Richard hulbert groves obituary

Leslie Richard Groves Jr. The son of a U. Army chaplain , Groves lived at various Army posts during his childhood. In , he went to Nicaragua as part of an expedition to conduct a survey for the Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal. Following the Nicaraguan earthquake , Groves took over Managua 's water supply system, for which he was awarded the Nicaraguan Presidential Medal of Merit.

Groves developed "a reputation as a doer, a driver, and a stickler for duty". In August , he was appointed to create the gigantic office complex for the War Department's 40, staff that would ultimately become the Pentagon. In September , 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.

Leslie groves grave

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 spies working within the project were able to pass some of its most important secrets to the Soviet Union.

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 He then headed the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project , which had been created to control the military aspects of nuclear weapons. Eisenhower , on the basis of various complaints, 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 in recognition of his leadership of the bomb program.