Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World

“‘I want every one of you to stay and carry on,’ he told them, ‘and I want to do everything just the way President Roosevelt wanted it.’”

Truman was known as a person of integrity, not prone to spontaneity, and content to work calmly and efficiently. Upon being sworn in he made sure to tell his staff he intended to simply continue on in the manner that the former president had been conducting business. His approach to leadership was pragmatic and to the point.

“’Roosevelt was a great architect,’ Oppenheimer said. ‘Perhaps Truman will be a good carpenter.’”

The first major obstacle the Manhattan Project had to overcome upon Truman coming to office was, actually, Truman coming into office—there was no guarantee that Truman would even allow the project to continue. Oppenheimer had been overseeing the development of the atom bomb since the inception of the project, and he was anxious about the future of the work once he heard that FDR had died and Truman had been installed in his place. The only thing Oppenheimer could do was hope that Truman would be able to continue to support them in the same way that FDR had in getting the project up and running.

“’Dammit, you’ve got us moving,’ he said. ‘Now they can’t stop us.’”

Colonel Tibbets had grown exhausted with the anxiety of waiting in Utah for deployment orders and he knew that his crew needed to feel they were working towards something to continue functioning at a high level. He was given clearance at the outset that he simply needed to invoke the name of his mission—“Silverplate”—and he would be able to get anything he needed.