Leslie R. Groves Keeping Life Simple Through Chocolate and Control Abbi Ward It was pretty awesome. I was told to use the shield in which I had placed that little piece of welder's glass. We were told to lie down and face the ground zero, but I didn't want to lie down because it was wet and clammy, so I sat on a stump. And when the bomb went off, the heat on the back of my hands holding my little shield was so intense and the light all around me was so bright that I got terribly shocked and I hit the dirt. The awe of seeing that thing and seeing the cloud and then realizing there would be people next time under that.1 The atomic age began at 5:30 A.M., June 16, 1945 in Alamogordo, New Mexico with the Trinity Test, marking the first atomic bomb explosion and denoting a great technological advance of the time. The leader of this initiative, commonly known as the Manhattan Project, was General Leslie Richard Groves. This project was an undercover government operation to create the atomic bomb. Although Groves served as the head administrator and was headquartered in Washington D.C., the bomb was created through the research and engineering which occurred at over 30 sites across the United States, Canada, and England. The three major American sites were Los Alamos, New Mexico; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Hanford in Richland, Washington, although two other important sites involving the theoretical aspects were the Radiation Lab in Berkeley, California and the Metallurgical Lab in Chicago. General Groves was a tall man with broad shoulders and a presence that demanded attention and obeisance. After meeting him as a teenager, his future wife described him through this rhyme: “This is Dick and this is fudge, from it little Dick won’t budge.”2 Through this, Grace explained two of Groves’s main characteristics: his stubbornness and his predilection for sweets. 1 Hans W. Courant in interview with Nicole Bengiveno et al. “Voice of the Manhattan Project.” in New York Times, (New York, 2008), 1. 2 Richard Hulbert Groves, DNO Chronology, (Unpublished manuscript), 126 as quoted in Robert Norris, Racing for the Bomb. (South Royalton: Steerforth, 2002), 53. 1 A scientist at the Chicago site, Libby Leona Marshall characterized him as “a tall, fat man who weighted perhaps as much as 300 pounds. He bulged out of his khakis above and below his belt, straining to perfect sphericity. His aides said that he was addicted to chocolate turtles and ice cream sundaes.”3 He was certainly tall and portly with penetrating, crisp blue eyes, and he donned a small, carefully trimmed mustache, and by the time of the Manhattan Project, his dark brown hair began to morph to an iron gray. Groves’s intense, military-oriented childhood and his forceful personality formed him into a successful leader. His unorthodox leadership methods and administrative skill were imperative to the rapid development of this incredibly powerful military weapon. His leadership style is rare today, and would be frequently frowned upon in today’s modern society, but, in a time of the country’s urgent need, this style proved more, if not most, efficient and accomplished the job efficiently. Leslie Richard Groves, Jr. became the third child of this eighth generation American family on August 17, 1896 in Albany, New York.4 He joined a mother, a father, and two brothers, and, six years later, in 1902, his sister Gwen was born. As an army chaplain, his father, Leslie Richard Groves, Sr., moved his family frequently. Between his return to the United States in 1901 and 1913, the family moved 6 times.5 Though not always present in his son’s life, as Groves’s first memory of his father was at age 5 or 6,6 the Chaplain had a profound influence on his son’s morals and life. According to Richard Groves, grandson of the Chaplain, competition was an innate part of the Groves’ household. Expected to compete within the family and the community, 3 Libby Leona Marshall, The Uranium People, (New York: Crane Russak, 1979), 92-93. 4 William Taylor Groves, A History and Geneology of the Groves Family in America Descendents of Nicholas La Groves of Beverly, Mass. (Ann Arbor, 1915). 5 Norris, 5. 6 Joseph Ermenc, ed. Atomic Bomb Scientists: Memoirs, 1939-1945 (Westport: Meckler Corporation, 1989), 205. 2 the children were taught that “if it is a game, you win it. If there is a class you stand number one.”7 While supporting her children , his mother Gwen Griffith Groves also fostered this competitive spirit, continuously urging her sons to success. For example, she urged competition in this letter to son Owen at Hamilton College, I am very glad indeed that you have second, if the judge wouldn't give your first. Second best in class is good. Next year we will try hard for first...Richard should be trimmed in tennis, in mind, manners and in everything. And A[llen] isn't going to be equal to the job…Are you going to write for prize this year and on what subject? Do your best, I expect you to win. You must practice your signature. Make it larger, as a man of your importance in the world ought to.8 Leslie Groves’ oldest brother, Allen, evinced from an early age signs of genius. In college, he was remembered not only for his incredible mastery of language but also for his amazing memorization capabilities, such as the ability recite all the names and batting averages of every major league player or the census figures for all American cities.9 According to biographer Robert Norris, “[Allen] was not just smart, he was brilliant. He remembered everything he read, was versatile, and was able to master whatever challenge was put before him.”10 The family also participated in sports, as a part of the competitive nature; Groves played tennis and enjoyed horseback riding. As the youngest by three years, Leslie Groves, Jr. always had to push ahead, not only to meet his two brothers’ achievements, but to push beyond. This constant pushing and catching up led to his philosophy in which he treasured speed over quality, a belief which manifested itself in his high school career, and may have in the Manhattan Project had it not been for his almost unlimited resources. The philosophy gave him a competitive spirit and drive, so he was willing to work as hard he could for a long duration to achieve his goals. 7 Interview with Richard Hulbert Groves by Robert S. Norris, January 25, 1999 as quoted in Norris, 41. 8 Letter, Gwen Griffith Groves to Owen Griffith Groves, June 24, 1912 as quoted in Norris, 49. 9 Homer Davis, ed, Allen Morton Groves: An Appreciation Together with Selections from His Orations and Essays, 8- 9 as quoted in Norris, 48. 10 Norris, 42. 3 Chaplain Groves influenced his children in other ways as well. Grandson Richard Groves explained, Chaplain Groves believed in one-on-one contact with children during their formative years. In the spring of 1937, I became the object of his close scrutiny when… he spent a week with me, probing all the time my beliefs and my manners -- an awesome experience for a thirteen year old, which I shall never forget. In like manner, in mid-1911, Chaplain Groves seems to have decided that his third son [Leslie R. Groves] needed his personal attention. Until this time, whatever interaction they had was always in the presence of others. Now they would be alone together for several months. And, like me, [Leslie R. Groves] came away deeply impressed. He had always respected his father from afar; after this encounter, they really knew each other -- and they developed a mutual admiration, which endured through their lives.11 From this experience, Groves found new admiration for his father and his father’s views and learned the value of direct personal attention. A classic characteristic of Groves’s administrative style, his bluntness, was partially developed through his positive experience of this direct style of discovery. The one-on-one, personal contact of these few months taught him much about the values and beliefs of his father quickly and directly, as in the same manner in which Groves preferred to deal with his problems. In gaining respect for his father, Groves also gained respect for the army life. His father, who taught him many of his beliefs, is partially responsible for his impeccable integrity later on in life. His father’s piety also helped cultivate Groves’s strength of character. Between the Christian and military morals drilled into him in childhood, Groves developed a strong moral compass and high standards to which he held everyone. Though Groves later chose not to attend church as frequently, opting to work or to spend time with his family, he never lost his veracity. This intense adherence to moral standards also contributed to his bluntness, which functioned as a sign of his integrity. Although he understood the bounds of social propriety and the extent of army 11 Richard Hulbert Groves, unpublished manuscript, 103 as quoted in Norris, 47. 4 security, Groves was always frank about any problems; he did not try to make himself more than he was nor allow himself to be considered less. While his father helped foster many strong, positive qualities, he also passed on many views of the world that hampered Groves’s ability to work with others. Although the close-knit family yielded a sense of intimacy, it also produced exclusiveness, and because the family was eighth-generation American, white, and Protestant, it was easy to adopt the standard racist and anti-Semitic views of the time.