by Steve Vogel
Now, as Enterprise Ibid.
Workers swarmed Ibid.; War Department aerial photograph, 22 Oct. 1941, Witmer papers, OSD HO; War Department press release, “New War Department Building,” 1 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO.
McShain and Bergstrom go to war
Back on the ground Polly McShain, author interview; Telephone transcript, McShain calling Groves, 14 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO.
By October 28 Farrell, memo to Groves, 29 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO.
Every day Hauck McShain address to engineers, McShain papers, HML; Polly McShain, author interview.
Further complicating Engineer Memoirs—Casey, 41, 141. It was a fateful decision that took Casey to the Bataan Peninsula, where his engineering skills bought time for ill-equipped and outnumbered American and Filipino troops; he later escaped from Corregidor with MacArthur aboard a submarine to Australia.
Worried about the growing Farrell, memo to Groves, 29 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO. AP, Farrell obituary, 11 Apr. 1967; Groves, “My Associations with Major General Thomas F. Farrell,” 12 Aug. 1968, NARA RG 200.
Groves telephoned private Groves, transcripts of telephone calls to Philadelphia and Detroit, 3–5 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO.
“It must be recognized” Farrell, memo to Groves, 29 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO.
In the hangar
All-out van der Gracht, White interview, AOC; Somervell letter to Delano, 11 Sept. 1941, I, CEHO; White, “The Pentagon Drawings.”
“Mr. Delano said” van der Gracht, White interview.
He stood a shade Ides van der Gracht membership file, AIA; White, author interview, 2004; White, “The Pentagon Drawings,” 3; Delano letter to New York State Education Department, 27 Oct. 1931, RG 45, series 45.1, AOC.
“Okay, go to work” van der Gracht, White interview.
Larry Lemmon Lawrence Clifton Lemmon, Twentieth Century Sojourn, 147–151.
The drafting team van der Gracht, White interview.
More problematic, the warehouse “The Pentagon,” 9, Witmer papers, OSD HO; Pentagon photographs, Witmer papers, OSD HO; White, “The Pentagon Drawings,” 6; Lemmon, Twentieth Century Sojourn, 152.
The design force was approaching “The Pentagon,” 7–8, Witmer papers, OSD HO; Lemmon, Twentieth Century Sojourn, 152.
The drafting force was broken down van der Gracht, White interview; Lemmon, Twentieth Century Sojourn, 152.
Van der Gracht was a natural van der Gracht, White interview.
Van der Gracht issued a daily Ibid.; White, author interview; Furman, author interview.
Behind van der Gracht’s desk van der Gracht, White interview.
The draftsmen were using tools White, “The Pentagon Drawings,” 12; van der Gracht, letter to George Malcolm White, 4 July 1993, RG 45, series 45.1, AOC.
Drawings were issued nightly “The Pentagon,” 9–10, Witmer papers, OSD HO; White, “The Pentagon Drawings,” 6–8.
The builders and Army Furman, author interview; Polly McShain, author interview.
“We were designing” van der Gracht, White interview; “Basic Data on the Pentagon,” III, 4, SDF, NARA RG 160. Leisenring, F&R interview; F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 438.
“How big should I” Brinkley, Washington Goes to War, 73 (AIA membership files and other documents spell Dickey’s first name as Allen instead of Alan).
To curb the design chaos “Planning the Pentagon Building,” 21 Oct. 1942, 4, Witmer papers, OSD HO; White, “The Pentagon Drawings,” 10.
Oh the General undated, Witmer papers, OSD HO.
Van der Gracht would make van der Gracht, White interview.
A price to pay
At the construction site 1st Lt. Charles Smith, “Fatality report on Vernon S. Janney,” 22 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO; WP, 16 Oct. 1941.
Janney’s death was the first Lloyd Blanchard memo to Groves, 7 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO; WP, 6 Nov. 1941.
Groves ordered Renshaw Groves memo to Renshaw, 14 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO.
When push came to shove
Somervell had picked F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 522; Star, 6 Nov. 1941; Quartermaster General memo on conservation of critical materials, 24 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO.
Industries and citizens Somervell, letter to Capt. H. C. Whitehurst, 15 Sept. 1941, I, CEHO; Furman, author interview.
Steel was most critical F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 438; Maj. George H. Christensen, “Miscellaneous Data, Pentagon Building”, 7 Oct. 1944, I, CEHO; Witmer planning memorandum, OSD HO; Colglazier, oral history, MHI; Alan Renshaw, author interview; “War Department Architects Saving Critical Materials,” 30 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO.
Furman was often sent Furman, author interview.
Officials with the Office Star, 6, Nov. 1941.
The OPM leak W. B. Styer, memo, 6 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO; Col. Edmund Leavey, memo to Renshaw, 10 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO.
The gold rush
The building’s construction Goldberg, The Pentagon, 56; Telephone transcript, Renshaw calling H. Waples, OPM, 10 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO.
But OPM chief F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 437; “The Pentagon Project—EHD,” 24, CEHO; Numerous letters and telegrams from wood industry representatives sent in November 1941 on file in I, CEHO; Stimson, letter to Sen. Lister Hill, 3 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO.
Other members of Congress Smith letter to Somervell, 11 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO; Ramspeck letter to Styer, 2 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO; Bailey letter to Gen. Gregory, 6 Nov. 1941; Walter letter to Somervell, 28 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO; Somervell letter to Walter, 4 Nov. 1941; Bergstrom memo to Somervell, 10 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO; F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 437.
The President, after his conversation Watson memo to Somervell, 4 Dec. 1941, OF 25, FDR Lib.
An exasperated Somervell refused Somervell memo to Watson, 5 Dec. 1941, OF 25, FDR Lib.
“Will you tell” Roosevelt note to Watson, 5 Dec. 1941, OF 25, FDR Lib.
You can kind of out-slicker yourself
On December 1, 1941 War Department press release, 2 Dec. 1941, Somervell papers, MHI; F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 472.
The Corps of Engineers played a unique Cowdrey, A City for the Nation, 34; WP, 17 Aug. 1941.
The transfer was F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 4–5, 239–241; Richard Groves, author interview.
In mid-1941 F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 159, 462–3.
Madigan quietly approached Ibid.; Madigan, F&R interview, CEHO.
Somervell’s bid F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 462–3; Eugene Reybold, F&R interview, 1959, VII, CEHO; WP, 21 May 1943; Groves, F&R interview, 1956, CEHO; Gregory, F&R interview, CEHO.
Somervell was “mad” Madigan, F&R interview; Ohl, Supplying the Troops, 53–54.
Reybold, though, had no interest Reybold interview, CEHO; F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 472–3.
General Marshall considered Marshall, oral history with Pogue, 14 Feb. 1957, GCM Lib.; Ohl, Supplying the Troops, 54.
“We are right back” Pagan interview, CEHO; F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 475.
Speed is paramount
By the beginning “The Pentagon Project—EHD,” 60, CEHO; F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 439; Furman, author interview.
By late November Farrell memo to Somervell, I, CEHO; Somervell order to Renshaw, 25 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO.
The Commission of Fine Arts CFA minutes, 14 Nov. 1941, NARA DC.
Renshaw was also dealing Davidson memo to Renshaw, 6 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO.
CHAPTER 9—THEY WOULDN’T DARE ATTACK PEARL HARBOR
Some deviltry
The tails set Furman, author interview.
In Washington John J. McCloy, oral history, 1983, 2–3, oral history collection, OSD HO; Marshall, The Papers of George C. Marshall, vol. 4, 4; Stimson diary, 7 Dec. 1941.
The news caught Washington WP, 8 Dec. 1941; Star, 8 Dec. 1941; Hart, Washington at War, 1–24.
Helen McShane Bailey Helen McShane Bailey, “The Office of the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, in World War II: A Memoir,” 7, Memories Project, GCM Lib.; Bailey, author interview, 10 July 2004; WP, 8 Dec. 1941.
Inside the Munitions Build
ing McCloy, oral history, 5, OSD HO; Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas, The Wise Men, 189; Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. Miles, Nelson Appelton, www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online.
At the White House Brinkley, Washington Goes to War, 95; minutes of conference in Marshall’s office, 8 Dec. 1941, entry 31, NARA RG 165; WP, 8 Dec. 1941; F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 477.
Furman arrived Furman, author interview.
Absolute necessity
Walker had been on the job Donald Walker, author interview, 15 Jan. 2004.
After a stirring welcome The Public Papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1941 vol., 515; “The President’s Busy Day,” International News Service, 9 Dec. 1941.
“Glad of it” Walker, author interview.
The decision was made McShain autobiographical notes, 13, McShain papers, HML; Somervell letter to Rep. Clarence Cannon, 7 May 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160.
The agreement that Frederic Groves, “The Construction of the New War Department Office Building,” 15 June 1942, prepared congressional testimony, Groves Collection, GCM Lib.
Congressman who in November F&R, The Corps of Engineers, 478; CFA minutes, 18 Dec. 1941, NARA DC RG 66.
Within days Renshaw, memo to Chief of Engineers, 17 Dec. 1941, I,CEHO; “Basic Data on the Pentagon,” III, 7, SDF, NARA RG 160.
It’s not fair to us to expect the impossible
The pressure Groves, “The Construction of the New War Department Office Building,” GCM Lib.
At Somervell’s insistence Renshaw, memorandum for Somervell, 22 Dec. 1941, SDF, NARA RG 160; Leisenring, F&R interview, CEHO.
“Instructions were issued” U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on War Department, 77th Congress, 2nd sess., Hearings on the Military Establishment Appropriation Bill for 1943, 11 June 1941, 218 (hereafter House hearing, 15 June 1942).
Bergstrom had to be brought Renshaw, memorandum for Somervell, 22 Dec. 1941, SDF, NARA RG 160.
“April first? It’s going up” Telephone transcript, McShain calling Groves, 23 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO.
Putting the screws to the delegees
The strategy was simple Richard Groves, author interview.
Groves learned it from Somervell Engineer Memoirs—Hardin, 106–7.
“philosophy was to delegate” William Lawren, The General and the Bomb, 61.
Groves was not a screamer Ken Nichols, The Road to Trinity, 102; Furman, author interview; Norris, Racing for the Bomb, 16; Teller, introduction to Groves, Now It Can be Told, vii.
“Don’t you ever praise” Nichols, The Road to Trinity, 102.
Groves had stenographers Groves comments, 41–42, CEHO; Davidson letter Maj. Gen. A. C. Smith, VII, CEHO; Davidson, oral history, 160–1, CEHO; Davidson personnel file, CEHO; NYT, Davidson obituary, 27 Dec. 1992.
Like one of his few heroes Groves, Now It Can be Told, 28; Lawren, The General and the Bomb, 64. Davidson, oral history, 136, CEHO.
John McShain bore Polly McShain, author interview; Brauer, The Man Who Built Washington, 154–57.
For Clarence Renshaw Eileen Renshaw, author interview, 26 Feb. 2004; Furman, author interview.
Groves was often Groves, oral history with Pogue, second interview, GCM Lib.; Davidson, oral history, CEHO.
Edwin Bergstrom “Committee of Five” report, appendix A, minutes of the meeting of the AIA board of directors, 29 Oct.–1 Nov. 1941, AIA; Charles T. Ingham, letters to Bergstrom, 17 Dec. 1941, Bergstrom membership file, AIA; minutes of special meeting of AIA executive committee, 5 Feb. 1942, AIA.
Somervell’s three girls Mary Anne Somervell Brenza, author interview, Feb. 31, 2004; Matter, author interview. WT-H, 4 July 1941.
McShain went to see Somervell Telephone transcript, McShain calling Groves, 23 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO.
Remedy this situation
With fears of a Japanese van der Gracht, White interview, AOC; Furman, author interview.
A team of engineers memo to Robins, 17 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO; Robins memo to Somervell’s office, 20 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO; telephone transcript, Major Donald Antes calling Renshaw, 22 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO.
The pace inside telephone transcript, McShain calling Groves, 23 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO; Leisenring, F&R interview, CEHO.
Shortly before Christmas McShain note to Groves, 21 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO; Hauck, letter to Renshaw, 31 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO.
On December 31 Ibid.
Groves received Groves memo to Renshaw, 31 Dec. 1942, I, CEHO.
Oh to hell with it
On the morning of Thursday Renshaw, note to Somervell, 1 Jan. 1942 and Somervell, note to Renshaw, 1 Jan. 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160; aerial photographs of site, 24 Dec. 1941, SDF, NARA RG 160.
Progress was soon evident audit report No. 2, 21 Jan., 1942, I, CEHO.
More than a half-century Condrell, author interview.
“The orders came through” van der Gracht, White interview, AOC.
Renshaw had received word telephone transcript, Major Donald Antes calling Renshaw, 22 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO; Renshaw memo to Chief of Engineers, 9 Jan. 1942, I, CEHO; Robins memo to Somervell’s office, 9 Jan. 1942, I, CEHO.
Then Stimson Stimson memorandum for the president, 2 Jan. 1942, OF 25, FDR Lib.; FDR note to Stimson, 5 Jan. 1942, OF 25, FDR Lib.; telephone transcript, Groves calling Renshaw, 9 Jan. 1942, I, CEHO.
Each time the order Renshaw memo to Chief of Engineers, 9 Jan. 1942, I, CEHO; Robins memo to Somervell’s office, 9 Jan. 1942, I, CEHO.
The proposal for the bomb shelter Stimson memorandum for the president, 14 Jan. 1942, OF 25, FDR Lib.; Harold Smith memorandum for the secretary of war, 17 Feb. 1942, OF 25, FDR Lib.
The resolution was a boost Col. F. S. Strong memo for Somervell, 21 Jan. 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160.
Perhaps the biggest Renshaw memo for Maj. Franklin Matthias, 11 Aug. 1942, I, CEHO; McShain address to engineers, McShain papers, HML.
A growing army of workers
More than six thousand audit report No. 2, 21 Jan., 1942, I, CEHO.
Any skilled laborer WP, 7 Mar. and 27 Apr. 1942; Hauck, letter to Rodmens’ Local Union, 20 Feb. 1942, I, CEHO; Hank Neighbors, author interview, October 2003.
At the bottom Department of Labor memo, 2 Feb. 1942, I, CEHO; Cong. Rec., 1 Oct. 1942, 7692; Neighbors, author interview; audit report No. 2, 21 Jan., 1942, I, CEHO; Allan, author interview.
As a payroll witness Neighbors, author interview.
Thousands of men Renshaw testimony, Office of the Inspector General, investigation report, 25 May 1942, box 1188, records of the Office of the Inspector General; NARA RG 159 (hereafter known as cafeteria IG report); Ralph Smith testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159.
They had their hands Furman, author interview.
McShain figured audit report No. 2, 21 Jan., 1942, I, CEHO; Joseph A. Fox, “World’s Largest Cafeteria to Feed 40,000 Nearing Completion,” Star, 13 Sept. 1942.
Even finding the canteens Walker, author interview; Brian Kelly, “Pentagon Veterans Recall Construction Days,” Star, 30 Apr. 1967.
All signifying chaos
“Washington in wartime” Dwight D. Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, 16.
By 1941, the population “Engineers’ Statement on Pentagon Roads System,” 5 Jan. 1944, I, CEHO; Alden Stevens, “Washington: Blight on Democracy,” Harper’s Magazine, December 1941; Brinkley, Washington Goes to War, 105.
“A languid Southern town” Ibid., xii.
A war mindset WP, 21 and 17 Dec. 1941.
The most immediate problem Stevens, “Washington: Blight on Democracy” WP, 20 Jan. 1942.
Writer John Dos Passos John Dos Passos, The State of the Nation, 1943, excerpt in D.C. History Curriculum Project, City of Magnificent Intentions, 420.
Workers turning up WP, 27 Apr. 1942.
The government’s need Roosevelt, Complete Presidential Press Conferences, vol. 18, 108.
A long gray line Marquis Childs, “Washington Is a State of Mind,” 1942, in Katharine Graham’s Washington, 288.
“It was said around t
own” Brinkley, Washington Goes to War, 117.
For all the dead Davidson, oral history, 155, CEHO; Colglazier, oral history, 51, MHI.
Somervell, on Detroit News, 7 May 1944; Somervell White House identification card, Somervell papers, MHI.
Anytime he put on Kerr, oral history, Smithsonian.
“Not many were fooled” Norris, Racing for the Bomb, 347.
All centered here
More than Marshall, memo for McIntyre, 3 Apr. 1942, Marshall papers, box 80, folder 32, GCM Lib; NCPPC minutes, 4 Feb. 1942, 4.
In late January, Roosevelt Renshaw, memo to Davidson, 31 Jan. 1942, I, CEHO; Howard Peterson memo to Coy, 6 Feb. 1942, and Coy memo for the president, 20 Feb. 1942, OF 25, FDR Lib.
CHAPTER 10: THE BIG PUSH
An overwhelming task
The concrete edifice Matter, author interview; Brenza, author interview; WP, 27 Jan. 1942.
General Marshall was informed Marshall note to Somervell, 26 Jan. 1942, GCM Papers, box 85, Somervell folder, GCM Lib.; Stimson diary, 7 Feb. 1942; Somervell service records, Somervell papers, MHI.
The loss Matter, author interview.
Four days after Pearl Harbor Stimson diary, 11 Dec. 1941. The others Stimson mentioned were Jacob Devers, who would command the 6th Army Group in Europe, and Mark Clark, who would be deputy commander for the Allied landings in North Africa and would command the U.S. Fifth Army in Italy.
Marshall, fed up Pogue, Ordeal and Hope, 289–301; The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, 127–129; War Department press release, “Reorganization of the War Department,” 2 Mar. 1942, Somervell papers, MHI.
Learning in January Ohl, Supplying the Troops, 60–2.
