The Bomb Babysitter
Donald Hornig was a year out of graduate school when he received a mysterious job offer. No one would even tell him what or even where the job was, so he declined – until the President of Harvard University called and convinced him to take it.
Soon after, Hornig bought an old car and headed for Los Alamos, New Mexico. He would become one of the youngest leaders of the team that developed the first atomic bomb and the last surviving witness of the detonation on July 16, 1945.
Born in Milwaukee, Hornig “was the first in his family to go to college,” said the Associated Press. He studied physical chemistry at Harvard, earning his Doctorate in 1943. In Los Alamos, the head of the Manhattan Project, J. Robert Oppenheimer, gave him the job of developing the firing unit that triggered the detonation.
On the eve of the blast, Hornig “was assigned another task,” said The Washington Post. Oppenheimer decided that someone should be at the site to babysit the bomb, he later remembered.
As lighting and thundered raged outside, Hornig sat by the bomb reading a book of humorous essays. In the morning, “he took his place beside Oppenheimer in a control room more than 5 miles away.”
When the bomb exploded, at 5:29:45 a.m., Hornig recalled, “My first reaction, having not slept for 48 hours, was, ‘Boy am I tired.’ My second was, We sure opened a can of worms.” He later described the massive orange fireball as, “one of the most aesthetically beautiful things I have ever seen.”
Hornig went on to teach at Brown and Princeton universities, said the New York Times, before becoming science adviser to President Lyndon Johnson. “Working for Johnson was reportedly not easy; the president disdained scientists because many of them opposed the Vietnam War.
Hornig was named president of Brown University in 1970, where his budget cuts restored the institution’s finances. Upon his resignation in 1976, he described his tenure as “bittersweet.” He returned to Harvard and to teaching to end his career.
Donald Hornig was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 17 March 1920 and the world lost him on 21 January 2013 in Providence, Rhode Island.
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Military HALLOWEEN Humor –
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE!!
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Farewell Salutes –
Lawrence Brown – Yale, OK; US Navy, WWII & Korea, submarine service
Jesus Cepeda – Lawrenceville, GA; US Navy, WWII, Pearl Harbor
Adrian Dunt – Howard County, IA; US Army Air Corps, Japan Occupation, 11th Airborne Division
Robert Frear – Whangamata, NZ; NZEF # 76618, WWII
Robert Kost – Williamsport, PA; US Navy, WWII, boat mechanic
Maurice McCarthy – WV; US Merchant Marine, WWII, ETO / US Navy
Ethel Orr – VT & HI; US Army WAC, WWII, PTO, Operating nurse
James Slape – Morehead City, NC; US Army, Afghanistan, Sgt., KIA
Henry Suverkrup – Dubuque, IA; US Navy, WWII, USS Saratoga
Charlie Wolfers – Canon City, CO; US Army Air Corps, WWII, communications
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Posted on October 29, 2018, in WWII and tagged 1940's, A-Bomb, D. Hornig, History, Military, Military History, Pacific War, Science, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 110 Comments.
Well, I hope he made more than the $2 an hour I made on my first babysitting job! Yikes! lol
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He would have considered that a great pay back then!! The best records I can find comparable for him would be a senior civil engineer who would have been making $3,278 per year in 1945. YIKES is right!!
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Taxes and inflation overtake them all!
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You got THAT right!
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I wonder if he’d have sat reading a humorous book if he’d have known what he did a few hours later. BOOOM
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I know I sure wouldn’t have, but since he was unaware of the magnitude of the situation, it helped keep him awake through the night! eh?
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Yep! 🙂
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Wow! This is indeed mysterious.
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I’m glad you found it interesting.
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Goed gekozen titel maar weet niet of ik die opdracht zou aanvaard hebben
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Ik geloof niet dat hij precies wist wat hij bewaakte. De testrit de volgende dag was een verrassing voor hem en vele anderen. Als hij een duidelijk beeld had van de omstandigheden, denk ik niet dat hij die avond een boek had gelezen.
En in die tijd vroegen mensen hun gezag niet zo gemakkelijk af als nu.
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I’ve driven by where they tested the bomb many times, G. In fact, I rode my bike by there on my 10,000 mile bike trip. I always stop at an overlook to take a few minutes to ponder what happened there and what it meant to our lives. On another note, it’s the land of Billy the Kid and Smoky the Bear. –Curt
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A piece of land with a lot of history.
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Yes indeed. Fascinating. And not far beyond that is Roswell and the land of UFOs!
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Where else would a UFO land?!! 🙂
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Absolutely! 🙂
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That header photo is quite creepy 🧟♀️ perfect for Halloween.
Must make a note ‘be careful what job you agree to do if you don’t get the details’ 😄
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haha, good one to remember, Charlotte!
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Great read, GP !
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Thanks, Chris!
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A fascinating read.
And the humor spot on.
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Thanks, glad you liked it!
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As always interesting, at least I can say in this one that I do know a bit of history about this subject. There was also the great Richard Faynmen ( probabably likely I spelled his las name wrong) also a genious.
You do know that the U.S started working on the A bomb, since they knew the Nazis where working with molecules, particles, protons, neutrons, those things. So you eventually got ahead of them, thank goodness.
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We got ahead of the Nazis because we stole his scientists. The Soviet Union did the same. Thanks for visiting Charly, always a pleasure.
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An interesting little side story. It’s probably rare to have someone ask about who kept an eye on the first atomic bomb.
Also of note, WWII historian Jim Lansdale died on October 24th. More about him here: https://pacificwrecks.com/people/authors/lansdale/index.html
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Thank you for the info. He will appear in the Salutes on Thursday.
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That’s quite a title to have, and one most of us couldn’t handle.
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I don’t think he really understood the magnitude of the situation.
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Reblogged this on New Mexicans in WWII and Korea.
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A story you don’t often see in a textbook, eh? Thank you for sharing it.
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Excellent post, GP. I learned some things I never knew.
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Thank you. It’s not exactly a story you’d find in a textbook.
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Exactly!
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I find it interesting that Hornig said his first thought was that he was really tired and then, what a can of worms we have opened. In really shocking/upsetting moments of our lives we seem to be able to be aware of all sorts of feelings and thoughts all at the same time.
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I know myself, when something dramatic happens, it takes longer to express all the thoughts and feelings that went through me in what was probably only a matter of seconds! I can’t even imagine what I would have felt or even comprehended seeing the Bomb explode!
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You put that really well. Yes.
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Thank you.
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Happy Halloween GI Jena and the Magnificent Nine!
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Thank you for that, John! I thought she had a pretty cute idea.
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It’s interesting to read about the career trajectory of Donald Hornig. He sure did a lot of different interesting things.
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You are certainly right about that, Sheryl!!
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Babysitting the Bomb. Hmmm …
Hope the pay was good.
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Ya know – I don’t think any “danger pay” was included, he got robbed!! 🙂
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Babysitting a bomb. You won’t find that on many resumes.
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I don’t believe so, Dan. What part of the classified ads would you put it in anyway?
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What an unusual secret assignment!
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You can’t exactly put this in the classifieds as ‘bomb babysitter needed’, eh?!! 🙂
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Reblogged this on John Cowgill's Literature Site.
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Thank you, John!
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You are welcome.
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GP, seems a bit strange, a scientist babysitting the bomb! A different, interesting story. The human element again. Thank you! 📚 Christine
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That’s what I said! What was he going to do if someone came to sabotage it? Throw the book at him? 🙂 Thanks for stopping in, Christine!
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Great information GP! Thank you ver much, and have a nice week. Michael
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Thank you, Michael.
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Thank you for this GP! Have a nice day! Michael
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My pleasure, I enjoy finding stories not normally told in school!
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I know! Thats great! Michael
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🙂
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Reblogged this on Janet's Thread 2 and commented:
Interesting. Pause for thought.
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Thank you, Janet. Not an ordinary bomb story is it?!
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Reblogged this on depolreablesunite.
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Thank you, Rick!
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Great story Thank you for sharing it
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Something you don’t normally hear about.
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You mean brain wave doesn’t count??? 😉
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I can’t answer that…… 🙂
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No doubt the A-bomb was aesthetically beautiful. So are lots of bombs. That’s why we celebrate Independence Day with fireworks. The true beauty of the A-bomb, though, was that it got the job done and ended the war.
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Sad but true. To think, my father and myself owe our lives to that invention.
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Humorous essays and a beautiful sight!!!
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Little did he know he’d be present at such a monumental event!!
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Amazing story, GP. Thank you.
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Thank you, John. Something you don’t normally read about, eh?!
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So true, GP
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Was just thinking about you! (Great post, by the way!). Country singer Freddie Hart died on Saturday. Was a Marine in WW2, I think.
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I thank you very much for thinking of me and for letting me know about Mr. Hart. He will appear in the Farewell Salutes on Thursday under his real and his stage name. (One of 12 kids – YIKES!!)
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He must have had a great sense of humor, to sit beside a bomb and read a book.
and he sure lived a long life.
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I doubt he knew the magnitude of the situation until the next day, but yeah – i agree with you!
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Reblogged this on Dave Loves History.
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Much appreciated, Dave.
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Very interesting. You sure don’t know where life will take you, do you.
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Who would have thought, eh?!!!
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In the fairytale, Beauty and the Beast are two individuals. When it came to the bomb, it seems that Hornig saw both the Beauty and the Beast in one experience. In a sense, the lightning that raged around him that night had the same qualities. Lightning’s beautiful, until it strikes your house, your boat, or you.
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What an excellent way to look at it – and very apropos I might add! Excellent, Linda, thanks!
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Funny photo! The film of the bomb tests is amazing, both beautiful and horrific simultaneously. I should think that anyone who had anything to do with it was haunted by it all their lives, a huge thing to be part of with so many consequences.
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They weren’t very happy with the residual effects of the bomb, but they did what they were ordered to do to end the war before a million of our own side died.
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Yes indeed, sometimes the only thing that works is the biggest stick.
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I’ve often wondered what happens to those who participated – how they got to be on the team. What an amazing moment to be in, in spite of the deadly nature of it.
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It must have been word of mouth recommendations for a lot of the secretive details.
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Yes, not the expected channels
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There is something awful about the image of this young man reading humorous essays while sitting next to a true weapon of mass destruction.
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He had no idea of the magnitude of the situation until the following day, plus, back then people didn’t constantly question the requests and/or orders from one’s superiors.
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That’s the problem with putting nearly-adolescent men in charge of such important matters.
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I’m afraid i don’t see it, Amy. How can you have an efficient army or operation when half the troops are taking a knee?
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He wasn’t in the army….he was in charge of a nuclear bomb. And yes, we need military discipline, but even with it, young soldiers often lose all sense of right and wrong in the midst of the atrocities of war.
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Unfortunately, yes. As far as the Manhattan Project went though, it was even more secretive than the military and was a Presidential project, I don’t think he’d question his superiors.
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No, I wouldn’t either. But perhaps if more people did question authority, we’d have fewer wars. Maybe?
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Or even more dissension than we have now…. No matter what the situation, there is always someone who has to lead because as long as there are 2 people on Earth – there will be disagreements.
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That is for sure true! 🙂
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Sad to say that the orange glow must be really beautiful ‘though quite deadly! Love the little kid and his naptime hour and of course the Halloween costumes too.
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Instead of putting a link to my old Halloween posts, I decided on Military Halloween. Glad you liked it!!
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I think he qualified it as “aesthetically” beautiful, leaving its darker qualities haunting. As in, be careful what you ask for.
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Or considered beautiful – only if it wasn’t an A-Bomb.
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I would love to recieve a mysterious job offer, but not sure I’d like that job!
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What got me was, they got a scientist for the job – what if someone showed up to mess with the bomb? What would he do, ht him with his book?
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Good point! Thankfully he did not go rogue.
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Why can’t I find a follow button on your site?
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So many of those involved in Los Alamos have described the ‘beauty’ of the bomb test. Strange how we can perceive such destructive force as something beautiful.
That speaks to something dark inside many of us.
Best wishes, Pete.
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It’s all in the eyes of the beholder, I think. My Dad said, if you didn’t know what you were looking at, the tracer bullets going off at night were a sight to behold!
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Thank you, Ian.
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