Groves, Leslie R. (Leslie Richard), 1896-1970

<p>Lieutenant General Leslie Richard Groves Jr. (17 August 1896 – 13 July 1970) was a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw the construction of the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project, a top secret research project that developed the atomic bomb during World War II.</p>

<p>The son of a U.S. Army chaplain, Groves lived at various Army posts during his childhood. In 1918, he graduated fourth in his class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1929, he went to Nicaragua as part of an expedition to conduct a survey for the Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal. Following the 1931 earthquake, Groves took over Managua's water supply system, for which he was awarded the Nicaraguan Presidential Medal of Merit. He attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1935 and 1936; and the Army War College in 1938 and 1939, after which he was posted to the War Department General Staff. Groves developed "a reputation as a doer, a driver, and a stickler for duty" and in 1940 he became special assistant for construction to the Quartermaster General, tasked with inspecting construction sites and checking on their progress. In August 1941, he was appointed to create the gigantic office complex for the War Department's 40,000 staff that would ultimately become the Pentagon.</p>

<p>In September 1942, Groves took charge of the Manhattan Project. He was involved in most aspects of the atomic bomb's development: he participated in the selection of sites for research and production at Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Hanford, Washington. He directed the enormous construction effort, made critical decisions on the various methods of isotope separation, acquired raw materials, directed the collection of military intelligence on the German nuclear energy project and helped select the cities in Japan that were chosen as targets. Groves wrapped the Manhattan Project in security but failed to prevent the Soviet Union from conducting a successful espionage program that stole some of its most important secrets.</p>

<p>After the war, Groves remained in charge of the Manhattan Project until responsibility for nuclear weapons production was handed over to the United States Atomic Energy Commission in 1947. He then headed the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, which had been created to control the military aspects of nuclear weapons. He was given a dressing down by the Army Chief of Staff, General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, and told that he would never be appointed Chief of Engineers. Three days later, Groves announced his intention to leave the Army. He was promoted to lieutenant general just before his retirement on 29 February 1948 in recognition of his leadership of the bomb program. By a special Act of Congress, his date of rank was backdated to 16 July 1945, the date of the Trinity nuclear test. He went on to become a vice-president at Sperry Rand.</p>

<p>Leslie R. Groves, Manhattan Project Director, Washington, DC
Hanford, WA, Los Alamos, NM, Manhattan, NY, Oak Ridge, TN, Trinity Site; Born Aug 17 1896; Engineer, Manhattan Project Veteran, Military Veteran, Trinity Test Eyewitness</p>

<p>Lieutenant General Leslie Groves (1896-1970) was a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer and director of the Manhattan Project.</p>

<p>In September 1942, Groves was appointed to head the Manhattan Project with the rank of Temporary Brigadier General. As project leader, he was in charge of all of the project's phases, including scientific, technical and process development; construction; production; security and military intelligence of enemy activities; and planning for use of the bomb.</p>

<p>Under General Groves' direction, atomic research was conducted at Columbia University and the University of Chicago. The main project sites were built at Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, and Hanford. He personally selected J. Robert Oppenheimer as leader of the Los Alamos laboratory, disregarding the latter man's Communist associations and waiving his security clearance process.</p>

<p>Groves was known for his critical and stubborn attitude, egotism, intelligence, and drive to achieve his goals at all costs. He continued to lead the project until 1947, when atomic energy affairs were turned over to the newly created civilian Atomic Energy Commission.</p>

<p>Colonel Kenneth D. Nichols, district engineer of the Manhattan Engineer District, wrote of Groves: "First, General Groves is the biggest S.O.B. I have ever worked for. He is most demanding. He is most critical. He is always a driver, never a praiser. He is abrasive and sarcastic. He disregards all normal organizational channels. He is extremely intelligent. He has the guts to make timely, difficult decisions. He is the most egotistical man I know. He knows he is right and so sticks by his decision. He abounds with energy and expects everyone to work as hard, or even harder, than he does... if I had to do my part of the atomic bomb project over again and had the privilege of picking my boss, I would pick General Groves."</p>

<p>Groves' biographer, Robert S. Norris, dubbed Groves "The Manhattan Project's Indispensable Man."</p>

<p>Leslie Groves was born in Albany, New York on August 17, 1896. A graduate of West Point, Groves entered the Army Corps of Engineers in 1918 and was promoted several times before being named deputy to the Chief of Construction in 1940. The projects included the building of camps, depots, air bases, munitions plants, hospitals, airplane plants, and the massive Pentagon, which he completed building in less than a year and a half. Groves oversaw a million men and spent $8 billion on Army construction with a peak month in July 1942 of $720 million, the equivalent of fifteen Pentagons. Groves' proven record of managing complex undertakings made him a logical choice to lead the Manhattan Project.</p>

<p>Groves was promoted to Temporary Lieutenant General in January 1948 and retired a month later on February 29. From 1948 to 1961, he was vice president of the Sperry Rand Corporation. He also served as president of the West Point alumni association. Groves died in Washington, DC on July 13, 1970.</p>

<p>Since the end of World War II, there has been a significant amount of literature on the Manhattan Project. The effort to develop the atomic bomb led to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hastening the end of the war against Japan. Relatively little, however, has been written on the key Army engineer who made the project a revolutionary success. Leslie Richard “Dick” Groves, Jr., a career officer in the Army Corps of Engineers, was tasked with assembling the crucial links between government, industry, science, and the military beginning in September 1942, due to his imposing personality, iron will, and remarkable administrative acumen. Groves also had a grasp pertinent scientific principles, as well as a unique ability to choose among technical alternatives to deliver quick results. Most importantly, Groves saw the project and the atomic bomb as the means to end the war.</p>

<p>Born in Albany, New York on 17 August 1896 to Leslie Richard Groves, a Presbyterian Army chaplain, who served with the 14th Infantry for most of his Army career and Gwen Griffith Groves, Leslie, Jr., was the third of four children. Nicknamed Dick, he spent his formative years on various Army posts across the country.</p>


<p>Groves entered the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point on 15 June 1916 as part of the class of 1920, but was graduated early in November 1918 due to the need for officers during World War I. He ranked fourth in his class and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. (USMA Archives)</p>

<p>Dick and his siblings were raised by their mother and her sister Jane. Chaplain Groves, though often absent, had great influence on his children, frequently writing letters and urging them to learn their lessons, to be strong, brave, and honest. Before his fifteenth birthday, Dick spent the first of two extended periods of time with his father, the first during the summer of 1911 at Fort Apache, Arizona. It was during this time when he discovered his passion for tennis, which would last throughout his life. Dick then accompanied his father to Fort William Henry Harrison, near Helena, Montana, in December 1911, where he came under the tutelage of then-Lieutenant Edmund B. Gregory, the future Quartermaster General during World War II, who taught a course for enlisted personnel interested in preparing for the entrance examination to the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point. Though only fourteen years old, Dick discussed his interest in gaining admission to West Point with Lieutenant Gregory during his visit to Fort Harrison.</p>

<p>It was also during this time when Dick met his future wife, Grace Hulbert “Boo” Wilson, the daughter of Colonel Richard Hulbert Wilson, commander of the 14th Infantry and friend of Chaplain Groves. When the 14th Infantry was transferred to Fort Lawton near Seattle, Washington in January 1913, Dick remained with his father and attended Queen Anne High School in Seattle while working hard toward achieving entrance to West Point. To enhance his chances, Dick enrolled as a freshman at University of Washington during his senior year at Queen Anne High.</p>