William
Laurence was born in Lithuania in 1888. As a young man he developed
radical political opinions and in 1905 he was forced to flee from
Russia. Laurence moved to the United
States and eventually became a science reporter for several leading
newspapers and magazines in the country.
Laurence
had the ability to translate the complexities of modern science into
articles that could be understood by the general public. He had good
contacts with the world's leading scientists and in 1940 began writing
articles about nuclear research for the
New York Times and the Saturday
Evening Post. Laurence argued that in future small quantities
of U-235, would propel an ocean liner, heat and light entire cities
and set off a destructive bomb blast that was equivalent of twenty
thousand tons of TNT.
After
Pearl Harbor Laurence noticed that scientists
in the United States working in this
field began to refuse to talk to him. He became convinced that the
Allies were involved in a secret atom bomb project. This was confirmed
in the summer of 1942 when the United States Office of Censorship
wrote to him asking him not to write articles on the potential of
nuclear power.
In
April 1945 Laurence was contacted by General Leslie
Groves, head of the Manhattan Project.
Groves told Laurence about the project and recruited him to become
the official chronicler of the development of the atom bomb. For the
next three months he was allowed to interview the scientists working
on the project and prepare the press releases needed when this new
weapon was used.
Laurence
witnessed the first test explosion of an atomic bomb in the desert
near Alamogordo, New Mexico. He also interviewed the crew that took
part in the raid on Hiroshima
and
was on the plane that dropped the atom bomb on Nagasaki.
Articles
published by Laurence in the New York
Times in 1945 won him the Pulitzer
Prize. William Laurence died in 1977.
(1)
This article by
William Laurence about the bombing Nagasaki
appeared in several newspapers
in August 1945.
We are on our way to bomb the mainland of Japan. Our flying contingent
consists of three specially designed B-29 Superforts, and two of these
carry no bombs. But our lead plane is on its way with another atomic
bomb, the second in three days, concentrating its active substance,
and explosive energy equivalent to 20,000, and under favorable conditions,
40,000 tons of TNT.
We
have several chosen targets. One of these is the great industrial
and shipping center of Nagasaki, on the western shore of Kyushu, one
of the main islands of the Japanese homeland.
I
watched the assembly of this man-made meteor during the past two days,
and was among the small group of scientists and Army and Navy representatives
privileged to be present at the ritual of its loading in the Superfort
last night, against a background of threatening black skies torn open
at intervals by great lightning flashes.
It
is a thing of beauty to behold, this "gadget." In its design
went millions of man-hours of what is without a doubt the most concentrated
intellectual effort in history. Never before had so much brain-power
been focused on a single problem.
This atomic bomb is different from the bomb used three days ago with
such devastating results on Hiroshima.
I
saw the atomic substance before it was placed inside the bomb. By
itself it is not at all dangerous to handle. It is only under certain
conditions, produced in the bomb assembly, that it can be made to
yield up its energy, and even then it gives up only a small fraction
of its total contents, a fraction, however, large enough to produce
the greatest explosion on earth.
The
briefing at midnight revealed the extreme care and the tremendous
amount of preparation that had been made to take care of every detail
of the mission, in order to make certain that the atomic bomb fully
served the purpose for which it was intended. Each target in turn
was shown in detailed maps and in aerial photographs. Every detail
of the course was rehearsed, navigation, altitude, weather, where
to land in emergencies. It came out that the Navy had submarines and
rescue craft, known as "Dumbos" and "Super Dumbos,"
stationed at various strategic points in the vicinity of the targets,
ready to rescue the fliers in case they were forced to bail out.
The
briefing period ended with a moving prayer by the Chaplain. We then
proceeded to the mess hall for the traditional early morning breakfast
before departure on a bombing mission.
A
convoy of trucks took us to the supply building for the special equipment
carried on combat missions. This included the "Mae West,"
a parachute, a life boat, an oxygen mask, a flak suit and a survival
vest. We still had a few hours before take-off time but we all went
to the flying field and stood around in little groups or sat in jeeps
talking rather casually about our mission to the Empire, as the Japanese
home islands are known hereabouts.
In
command of our mission is Major Charles W. Sweeney, 25, of 124 Hamilton
Avenue, North Quincy, Massachusetts. His flagship, carrying the atomic
bomb, is named "The Great Artiste," but the name does not
appear on the body of the great silver ship, with its unusually long,
four-bladed, orange-tipped propellers. Instead it carried the number
"77," and someone remarks that it is "Red" Grange's
winning number on the Gridiron.
Major
Sweeney's co-pilot is First Lieutenant Charles D. Albury, 24, of 252
Northwest Fourth Street, Miami, Florida. The bombardier upon whose
shoulders rests the responsibility of depositing the atomic bomb square
on its target, is Captain Kermit K. Beahan, of 1004 Telephone Road,
Houston, Texas, who is celebrating his twenty-seventh birthday today.
Captain
Beahan has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal,
and one Silver Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Western Hemisphere
Ribbon, the European Theater ribbon and two battle stars. He participated
in the first heavy bombardment mission against Germany from England
on August 17, 1942, and was on the plane that transported General
Eisenhower from Gibraltar to Oran at the beginning of the North African
invasion. He has had a number of hair-raising escapes in combat.
Available from Amazon Books
