Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 7 August 1945 — Page 2
ne oan adiist
ewitness:
and a lieutenant of military police were the last to inspect the cosmic bomb suspended from the tower. When all was set, the various abservation pofhts were tied together in a radio circuit. Dr. 8. K. Allison
minishing electrical storm. +The waiting was over. ~The delay “caused by pouring rains was ended. .+ Fhe time was :fast approaching the atomic
periodic time announcements. ‘Minus 20 Minutes" “Minus 20 minutes,” he called. The assembled scientists waited, tensely. Would their experiment
prove a ‘success. “Minus 15 minutes,” Dr. Allison
tor the first test. -of - <pomb, fruit of man's long and audacious fight to- harness the. basic, energy of the universe. +The time was 4 a. m., July 186. { , The place, a remote section of the army's Alamogordo -air base 120 miles southeast -of Albuquerque. Suen: but with an air of tense e n, a group of picked scientists began their work. Two Billion Investment From a steel tower built on the desert they suspended the atomic bomb—an object representing $2.000,000,000 investment and years of tireless work by the keenest scientific brains that the United States and Britain could gather together. There had been moments of nerve-wrecking delay while the
ced. - . . . Or would it prove so violent a blast as to mean an uncontrollable and unusable weapon? The minutes dragged by. Finally Dr. Allison’s voice said: “Minus 45 seconds.” Now a<robot mechanism took aver. | Prom this point on the intricate mechanism was in operation without human control. The last 45 seconds seemed days in length. But suddenly the waiting was ended by an explosion such as no human being had ever before witnessed,
Up 40,000 Feet
had been theory, barely established -in prewar laboratories, had been projected into practicality.
of Chicago university began making! yroject, whichis headed by Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves, was
ing the implementation of atomic] energy for military purposes.
dogged the assembly of the bomb had a sobering sembled experts complished and peals of thunder.
| test,
sion scheduled at 4 a. m. for an hour and a half.
8
THE INDIAN
“A fabulous achievement had)
reached. Speculative
“This phase of the atomic bomb
“The time was set for 5:30 a. m,
He is to be credited with achievYolast direction.
The ominous weather which had Tower Vaporized
fect on the ase work was ac-
“Then came a
It even held up the actual explo-
[to an altitude of over 40,000 feet, “Nearest observation point was set Clouds in its path disappeared,
{up 10,000 yards south of the tower! | Soon the shifting substratosphere
where in a timber and earth shelter the control for the test were located. At a point about 10 miles from the tower the key figures took their posts’ These included Gen. Groves, Dr. Vannevar Bush, head of the {office of scientific research and deunder velopment and Dr. James B. Conthe direction of Dr. J. R. Oppen- | ant, president of Harvard university. heimer, theoretical physicist of the
University of California. |at the base camp. All present were
‘ordered to lie on the ground, face downward, leads away from the
“There was a blinding flash lighting up the whole area brighter than amid lightning flashes |the brightest daylight. A mountain The weather range three miles from the observablocked aerial observation of thejtion point stood out in bold relief. tremendous sus{tained roar and a heavy pressure For many months Wave which knocked down two men the approximate date and time had [outside the control center, been set and had heen one of the
high level secrets of the best kept multi-colored surging cloud boiled secret of the entire war,
“Immediately thereafter, a huge
APOLIS TIMES .
“Nerve- olin Bring F lash... F, 0 IS Achievement
winds d “The tes a success, “The steel tower had been entirely vaporized. Where the tower stood, there was a huge sloping crater. Dazed but relieved at the success of their tests, the ‘scientists promptly marshalled their forces to estimate the strength of America’s new weapon. “To examine the nature of the crater, specially equipped tanks were wheeled into the area, one of which carried Dr. Enrico Fermi, noted nuclear scientist. Answer to their findings rests in the destruction effected in Japan today in the first military*® use of the atomic bomb.
the now grey mass. was over, the ‘project
On-Scene Versions “Had it not been for the desolated area where the test was held and for the co-operation of the press in the area, it is certain that the test itself would have attracted farreaching attention. As it was, many people in that area are still. discussing the effect of the smash. “A significant aspect, recorded by the press, was the experience of a
0 we
TUESDAY, AUG. 7, 194
blind. girl near ‘Albuquerque many miles from the scene, who, when the flash of the test lighted the sky before the explosion could be heard, exclaimed, ‘What was that? “Interviews of Gen, Groves and Gen. Farrell give the following on-
then mushroomed, then changed into a long trailing chimney-shaped column, finally being sent in geveral directions by the variable winds, * ! “‘Dr.- Conant reached over and we shook hands in mutual con-
started directly ahead and tb » when the announcer shout “Now!” and there came this tres mendous burst of light followed shortly thereafter by the d growling roar of the explosion, face relaxed into an expression of
¥ rUESDA
“0KY0 | BOME
b Atomic Miss
rion of the test. Gen. gralilations. Dr. Bush, who was) tremendous relief. Several of the “Air, J “‘Pirst came the burst of light/on the othér side of me, did like- Opsetve Re Ha a tle (Continued of a brilllance beyond any com- wise. The feeling of the emntire|focis were knocked - ne the parison. We all rolled over and! assembly, even the uninitiated, was blast. HEE Sauces = Hin Jockes through datk glasses at the one of profound awe. Drs. Conant “This Is It’ Tos Be 3a a of fire. About 40 seconds later and Bush and myself were struck| hy of 8. came the shock wave followed by ; The- tension of the room let 2. The ener
by an even stronger feeling that’ the faith of those who had been responside for the initiation and carrying on of this Herculean project had been justified.’ “Gen. Farrell's impressions are: “‘In that brief instant in the remote’ New Mexico desert, the tremendous effort of the brains and brawn of all these people came suddenly and startingly to the fullest fruition.” “ ‘Dr, Oppenheimer, on whom had rested a very heavy burden, grew tenser ‘as the last ticked
the sound, neither of which seemed startling after our complete astonishmeént at the extraordinary lighting intensity. “‘A massive cloud was formed which surged and billowed upward with tremendous power, reaching the substratosphere in about five minutes. ‘Feeling of Profound Awe’ “‘Two supplementary explosions of minor effect other than the
lighting occurred in the clouds
up, and- all started congratulating
éach other Everyone sensed “this is it!” No matter what might hap= pen now all knew that the impos= sible scientific job had been done. Atomac fission would no longer be hidden on the cloisters of the thee oretical physicists’ dreams. “It was almost full grown ab birth. It was a great new force ty be used for good or for evil There was a feeling in that shelter that those concerned with its nae tivity should dedicate their lives to
developed new attack. Howey under investige
“The first reco
ence to the bor hour earlier ov It was a rout announcement by President ‘Minister Attlee
The dispatch
“lish to the Uni "it was distribu newspapers wa
shortly after the main explosion. |off. He scarcely breathed. He held [the mission that it would always oe ale ‘The cloud traveled to a great|to a post to steady himself, be used for good and never for ane i height first in the form of a ball,' “‘For the last few seconds, he 'evil'” Fu rsa
bomb itself was being assembled. The part had been machine tooled down to the finest measurement; yet, when the experts tried to insert a vital piece, it jammed and refused to move. Dr. R. F. Bacher of Cornell university refused to be dismayed. A little time, he said, would solve the problem, Three minutes later the balky piece slipped into place and the atomic bomb was completed. Six Miles Away After the bomb was suspended from the tower; the scientists divided into two groups to await the zero hour, 5:30 a. m. One group huddled in a timber and earth observation shelter nearly six miles south of the tower. The other group was in an observation post 10 miles away.
A blinding flash like sunlight en- I veloped the area. A vast multicolored cloud billowed skyward with surging power and boiled to an altitude of more than 40,000 feet in| five minutes. The steel tower? It was no more. The titanic explosion had vaporized it completely. Where it had stood was only a sloping crater. The test was over, the bomb was a success.” The atomic age had been ushered in for mankind at 5:30 a. m., July 16. Here are excerpts from ‘the war department's official account of the Orst test: “A revolutionary weapon destined to change war as we know it, or | which may even be the instrumen-| tality to end all major wars, was, set off with an impact which sig-' nalized man’s entrance into a new Dr. K. T. Bainbridge of the Mas- | physical world. Success was great-| sachusetts Institute of Technology,|er than the most ambitious estiwho .was in charge of detonation, | mates. |
Hoosier Heroes: Two Local Servicemen Dead, 5 Wounded
Two Indianapolis servicemen, formerly . reported missing, have now, been declared dead and five local marines have been. wounded in the Pacific.
DEAD S. Sgt. Philip A. Scott, 6135 N.| Pennsylvania st., in Germany. Chief Boatswain's Mate Chester 3 LeRoy Brown, 4001 E. “Washington 3 st., off Okinawa. WOUNDED § Marine Pfc. Willie Childers Jr. § 704 N, Capitol ave, on Okinawa. 38 Marine Pfc. William Glover, for- § merly of 1220 Norman ave, in the Pacific. Marine Pvt. Calvin E. Sgpens. R. R. 4, on Okinawa, Marine Pvt. William L. Jessup, | 1206 Beecher st., on Okinawa. Marine Pvt. Howard K. Smith, 424 S. Oxford st. on Okinawa. = » =
DEAD— 8. Sgt. Philip A. Séott, son of Mr. and Mrs, Harry -E.. Scott, 6135 N. Pennsylvania st., who ‘had been : missing since last Nov. 10 over Weisbaden, Germany, is now known | to be dead. A tail-gunner on a “8-11, Sgt. Scott's grave has been found in the vicinity of Breckenheim, Germany. A memorial mass will be said at St. Joan of Arc Catholic church Friday at 8 a. m. x Sgt. Scott was a graduate of Cathedral high school: He enlisted in the army air corps in September, 1943. Survivors besides his parents are two sisters, Miss Jeanne Scott and Mrs. J. W. Flynn Jr, and a brother, Lt. Harry E. Scott Jr, a troop carrier command pilot who is home after participating in ‘eight European ‘invasions. They are all of Indianapolis. 8 B | Chief Boatswain's Male Chester “LeRoy Brown, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Brown, 4001 E. Washington st, who has been missing since Way, lias been awarded the Legion
April 16 off Okinawa, is now re- 5 2 Mens Tor sop. ported killed on that date. 1 EE ana. Justics Chief Brown had been in the) ; MN navy for 19 years. He was at his| while leading 8 battle station on his ship when it| searching par. was bombed and his section was the seeking a downed most severely damaged. B-25 bomber. Survivors besides his parents in- With no adclude two sisters, Mrs. Dorothy FP. vance notice,| Clark and Mrs. Lillian G. Puchs, of Capt. Entin led y the searching|
Indianapolis. party into the
WOUNDED— jungle and re-
Chief Boatswain’s Mate Chester LeRoy Brown . . . killed off Oki- | NAWA, 2
8. Sgt. Philip A. Scott . . . killed
in Germany.
|on Okinawa. He was wounded by
shrapnel May 21, then was wounded May 31 when he was shot by a sniper. He is in a hospital in Seat- | tle, Wash. He attended schools in Central City, Ky., and was employed here before he entered the marines Sept. 23, 1043.
HONORED—
Capt. Oscar L. Entin, 5155 Broad-
; Copt. Entin covered the bodies Marine Pvt. William L. Jessup,! or a1 but one of the crew.
husband of Mrs. Katherine Jessup, 0. 1206 Beecher st, was wounded bY| Three men have been honored shrapnel June 16 on Okinawa. with the bronze star medal. A former house detective for the| They are Pfc. William Tobin Jr., Hotel Washington, ‘Pvt. Jessup 15ihysband of Mrs. - William Tobin, the son of Mrs. H. J. Jessup, 1326/1922 Koéhne st. in Manila: Cpl. Carrollton ave. He has two chil-|gqwin Hendrickson, son of Mr. and dren, Gerald and Janeen. Mrs. Robert Hendrickson, 30 E.
n n " i . 57th st, in Germany and Pfe. Overseas since December, Marine| , ,... "paward Gossa, son of Mrs.
Pvt. Howard K. Smith, husband of MTs. Rosemary Smith, 42¢ 5. Oxfora{*"Tsa Gossa, 1011 Laurel st, ., st., was wounded June 8 on Okinawa.| pe Cecil E. Beech, 1005 W- Wash- | He was employed by P. R. Mallory |inei6n st, has won the meritorious | & Co, before he enlisted in. June, |ceryics unit insignia. His unit, the 1944. Pvt. Smith has two children, noth, reinforcement depot of the air Kenton and Davie. force in England, was honored for 0 | efficiency. |
A marin, “put. Calvin E. Hig- nn gens, wp of Mr. 2d Jr iting The fecond bronze oak leaf clus-| Higgens Sr., R. R. 4, Box 360, Was | ior 4 the air medal has been given | wounded June 17 on Okinawa. Heli, yr: Russell L. Simpson, son of Leslie D. Simpson, Beech. Grove. He |
. has returned to duty on Guam. Pvt. Higgens is a graduate of nog 1g missions in Germany with | the 8th air force. , Lt. Simpson is
Southport high school and was employed by the Bailey Beauty Sup- . ply Co. before he enlisted in Octo- =n A plot. x | ber, 1944. Anéther bronze oak leaf cluster His other, Lt. Morton Higgens, was given to Flight Officer Ray is in California and another broth-|y jones 313 N. DeQuincy st. for! er, Plc. Richard Higgens, was: killed ' | 10st December te. participating in bombing Germany. ron Ley He is a bombardier-navigator on a » B-26. ! Marine Ple. William Martin . Glover, son of Mr. and Mrs. John _ Glover, formerly of 1220 Norman
. » y Pfc. Robert Barnes, son of Mrs. | Naroni Barnes, 344 W. 30th st, 0|received the purple heart at Great | Lakes. :
. ”
Pfe. Harry Elliott, 3546 Brermont|
Stadium Boots, 10.95 rr =.
8 was awarded the purple hesit
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Cyclis OnT
RIDING wrong side got Alfred 916 Middle arrested on Police 8 woody, las streetcar sn aling.on tl street at Li sts. and cs know how To this I as well as Sgt. Dun “Don’t you “Some of _ The poli Lahr he w the street. “1 always 1 the road f: in the cout “Well, yo said Sgt. IL Lahr was disorderly bicycle on street.
3 QUI SOUTH | Resignation the St. Jose was confirn man James ing membe) Arthur E. § Russell Jr. personal--a reasons for
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