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.Īfter 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 1947. 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. 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. In September 1942, Groves took charge of the Manhattan Project. In August 1941, he was appointed to create the gigantic office complex for the War Department's 40,000 staff that would ultimately become the Pentagon. In 1940 he became special assistant for construction to the Quartermaster General, tasked with inspecting construction sites and checking on their progress.

Groves developed 'a reputation as a doer, a driver, and a stickler for duty'. He attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 19, and the Army War College in 19, after which he was posted to the War Department General Staff. Following the 1931 earthquake, Groves took over Managua's water supply system, for which he was awarded the Nicaraguan Presidential Medal of Merit. In 1929, he went to Nicaragua as part of an expedition to conduct a survey for the Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal. In 1918, he graduated fourth in his class at the United States Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned into the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Army chaplain, Groves lived at various Army posts during his childhood. (17 August 1896 – 13 July 1970) was a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw the construction of the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project, a top secret research project that developed the atomic bomb during World War II. Companion of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom).

Atomic bomb heart for drawing