security guard at a top-secret military project was often routine, but Mike always related a couple of "stories" that were not routine. One of his duties was to accompany civilian workers from the outside whenever they were required to work inside the Tech Area. On one such occasion, Mike was assigned to accompany a plumber while he installed new commodes and sinks within a bathroom facility inside the Tech Area fence. For five days, Mike followed the plumber around making sure that he didn't wander into any restricted area. On two or three occasions, when Mike was distracted by someone, the plumber would disappear and Mike would have to chase him down, instructing him that it was against regulations for the plumber to walk around by himself.

A few weeks later, while participating in weekly target practice with his .45 cal automatic, Mike found himself next to a civilian who was also firing his weapon. The civilian was the "plumber" Mike had accompanied for five days. Although he never spoke, the :plumber" winked and smiled before leaving the range with other FBI agents. This illustrated one facet of the security program. You never knew who you could trust so you just did your job and KEPT YOUR MOTHER SHUT. As often as not, the fellow sweeping the floor in your office cubicle was a G2 military intelligence officer.

A second story is not as dramatic but illustrates the range of problems associated with being a security guard. Not far outside the Los Alamos site was a concrete dam that had been constructed to create a reservoir for the residents of the Project. Since Los Alamos was in high desert country, water was a major concern and there was a fear that enemy saboteurs would attempt to blow up the dam if they had the opportunity. Therefore, around the clock military police patrols were assigned to guard the dam. On one such occasion, Mike was assigned the midnight to 4 AM shift and was stationed at the dam on a particularly dark night. There were no lights there and if there was heavy cloud cover, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Suddenly Mike heard a twig snap as someone or something heavy stepped on it not far from the end of the dam on the opposite side from where he was at. As he crossed the dam, the noise of someone walking was heard again. Mike later told friends and family that the hair on the back of his head literally "stood on end". He said that he had never been more scared than he was that night. Even with his flashlight and his .45 at the ready, he felt certain that someone had been checking out the dam in the middle of the night. He reported the incident and a subsequent search of the area turned up no further evidence of an intruder.

As with most of the Army personnel at Los Alamos, promotions were very hard to come by regardless of performance. It was no exception with Mike. He had remained a PFC for quite some time when he learned of an opening in the Military Police Motor Pool, the group that maintained the vehicles used by the MP's. Using his mechanical background, he made the switch and rapidly moved up through the ranks until he was a Tech Sergeant. On March 26, 1946, Mike received his discharge orders. (See document to the left)

After the war, Mike talked little about his exploits at the now famous birthplace of the atomic bomb; not because he was ashamed, but because he didn't think it was that "big a deal". But there is no doubt that he was proud of his association with the Manhattan Project and the fact that he played a part, albeit small, in bringing about an early end to World War II.

Michael Vickio passed away in 1979 after retiring as a postmaster for the United States Postal Service.

Society for the Historical Preservation of the Manhattan Project

Los Alamos, NM

Michael Vickio

"In His Own Words"

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