Special Engineer Detachment
"In Their Own Words"
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College: City College of New York SED Assignments: Los Alamos, NM - 'S' Site - Explosives Division
Monroe Messinger received a Bachelor of Science degree from The City College of New York. While in college he joined the Army in the Enlisted Reserve in 1942. In mid-1943 his unit was called up. After his first few weeks of induction in Camp Upton on Long Island, he was transferred to Fort Hood in Texas for basic training. After a series of aptitude examinations Monroe was transferred to the Army Specialized Training Program which was set up to assign students with certain abilities for further study. The ASTP assigned Monroe to The University of Illinois to study civil engineering and surveying. His knowledge of surveying led to his serving as a Teachers’ Assistant. While at the University of Illinois, he received an order to confer with a few men, who, as he was told, were Washington “brass”. Their conversations revolved around his abilities in chemistry and photography. He asked why he was being questioned along these lines and was told that when the time came he might be informed. Late one night he was ordered to pack all his things including battle gear and was sent to the railroad station to board a special Pullman car. Monroe remembers that he was joined by two or three other young men whom he knew from the University. Other men, also students, were coming in from other areas to join them. When the train left the station there were about 20 men in the Pullman; none had the slightest idea of why they were there or where they were going! The conversation on the train dealt with various far-out guesses as to their final destination. Many of the ideas included secret spy work and/or being shipped overseas to infiltrate enemy lines. No one had an inkling of what the true nature of their jobs would be. The train arrived at Camp Claybourne, Louisiana, where the men stayed for about two weeks; several more were added with the final count now 35. No information about their status was revealed. By this time, however, their discussions among themselves led them to realize that all of them were college graduates, some with advanced degrees: Masters and Ph.D.’s, in scientific fields. No one, however, could predict what their journey was to accomplish. From Louisiana they boarded a train…destination unknown…and finally were deposited on a siding at Santa Fe, New Mexico during a snowstorm. A WAC driver picked them up in a bus for the final leg of their journey. They crossed the Rio Grande and climbed up dirt mountain roads with no protective barriers, in blinding conditions, to go up 7,000 feet above the Rio Grande. Many times the bus stalled and the men had to exit it to push it up. Finally the last lap of their journey was over when they reached the outer Security Tower of Los Alamos. The guard called in for permission to allow the bus to enter. Major Peer daSilva was in charge at that time, and the guard opened the gate leading to the Technical area. Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer was notified that the first Special Engineering Detachment had arrived; however, he had to be located from another area as he had not been told that the bus was on its way. The men remained outside or on the bus for awhile, until Dr. Oppenheimer found space in an auditorium to meet with them. At that time he apologized to the group for keeping them waiting. He told them they were needed for a most important technical project. They had been sent for as an “important and necessary “addition to a civilian scientific group already in place. Their skills were needed on work connected with a “New Era,” an “Atomic Era”. Monroe felt that Dr. Oppenheimer was avoiding using the word “bomb” at this time. Although Dr. Oppenheimer told them they were to be housed and treated like the civilian scientists, this was not to be. Their accommodations were poor…in fact, no adequate provision had been made for them until their arrival. It wasn’t until Dr. Kistiakowsky, under whom the Detachment directly worked, complained to General Leslie Groves that it was impossible for the men to live under these conditions, which demanded also that they rise earlier to drill, and then be expected to do scientific work during a long day. He recommended that their living quarters be improved, and they not be required to train as arduously as before. Monroe, as a Sergeant, was put in charge of this, the first SED to work at Los Alamos. Many other detachments were to follow. General Leslie Groves was in charge of all the Army personnel, and as an engineer himself, took an interest in the scientific part of the project. Monroe recalls that once while he was inspecting a metal fragment under a microscope, General Groves came into the laboratory. While the General was inspecting another area, Monroe finished his work and removed the fragment from the slides. The General asked him if he could look into the eyepiece of the microscope and Monroe quickly agreed. Gen. Groves made a cursory viewing, then arose from the chair, patted Monroe on the shoulder and said..”Good work, soldier!” Monroe, of course, never revealed to his superior that nothing was on the slide! A small group of SED personnel, with Monroe, was assigned to the Research and Explosives Testing Group under Dr. Kistiakowsky. They were given White Badges, which allowed them in to the most secret areas of the Project. The testing was done in a hidden canyon on Site S. The work involved handling and firing high explosives molded around cylinders of various metallic compositions. High speed air driven cameras designed to measure implosion were employed for data recording. Monroe worked on this site for about one and a half years; at that time he was hurt in an accidental explosion and hospitalized. When he returned to duty he was transferred to the Optics Unit which had the responsibility of working with high speed photographic equipment. This was the group which coordinated the pictures of the first test of an atomic explosion at the Trinity site. It is interesting to note that Monroe, after his discharge, was contacted by the FBI to help them in their investigation of the kind of work that David Greenglass, as a master machinist, did for the Explosives and Optics Groups. After leaving the Project, Monroe returned to New York and worked for two years at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on research concerning beryllium metal. During the years that followed until his retirement, Monroe worked as Manager of Analytical Research with a major consumer product corporation. He married, had two children and lived in Connecticut until his retirement.
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