Oppenheimer After Trinity

Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer

arrived at the

White House on a

chilly October day in 1945.

A short, 30-minute

meeting was scheduled

with President Harry S. Truman.

It was a meeting

that could pivot history

and change the course

of human events, forever!

You see, on that morning

a last-ditch effort was

to be made by Dr. Oppenheimer

to reason with

President Truman,

the leader of the free world.

Dr. Oppenheimer had

just led a group of

scientists in the discovery

and testing of a new power.

This newly discovered

power was unleashed to

end the bloody 2nd world war.

Oppenheimer, leading the

research efforts,

was seeking a solution

to prevent the world

from destroying itself.

A solution that only

he could fully understand.

After the explosion,

Oppenheimer watched

the developments of the

military with great concern.

He had an urgent personal

vision that he felt compelled

to deliver to the

President of the United States

about this new destructive

power that was at hand.

What happened next,

changed human history forever,

on this fateful day

of October 25, 1945.

But let's start this

story at the beginning.

It began in 1939,

with the aggression

of Adolf Hitler

and the beginning of

the second world war.

Along with the German

aggression in Europe,

scientists in the United States,

learned about nuclear fission

being tested in Berlin

and feared it's potential

use as weapon

against the world.

With this concern,

the American scientists

met with Albert Einstein

to convince him to

write a letter to then

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

about the potential

of one of the Germans

obtaining this weapon

technology first.

President Roosevelt

was so moved by Einstein's

letter that he immediately

made the decision to put

the full resources of the

United States' brainpower

to pursue jumping ahead

of the Germans with

this development.

By executive order

President Roosevelt created

the Manhattan Engineering District,

making this effort the

priority of the American war efforts.

To pursue this herculean effort,

President Roosevelt picked

an accomplished general

named Leslie Groves

to spearhead the efforts.

General Groves had just

completed another large

national military accomplishment,

by supervising the

newly constructed Pentagon

building in Washington, DC.

The Manhattan Engineering Project

would eventually employee

75,000 Americans,

each in compartmentalized sections,

keeping the research project

"Top Secret" and fully engaged.

General Groves not only

needed a brilliant scientist

with exceptional leadership abilities

to assemble the top

brainpower in the nation,

but he also needed a scientist

that had the energy to

accelerate the research

at a record pace.

After careful consideration,

General Groves made his announcement.

Gen. Groves: "I was completely

responsible for the selection

of Dr. Oppenheimer

as the head of the Los Alamos

bomb laboratory."

Dr. Oppenheimer knew

most of the top scientist

and physicists of the time

and, along with his

charismatic personality,

he drew the needed expertise,

knowledge and leadership

to get this project started.

When General Groves

and Dr. Oppenheimer

met for the first time,

their most urgent priority

was to select a remote

location for a secret lab

where all the scientists

and physicists could

live and work,

around the clock,

on this most critical mission.

Oppenheimer knew of a place

in a remote area of

northern New Mexico

that he had spent time

with his family at,

near Santa Fe.

He had hiked and

rode horses over much

of this area and had built

a crude cabin for

his family getaways.

He remembered

a nearby boy's ranch

that might work perfectly

for this secret lab.

The boy's ranch was remote,

sitting by itself up on a mesa.

Oppenheimer and Groves

drove to the location

of the boy's ranch.

The camp had good

infrastructure and water

and room to grow.

Groves turned to Oppenheimer

and said, "This is it!"

The property was

immediately procured for

the government war effort.

A guard shack was constructed,

and roads were built.

Oppenheimer began

assembling the top scientists,

physicists, and experts

from around the country.

The lab was constructed,

and buildings appeared

almost overnight

at the former ranch.

Hundreds of workers

and support staff

joined the operation.

Soon the guard shack

entrance was a haven for activity.

Scientists and their families

were arriving daily.

One of those arrivals,

with a security clearance,

happened to be

Dr. Oppenheimer's wife,

Katherine, better known as Kitty.

She was a constant companion

and sounding board

to Dr. Oppenheimer.

Kitty became the

first lady of Los Alamos,

welcoming new scientists

and their families,

and hosting social events

at the Oppenheimer's house.

While the research work

carried on at Los Alamos,

military planners now

had the task of

finding a location,