On this date, 77 years ago, Groves, like an unstoppable freight train, makes his second most important decision(#1 was hiring Robert Oppenheimer).
This quote comes from Stephane Groueff’s “Manhattan Project.”
Now fully aware of the urgency of his mission, Groves did not even wait for his appointment to become official before he began making decisions and sending a flurry of instructions right and left. His first concern was about the procurement priority that the Project had been given. “We’re not going to be able to get the materials fast enough with just this AA-3 priority,” he told Nichols.
Nichols agreed and showed him the draft of a letter, which had been prepared earlier, requesting the War Production Board to give AAA priority—the top—to the Manhattan Project. Groves took one look at the letter and shoved it aside. Then he took his pen and drafted a letter addressed to himself and to be signed by Donald Wilson, head of the War Production Board. When it had been typed, Groves himself took it to Nelson’s office.
“No! Absolutely not!” Nelson exclaimed after glancing at the letter and listening impatiently to Grove’s request for top priority. “We have too many other war projects of capital importance that are waiting desperately for higher priority ratings.”
Groves stood up to leave controlling his cold anger. “All right, Mr. Nelson,” he said sternly. “In that case, I must recommend to the President that the Manhattan Project be abandoned because the War Production Board is unwillingly to cooperate with his wishes.”
The bluff worked. A few minutes later Groves left with the letter signed by Nelson and authorizing AAA priority for the Project.
Groves admitted in his memoir “Now It Can Be Told”….
Just why Nelson gave in so easily, I will never know. I would have been most unwilling to have had this difficulty brought up to the President: the problem was mine. To have admitted frustration so early would have been most distasteful.