The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II

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The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II Page 41

by Denise Kiernan

bomber plane and, 219–21

  closing of, 295

  construction of, 101, 105, 191

  gaseous diffusion process at, 101–2, 191

  name of, 105

  shape of building, 102

  size of, 101, 104

  start of full operations at, 201–3

  K-27 plant, 192, 295

  local companies angered by, 147

  map of, xviii–xix

  mud and lack of sidewalks at, 37–39, 51, 70, 82, 83, 84, 137, 146, 148, 183, 184, 223

  and news of atomic bomb, 249

  orientation films at, 65

  personnel security questionnaires for, 110–11

  photographic documentation of, 30–31, 156, 233, 240, 245–46, 273

  plant closings at, 277

  population size at, 211, 295

  postwar transformation of, 296–97

  progress made at, 205–6, 219

  psychiatric issues affecting workers at, 96–97, 184–87, 198–99

  questions about future of, 269–70

  relationship with surrounding communities, 146–47

  residents evicted for construction of, 23–29, 83, 146

  rumors at, 162–63

  S-50 plant, xiv, xvi, 100, 106–7, 191–92, 206, 259

  construction of, 172, 192

  liquid thermal diffusion process at, 101, 107–8, 192

  operations started at, 205

  safety and health issues at, 206–7

  search for workers for, 49–50

  secrecy surrounding, 64, 65, 117–19, 122, 165–67, 182–84, 212, 260–61

  secret of work revealed, 249, 256–57, 259–62, 264–68, 270–71, 273

  security measures and, 152–55, 162–63, 177, 184

  selection of location, 17, 18

  size of, 26, 83

  speculations on purpose of, 118, 178, 213–14

  Stimson’s tour of, 223–24, 226

  Townsite, see Townsite

  training at, 65, 68

  Tubealloy in, see Tubealloy

  unions and, 153

  victory in Europe and, 229

  War Department letter to workers at, 270–71

  women’s importance to, 97–98, 110–11

  X-10 plant, xvi, 29, 53, 83–84, 100, 196, 259, 278, 279

  construction of, 100

  name of, 105

  as scientific research facility, 295

  Y-12 plant, xiii, xvi, 29, 68, 83–84, 100, 187, 191, 192, 203–4, 205–6, 243, 247, 259, 300, 301, 302, 311, 313, 314

  accident at, 206

  adding machines at, 119–20, 247, 301

  basketball team of, 141

  calutron cubicle operators at, 103, 109, 112–17, 120, 189, 262

  clerks at, 119–22

  closing of, 277, 295

  codes used at, 119

  construction of, 100

  cost of, 206

  electromagnetic separation process at, 101, 102–5, 106, 109, 192

  name of, 105

  scale of operations at, 104, 105, 106, 119

  Clinton Engineer Works housing, 91, 143, 211

  black cafeteria and, 92

  for black residents, 47, 48, 91–92, 145–46

  dissatisfaction with, 186

  East Village, 91

  Happy Valley trailer encampment, 63, 81, 82, 84–89

  amusement fairway at, 142

  laundry in, 89

  shopping in, 89

  streetlights in, 87

  telephones in, 88

  water supply in, 87

  hutments, 47–48, 82, 85, 87, 90–92, 145

  number of residents of, 84

  plans for Negro Village, 91, 145

  Victory cottages, 211

  women’s dormitories, 40, 46, 50, 86, 94–96, 134–35, 211

  Code of Wartime Practices for American Broadcasters, 154

  Cohn, Waldo, 262

  Cold War, 298, 299

  College Women’s Club, 95

  Coleman, Charles, 301

  Coleman, Virginia Spivey, xiii, 1–2, 63, 65–68, 187–89, 204, 212–13, 247–48, 260–61, 267–68, 270, 301, 314–15

  arrival at CEW, 65, 66–67

  as chemist, 66, 67, 118–19, 187–89

  clearance for, 65, 67

  at college, 66, 95, 187, 188

  family of, 188

  journey to CEW, 66

  marriage of, 301

  as Piper’s assistant, 68

  promotion withheld from, 118

  recruited for CEW job, 66

  as teacher, 67–68

  Colored Camp Council, 145

  Colored Employees of Roane-Anderson Company, 92

  Columbia University, 9

  Communism, 174, 238

  Compton, Arthur (“Arthur Holly”; “Holly Compton”; “Comus”), xvi, 16, 100, 151, 228

  and decision to use atomic bomb on Japan, 242–43, 244

  first self-sustaining nuclear reaction experiment and, 78

  Conant, James, 16, 78

  Congress, 224–25, 227

  Connelly, Matthew, 226

  Coobs, Betty, 266

  cookbooks, 165

  Cooper, Prentice, 29

  Corps of Engineers Land Acquisition Section, 24, 26

  Crenshaw, Lieutenant Colonel, 91

  crime, 153

  D

  Dale, Peter, 292

  dances, 137–39, 143, 178–79, 181

  Del Genio, Nick, 243, 245, 251

  Department of Energy, 293

  Depression, Great, 4, 25, 82, 83, 165, 185

  Diamond, Mr., 41–42, 111, 112, 129–30, 180, 266

  Diebner, Kurt, 228

  Dietrich, Marlene, 127

  District Engineer, the, see Nichols, Kenneth

  Donne, John, 236

  Dow Chemical Company, 301

  DuPont, 49, 259, 279

  E

  Eastman Kodak, 105

  Edwards, Elizabeth, 89, 261

  Einstein, Albert, 60–62, 242

  Eisenhower, Dwight D., 246, 297, 299

  Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited, 10, 99

  electromagnetic separation method, 101, 102–5, 106, 109, 192

  electrons, 32

  electroshock treatment, 200–201

  Element 94 (plutonium), xvii, 78, 100, 226, 272, 279

  physiological hazards of working with, 207–8

  production of, 100

  test subjects injected with, 221–22, 247, 292–93

  elements, 32–33

  employment, 84–85

  employers’ anger at Project, 147

  racial discrimination in, 46–47

  Statement of Availability program and, 84, 87, 168

  energy, conversion of mass into, 60

  Energy, Department of, 293

  Engineer, the, see Nichols, Kenneth

  Enola Gay, 252, 313

  Evans, Redd, 30

  Evans, Tom, 220–21

  Executive Order No. 8802, 46

  F

  Fair Employment Practices Committee, 46

  farm equipment, 147

  Farmer, Henry, see Fermi, Enrico

  Farm Hall, 228, 245, 263–64

  Farrell, General, 290

  FBI, 65, 106, 112, 153, 174

  Federal Civil Defense Administration, 298

  Felton, Gene, 278–79

  Fercleve, 205

  Ferguson, Evelyn (Mrs. H. K.), xiv, 107–8, 205

  Ferguson, Harold Kingsley, 107, 108

  Fermi, Enrico (“Henry Farmer”; “the Italian Navigator”), xiv, xv, 32–34, 57, 58, 61, 75–80, 100, 151, 174, 228, 234, 294

  atomic bomb test and, 235

  in first self-sustaining nuclear reaction experiment, 76–78

  “Possible Production of Elements of Atomic Number Higher Than 92,” 32

  Fermi, Laura, 61, 75, 78–80

  Feynman, Richard, 174

  fission, 61, 76, 100, 260, 263, 293–94

  fluorine, 131

  Ford, Bacon
& Davis, 124

  49 (plutonium), see Element 94

  Fox, Mark, 192

  Franck, James, 151, 174, 230

  Friedell, Hymer, 206–7, 211, 221–22

  Frisch, Otto, 57, 59–61, 80, 234, 263–64

  Fuchs, Klaus, 236, 243, 298

  G

  Gadget, the, see atomic bomb

  gaseous diffusion separation process:

  at K-25, 101–2, 191

  at K-27, 192

  Gates, Frances Smith, 156–57

  Geiger counters, 288

  General, the, see Groves, Leslie

  General Electric, 125, 151

  George Washington University (GWU), 44–45

  Germany, 18, 19, 58, 152, 227, 238, 291

  atomic research in, 62, 119, 228, 252–53, 258

  surrender of, 229, 230, 254

  glyptal, 125

  Goldright, David, 293

  Graves, Al, 234–35

  Graves, Elizabeth (“Diz”), xv, 234–35, 237

  Great Depression, 4, 25, 82, 83, 165, 185

  Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 23, 25

  Greenglass, David (Kalibr), 175, 237, 243, 298

  Greer, Jane, see Puckett, Jane Greer

  Grew, Joseph, 9

  grits, 13–14

  Grove Center, 142

  Groves, Leslie (“The General”), xv, 16–17, 18, 83, 101, 105, 172, 173, 175, 181, 192, 194, 223–26, 228, 230–31, 232, 290, 291

  and amount of Tubealloy needed, 105–6

  and atomic bombing of Japan, 243, 244, 251, 252, 272, 290

  atomic bomb test and, 235–38, 241, 242

  Celia Szapka and, 55

  CEW workers addressed by, 287

  Evelyn Ferguson’s meeting with, 107

  liquid thermal diffusion method and, 107–8

  Manhattan Project directed by, 18, 259

  Meitner and, 294

  security measures and, 152–53

  Westcott’s meeting with, 233, 239–41

  Y-12 plant and, 105

  H

  Hahn, Otto, 57–59, 61, 228, 245, 263

  Nobel Prize awarded to, 293–94

  Hall, Harold, 140–41, 277

  Hall, Helen, see Brown, Helen Hall

  Hanford, Washington (Site W), xvii, 100, 174

  Happy Valley trailer encampment, 63, 81, 82, 84–89

  amusement fairway at, 142

  laundry in, 89

  shopping in, 89

  streetlights in, 87

  telephones in, 88

  water supply in, 87

  Harrison, George L., 238

  Harshaw Chemical Co., 99

  Harwit, Martin O., 313

  Hastings, Doc, 313

  Hawaii, 286

  Heisenberg, Werner, 228–29

  Hempelmann, Louis, 208

  Hendrix, John, 27–28, 314

  Hepburn, Katharine, 127

  Hill, the, see Los Alamos, N.Mex.

  Himmler, Heinrich, 58

  Hinton, Joan, xiv, 233–34, 237

  Hirohito, 272

  Hiroshima, 250–53, 255, 257, 267, 271, 275, 287, 288, 290–91, 298, 299, 307

  Hitler, Adolf, 18, 57, 165

  death of, 227

  H. K. Ferguson Company, xiv, 107, 108, 172, 205

  Hoff, Geraldine, 30

  Hoffman, Bernard, 291

  Holly, Arthur, see Compton, Arthur

  Holy Sonnets (Donne), 236

  Hornbeak, Tenn., 69–70

  House Military Affairs, 28

  Howland, Dr., 221, 222

  HP-12, see Cade, Ebb

  hydrogen peroxide, 119

  I

  Indianapolis, USS, 251

  informants, 72–74, 117–18, 167–69, 212–13

  intelligence agents, 154

  Intelligence and Security Division, 167

  Interim Committee, 227–28, 230

  International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 85

  International Friendship Bell, 307–8

  Iowa State College, 99

  isotopes, 33, 34, 59

  radioactive, 295

  Italian Navigator, see Fermi, Enrico

  Italy, 61, 75, 152

  Iwo Jima, 238, 252

  J

  J. A. Jones Construction, 46, 87, 209

  James, Harry, 190

  Japan, 152, 199, 201, 238, 239, 295

  Allied occupation of, 291

  bombing of Tokyo, 229–30

  Pearl Harbor, 56, 154, 250, 253, 273, 308

  Potsdam Proclamation and, 245, 255

  surrender of, 258, 272–73

  U.S. relations with, 307–8

  Japan, atomic bombing of, 250–56, 271, 275, 277, 278

  decision made, 230, 241–44

  Hiroshima, 250–53, 255, 257, 267, 271, 275, 287, 288, 290–91, 298, 299, 307

  leaflets dropped on cities, 255–56

  Nagasaki, 272–73, 288–89, 291

  Stimson’s statement on, 258–60

  Truman and, 241–44, 251, 255–56, 278, 292

  Warren’s trip to assess aftermath of, 288–90, 291

  Jeffries, Zay, 151

  Jennings, John, Jr., 28

  Jones, David, 70

  Jones, Dorothy (“Dot”), see Wilkinson, Dorothy Jones

  Jones, J. A., 88

  Jones, Willard Worth “Shorty,” 70–71, 308

  Jones, Woodrow, 70

  K

  K-25 plant, xiii, xvi, 29, 47, 82–85, 87, 100, 106, 108, 117, 122–24, 189, 191, 192, 205–6, 209, 247, 259, 273, 295, 302, 313, 314

  bomber plane and, 219–21

  closing of, 295

  construction of, 101, 105, 191

  gaseous diffusion process at, 101–2, 191

  name of, 105

  shape of building, 102

  size of, 101, 104

  start of full operations at, 201–3

  K-27 plant, 192, 295

  Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry, 57, 263

  Kalibr (David Greenglass), 175, 237, 243, 298

  KCBA, 236

  Kelly, Cynthia, 313

  Kelly, Virginia, 66

  Kennedy, John F., 299

  assassination of, 300

  Kingston Demolition Range, see Clinton Engineer Works

  Kistiakowsky, George, 174

  Klemski, Celia Szapka, xiii, 2, 3–14, 28, 84, 93–94, 141–42, 189, 247, 264–65, 279–80, 314

  arrival at CEW, 37–40, 50–55

  family of, 6–8, 193–94

  Henry Klemski and, 53, 54, 93–94, 111, 148, 193–96

  identification badges of, 39–40

  interrogation of, 194

  journey to CEW, 3–5, 7, 12–14

  Knoxville outings of, 146–48

  letters home, 161

  marriage of, 193, 195–96, 216

  pregnancy of, 216–17, 279–80

  as Project secretary in New York, 5, 9–11

  and secrecy surrounding Project, 3, 4–5, 10–11

  in Shenandoah, 4, 7, 9

  State Department job of, 8–9

  transfer to Oak Ridge, 10–11

  work of, 53–55, 111, 196

  Klemski, Henry, 53, 54, 93–94, 111, 148, 193–96, 279–80

  Celia’s marriage to, 193, 195–96, 216

  Knoxville, Tenn., 12–14, 146–48

  Knoxville Journal, 273

  Kokura, 252

  Korean War, 299

  Koval, George, 243, 298

  Koval, Ruth, 298

  Kramish, Arnold, 172–73, 175

  Kramish, Sarah, 173

  Kyoto, 251

  L

  Lane, John, 303, 314

  Lane, Rosemary Maiers, xiv, 1, 52, 95, 96, 127–28, 135, 141–42, 148, 181–82, 189, 196–201, 247, 250, 257, 277–79, 303, 314

  marriage of, 303

  mentally ill patient and, 197–201

  Langham, Wright, 211, 292

  Larson, Dr., 204, 248

  Laurence, William L., 228, 244, 246, 275

 
Lawrence, Ernest O. (“Ernest Lawson”), xv, 16, 102, 108, 109, 110, 174

  Leighton, George Ross, 4

  Leverett, M. C., 152

  Leyshon, Emily, 187

  Life, 143, 291

  Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 299

  lipstick, 137–38

  liquid nitrogen, 119

  liquid thermal diffusion process:

  at Philadelphia Navy Yard, 172–73

  at S-50 plant, 101, 107–8, 192

  Loeb, John Jacob, 30

  London Daily Express, 290

  Los Alamos, N.Mex. (Site Y; the Hill), xvi, 19, 80, 100, 174, 251

  atomic bomb test, 233–38, 239, 241, 242, 244, 251, 275

 

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