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 42

by Denise Kiernan


  Tubealloy for, see Tubealloy

  Louisville & Nashville Railroads, 21, 123, 127–28

  M

  MacArthur, Douglas, 290–91

  Madden, Helen, 197

  Madison Square Area Engineers Office, 9

  magazines, 154, 165

  Mahone, Katie, 90

  Maiers, Rosemary, see Lane, Rosemary Maiers

  Mallinckrodt, 99

  Manhattan Project (Manhattan Engineer District), xvii, 288, 298

  Clinton Engineer Works, see Clinton Engineer Works

  creation of, 56, 62, 242

  expenses and funding for, 62, 101, 224–25

  Groves’s direction of, 18, 259

  high school girls recruited by, 69, 109–10

  need for workers for, 48–50, 64, 85

  Roosevelt’s death and, 224

  Smyth Report on, 291–92

  Stalin and, 243

  summer encampment of, 15–17

  Truman and, 225–27

  Tubealloy in, see Tubealloy

  VE Day and, 230

  women’s importance to, 97–98, 108

  Manhattan Project National Park, 313

  Mariana Islands, 230, 245, 251

  Marshall, George, 272

  mass, conversion into energy, 60

  McClure Newspaper Syndicate, 157

  McDonough, Father, 172

  McKellar, Kenneth, 17, 147

  Mead, Margaret, 306

  Meigs, Douglas, 172

  Meitner, Lise, xiv, 57–62, 80, 228, 234, 245, 262–63

  Nobel Prize and, 293–94

  Mellor’s Handbook of Inorganic Chemistry, 119

  Mendeleev, Dmitri, 34

  Metallurgical Laboratory (Met Lab), see Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory

  Midwest Piping, 102

  Miller, J. Howard, 30

  Milne, A. A., 76

  Modern Screen, 127

  Morgan, Fred, 24

  Motohashi, Major, 289–90

  Murrow, Edward R., 217

  Museum of Atomic Energy, 304

  Mussolini, Benito, 61, 227

  Mutual Broadcasting Company, 155

  M. W. Kellogg, 259

  N

  Nagasaki, 252

  atomic bombing of, 272–73, 288–89, 291

  Nature, 32, 61

  Naturwissenschaften, 61

  neutrons, 32–34

  bombardment of Tubealloy with, 33, 58–59

  fission and, 61, 76, 100

  New Deal, 22

  Newell, Hattie, 45

  New Hope Center, 314

  newspapers, 111–12, 154–55

  censorship of, 290, 291

  New York, N.Y.:

  Celia Szapka as Project secretary in, 5, 9–11

  Project research in, 9–10

  New York Times, 227, 228, 244, 275

  Nichols, Jacqueline, 264

  Nichols, Kenneth (“the Engineer”), xv, 16–17, 54, 192, 264, 276, 290, 296

  and decision to use atomic bomb on Japan, 242–43, 246

  Sengier’s meeting with, 18–19

  Tubealloy production contest and, 109–10

  women’s dormitories and, 94

  nitric acid, 119

  nitrogen, liquid, 119

  Nobel Prize, 293–94

  Noddack, Ida, xiv, 32–34, 47, 59, 61, 62, 80

  Noddack, Walter, 34, 59

  Norris Dam, 22–23, 25, 142, 274

  Norris Lake, 23

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

  nuclear reaction, first self-sustaining, 76–78

  O

  Oak Ridge, Tenn., xvi, 81

  author’s visit to, 311–15

  Clinton Engineer Works at, see Clinton Engineer Works

  Oak Ridge Journal, xiv, 20, 35, 42, 52, 63, 71–72, 81, 89–90, 109, 133, 136, 156–58, 165–66, 176, 183, 209, 232, 240, 249, 269, 274–76, 287

  Oak Ridge Law, 297

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), 312

  Office of Censorship, 154, 157, 237, 259–60

  Office of Scientific Research and Development, 62

  Office of War Information, 143

  Okinawa, 227, 238

  O’Leary, Jean, 238

  Oppenheimer, J. Robert (“the Scientist”), xv, 16, 174, 177–78, 207–8, 228, 244, 259, 299

  atomic bomb test and, 235–36

  Hinduism studied by, 236, 244

  Truman’s meeting with, 291–92

  Operation Epsilon, 228

  Operation Meetinghouse, 229

  “Our Friend the Atom,” 299

  P

  Panser, Maybelle, 40

  Parker, Lew, 52, 53, 54, 93, 111, 280

  transfer to CEW, 53

  Parsons, Captain, 252

  Patterson, Robert R., 85, 230, 271

  Pauli, Wolfgang, 293

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

  pearling industry, 23

  periodic table, 32–34

  Peters, Benjamin, 22

  Peters, Toni, see Schmitt, Toni Peters

  Philadelphia Navy Yard, 172–73

  Physics Today, 294

  Pierce Foundation, 83

  Piper, Mac, 68

  Photographer, the, see Westcott, James Edward “Ed”

  plutonium, see Element 94

  Pollock, Bill, 178–79

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

  Potsdam Conference, 236, 238–39, 243, 244, 246

  Potsdam Proclamation, 245, 255

  press, 111–12, 154–55

  protons, 32, 33

  Puckett, Beverly, 314

  Puckett, Jane Greer, xiii, 1, 42–46, 120–22, 176–78, 247, 254, 260–61, 271–72, 298, 300–301, 314

  acceptance of CEW job, 44–45

  at college, 44, 95, 120

  Doris and, 45–46

  investigation of, for CEW job, 43

  marriage of, 300

  training of, 121

  work of, 120–22

  Puckett, Jim, 45–46, 300

  R

  Raby, Parlee, 24

  radiation, 33, 207, 279

  from Japan bombings, 288

  radioisotopes, 295

  railroads, 21, 84, 122–24, 127–28

  derailment accident, 128

  Rea, Charles, 96, 127–29, 197, 198, 250, 256, 257, 277, 278

  recreational activities, 134–38, 142, 144–45

  Recreation and Welfare Association, 134

  Regas Brothers Cafe, 13–14

  religious services, 52–53, 141–42, 145

  Reservation, the, see Clinton Engineer Works

  rhenium, 34

  Ritz Club, 143

  Roane-Anderson Company, 89, 92, 134, 136, 139, 145

  Robinson, George O. (“Gus”), 275–76

  Rockwell, Norman, 30

  Rom, Marty, 314

  Roosevelt, Franklin D., 8, 17, 22, 61–62, 92, 223, 225, 242, 253

  censorship and, 154

  death of, 224, 225, 227

  reelection of, 191

  Rosenberg, Ethel, 298

  Rosenberg, Julius, 298

  Rosie the Riveter, 30

  Ross, B. W., 92

  Rowan, Bess, 82, 84, 86, 87, 126, 127, 190, 280, 281, 306

  Rowan, Brien, 84, 215

  Rowan, Colleen, see Black, Colleen Rowan

  Rowan, Harry, 190

  Rowan, James (Colleen’s father), 86, 87

  Rowan, Jimmy (Colleen’s brother), 82, 189–90, 281, 306

  Rowan, Jo, 87, 127

  Rowan, John, 82

  Rowan, Sara, 190

  Rowan family, 82, 86, 87

  Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 293

  Russia, see Soviet Union

  Rutherford, Ernest, 32

  Ryan, Al, 187

  S

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

  construction of, 172, 192

  liquid thermal diffusion process at, 1
01, 107–8, 192

  operations started at, 205

  Sachs, Alexander, 62

  Sato, Naotake, 255

  Saturday Evening Post, 11, 30

  Schmitt, Chuck, 179–81, 249, 265–67, 282–85

  parents of, 282–85, 303

  Toni’s marriage to, 303–4

  Schmitt, Toni Peters, xiii, 1–2, 20–23, 26–27, 29–31, 84, 111–12, 148–50, 189, 249, 265–67, 269, 303–4

  arrival at CEW, 40–42

  badge of, 150

  Chuck Schmitt and, 179–81, 249, 265–67, 282–85

  Chuck’s marriage to, 303–4

  dictation taken by, 41–42, 112

  Ken York and, 180–81

  promotion declined by, 129–30

  ROTC dance outing of, 148–49

  work of, 112

  Scientist, the, see Oppenheimer, J. Robert

  Seaborg, Glenn, 207, 230

  Secretary, the, see Stimson, Henry

  Secret City Festival, 312, 313, 314

  seditious activity, 168–69

  Segrè, Emilio, 174, 294

  Senate Special Committee, 226

  Sengier, Edgar, 17, 18–19, 99

  Shenandoah, Pa., 4

  Celia Szapka in, 4, 7, 9

  Siegbahn, Karl Manne Georg, 58

  Siener, Father, 52, 53, 148, 195, 281

  silver, 104–5

  Site W, see Hanford, Washington

  Site X, see Clinton Engineer Works

  Site Y, see Los Alamos, N.Mex.

  Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, 83, 297

  Smedley, Barbara, 247–48

  Smith, Jesse, 209

  Smith, Ray, 314

  Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, 313

  Smitz, Mr., 39, 54, 194

  Smyth, Henry DeWolf, 291

  Smyth Report, 291–92

  Socorro Chieftain, 237

  Soviet Union, 152, 225, 236, 239, 243, 245, 255, 272

  in Cold War, 298, 299

  nuclear bombs of, 298, 299

  U.S. atomic program and, 243, 298

  Spaatz, Carl Andrew, 244

  Spam, 217, 219

  Special Engineer Detachment (SED), 49, 139, 172, 175

  Spivey, Virginia, see Coleman, Virginia Spivey

  Stalin, Joseph, 236, 238, 239, 242, 243

  Manhattan Project and, 243

  Standard Oil, 16

  Statement of Availability program, 84, 87, 168

  Stimson, Henry, 17, 224–27, 230–31, 232, 238

  and atomic bombing of Japan, 243, 244, 246, 251

  CEW toured by, 223–24, 226

  statement on bombing of Japan, 258–60

  Strickland, Dorothye, 302

  Strickland, Harvey, 35, 36, 47

  Strickland, Kattie, xiii, 1, 90–93, 122–24, 145, 189, 201–3, 219–20, 247, 260, 276, 301–2, 314

  arrival at CEW, 46–48

  biscuit making of, 92–93, 123–24, 169–71, 314

  black cafeteria and, 92–93

  exhaustion suffered by, 220

  housing and, 47–48, 85

  journey to CEW, 35–37

  winter and, 202

  work of, 122

  Strickland, Willie, 35, 36, 46, 47, 48, 85, 91, 122–24, 169–71, 219, 276, 301–2

  Stimson, Henry (“the Secretary”), xv

  Stone & Webster (S&W), 83

  Strassman, Fritz, 58, 59, 61, 263

  Sunday Punch, 219–21

  surveyors, 22, 23

  Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, 58

  Szapka, Al, 6, 7, 11

  Szapka, Celia, see Klemski, Celia Szapka

  Szapka, Clem, 6, 7, 11, 94, 161, 194–96

  Szapka, Ed, 7, 8, 12, 195, 196

  Szapka, Kathy, 7, 12

  Szapka, Mary, 7–11, 13

  Szilard, Leo, 61, 174, 230, 242

  T

  Teeter, Captain, 135

  Teller, Edward, 47, 174, 234

  Tennessee Eastman Corporation, 45, 105, 109, 118, 159, 259

  Tennessee Valley Authority, 22, 223

  textile mills, 147

  Thomas, Charles, 236

  Three Mile Island, 304

  Tibbets, Paul, 173, 252

  Time, 57

  Tinian, 245, 251, 252

  Tojo, Hideki, 273

  Townsite, xvi, 52, 55, 71, 88, 97

  construction of, 82–84

  dances at, 137–39, 143, 178–79, 181

  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

  hospital facilities at, 128, 197–99

  housing in, 40, 45–46, 63, 82, 84–89

  off-site outings and, 142–44

  recreational activities at, 134–38, 142, 144–45

  religious services at, 52–53, 141–42, 145

  social adjustment to life at, 135

  as social experiment, 97–98

  as social limbo, 110

  stay-at-home wives at, 182–84, 264

  swimming pool at, 144–45

  trains, 21, 84, 122–24, 127–28

  derailment accident, 128

  Treasury, U.S., 104–5

  Trinity test, 233–38, 239, 241, 242, 244, 251, 275

  Truman, Harry S., 191, 225–27, 230, 231, 232, 296

  and atomic bombing of Japan, 241–44, 251, 255–56, 278, 292

  Meitner and, 294

  Oppenheimer’s meeting with, 291–92

  at Potsdam Conference, 236, 238–39, 244, 246

  Trinity test and, 239, 242

  Truman Committee, 226

  Tsuzuki, Masao, 289–90

  Tubealloy (Tuballoy; Tube-Alloy; uranium), xvii, 10, 33, 99, 118, 260–62, 298, 301

  accident at Philadelphia Navy Yard, 172–73

  amount needed, 105–6

  from Belgian Congo mines, 18, 99

  bombardment with neutrons, 33, 58–59

  division of nucleus of, 60

  enrichment of, 17, 19, 99, 107, 109–10, 131–32, 205–6, 226–27, 243, 246, 247, 251, 295

  first self-sustaining nuclear reaction with, 76–78

  forms of, 99–100, 104

  Germany’s research on, 62, 119, 228, 252–53, 258

  oxide, 119

  production contest for, 109–10

  purchase of, 17, 18–19

  separation of isotopes by electromagnetic method, 101, 102–5, 106, 109, 192

  separation of isotopes by gaseous diffusion, 101–2, 191, 192

  separation of isotopes by liquid thermal diffusion, 101, 107–8, 172–73, 192

  shipment from Site X to Site Y, 131–32, 206–7

  T-235, 99–105, 107, 118

  T-238, 100–104, 107

  tetrafluoride, 131

  workers’ knowledge about, 118–19

  Turner Construction, 89

  U

  Union Carbide, 85, 259

  Union Minière du Haut Katanga, 18

  unions, 153

  United Nations, 299

  United States Employment Service, 85

  United States Engineering Department, 89

  Università di Roma La Sapienza, 33

  University of California, 16

  Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, xv, 16, 102, 152

  Uppuluri, Shigeko, 307

  uranium, see Tubealloy

  Urey, Harold, 47

  V

  Vanden Bulck, Charles, 10–11, 39, 112, 148, 196

  Celia Szapka and, 54, 55

  VE Day, 227, 229, 230

  VJ Day, 273, 276

  W

  Walker, Joel, 312

  War Department, 152, 290, 291

  letter to CEW workers from, 270–71

  War Manpower Commission (WMC), 46

  War of the Worlds, 57

  War Powers Commission, 85

  Warren, Stafford, xv, 153, 183
, 206–7

  in Japan, 288–90, 291

  Warren, Vi, xiv, 35, 63, 81, 109, 133, 176, 183–84, 209, 232, 249, 264, 269, 290, 291

  radio address of, 286

  Washington News, 287

  Washington Press Club, 298

  Waters, Enoch P., 301

  Weil, George, 77

  Wells, H. G., ix, 57

  Wendover Army Air Field, 173

  Westcott, James Edward “Ed” (“the Photographer), xv, 30–31, 156, 232–33, 239–41, 245–46, 260, 273, 312

  Western Worker, 174

  Westinghouse, 99

  Whitaker, Carl, 199–200

  Whitehead, Ed, 112

  Wigner, Eugene, 61, 78, 174

  Wilcox, Bill, 262, 273–74, 314

  Wilkins, J. Ernest, Jr., 47

  Wilkinson, Dorothy Jones (“Dot”), xiv, 2, 68–71, 94–95, 189, 216–19, 247, 260, 286–87, 304–5, 308–9, 314

  arrival at CEW, 70

  as calutron cubicle operator, 114, 115, 117, 118

  on date, 163–64

  marriage of, 216, 217–18

  Paul Wilkinson and, 116

  pregnancy of, 218

  social life of, 115–16

  training of, 68–69

 

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