SED/Los Alamos

Contributions of Military Men and Women

World War II created a severe shortage of labor in the United States. National leaders had to balance the burgeoning manpower needs of the military against those required for agricultural and industrial production. Many crafts, such as machining, were not only critical to the war effort, but in especially short supply. This national labor crisis extended to Los Alamos, which needed the very same skills required by the military and industry.

Highly Skilled Military Workers

The partial answer to the labor shortage at Los Alamos came from an Army program that identified enlisted personnel with technical skills, such as machining, or who had some science education beyond high school. Those identified were organized into the Special Engineer Detachment, or SED.

SED personnel began arriving at Los Alamos in October 1943. Many were assigned to work at S Site where the high explosives used in Fat Man were cast and machined. Another contingent of SED personnel worked at nearby V Site, where the Fat Man components, including the high explosives, were turned into their final, combat configurations. Many of the SEDs were highly skilled and, in the case of S and V Sites, were allowed to manage their own day-to-day activities.

By August 1945, 1,800 SED personnel worked at Los Alamos. These troops worked in all areas and activities of the Laboratory, including Projects Trinity and Alberta. So integral were the SEDs to the functioning of the Laboratory that their imminent discharges at war's end created another serious labor shortage at Los Alamos. An agreement was quickly reached under which SED personnel could coordinate their discharges from the Army and begin working immediately as civilians.

The SEDs played a crucial role in the wartime success of the Los Alamos Laboratory. As civilians, they ensured the success of the postwar Laboratory for years to come.

Women's Army Corps

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, congress passed a bill creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). WAACs served alongside the regular army, playing an important role in the success of communication, supply, and maintenance operations. At its peak, the corps included 150,000 servicewomen. By 1943, the tremendous contribution made by the WAAC was recognized through formal integration into the army. That same year the Women's Army Corps (WAC), as it was then called, deployed a detachment to Los Alamos.

In summer 1943, the First Provisional WAC Detachment included 43 enlisted women and two officers. WACs worked across the laboratory, serving as secretaries, telephone operators, drivers, cooks and librarians. Before joining the corps, many of the women had acquired some technical training. This allowed them to work as research assistants and technicians. Many of the WACs had medical training, and worked in the local hospital. The shortage of skilled workers and the high quality of the WACs' work made them a valuable force at the lab. The detachment quadrupled in size over the next two years, reaching 200 by the end of the war. WACs made an important, though often overlooked, contribution to the development of the atomic bombs at Los Alamos.

SED/Oak Ridge

The Special Engineer Detachment at Oak Ridge

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Just Received - Hi-resolution photos of the four Oak Ridge facilities!

" I would like to convey to each member of the Special Engineer Detachment my personal commendation and expression of appreciation for your very able assistance in the successful accomplishment of the Atomic Bomb Project. You are a unique organization, consisting of a group with specialized talents which has no parallel in any Army unit. You were selected from units scattered throughout the country for the purpose of manning essential jobs on this Project for which qualified civilian personnel could not be secured. The success of the Atomic Bomb Project is sufficient proof of the very splendid manner in which you discharged your assignments. Many of you would have preferred duty with troops overseas. However, I am confident that as you may reflect back upon the accomplishments of the Special Engineer Detachment, you will realize that your contribution towards the winning of the war as a member of the detachment was of far greater value than any service which you might have rendered in a normal Army unit. The Manhattan District and the War Department are both proud and grateful for your very loyal and able services." Col. Kenneth D. Nichols - District Engineer - Manhattan Engineer District

History of the Detachment at Oak Ridge

In 1943, the Manhattan District was having difficulty in obtaining enough technically trained persons to help construct and operate the various plants at Oak Ridge. Therefore, on May 22, 1943, the Commanding General of the Army Services Forces authorized the establishment of a Special Engineer Detachment, so that essential technical personnel then working in the district could be assigned back to the district upon their induction into the Army. The first district roster consisted of 334 enlisted men. In the Fall of 1943, with technical men still scarce, the district began a program of recruiting among universities and colleges to line up draftable men who might be assigned to the district. As this program still did not fill the need, authority was obtained to recruit men from Replacement Training Centers. Allotments to the district were increased progressively as the size of the plants grew, and the recruiting drive was extended to include men in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP). The National Scientific Roster was also combed. and requests were sent to colleges for the names of graduates who had been drafted. (no stone was left unturned). The first enlisted man assigned to the Oak Ridge Special Engineer Detachment was Perry R. Gershon, who arrived on July 19, 1943. The first commanding officer of the detachment, Capt. William A. Fogg, took over in May 1943. He was succeeded by Capt. William A. Barger in March 1944. The first men to be assigned to Oak Ridge lived in dormitories with civilians, but as the detachment grew, it was decided to move them into the barracks. This move came in February, 1944. In December, 1945, the detachment returned to the dormitories, this taking over the complete buildings. The detachment reached its top strength in September, 1945, at which time the roster included 1,257 enlisted men. The men of the detachment came from every state in the union, and represent three hundred institutions of higher learning. Approximately two-thirds of the men hold college degrees. The average Army General Classification Test Score for the detachment is 133, the highest for any single unit in the Army.