Page 13 of The Women of Oak Ridge

“I enlisted in the Army after Pearl Harbor.” He settled back in his chair as though preparing for a lengthy chat.

“Thought they’d send me overseas, but instead I got shipped to Tennessee.

I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone where I was or what I was doing.

Fact is, I didn’t know anything to tell.

I just knew I was an MP assigned to guard duty at Elza Gate, one of the seven entrances into Oak Ridge, a place that wasn’t on any maps. ”

“How old were you, if you don’t mind my asking?” I opened the notebook I’d brought with me and began to jot down notes.

“I was still in school when Pearl was bombed. The day I turned eighteen, I quit and enlisted.”

“What did your job at Oak Ridge involve?” I glanced at Jonas. “Is it all right to ask that question, Detective?”

The corners of his mouth twitched before he gave in and grinned. It completely transformed his face.

“Yes, Miss Willett. I’m convinced you’re not here to steal national secrets.” He turned to his father. “Tucker’s wife went into labor last night, so I worked his shift. I’m going home to get cleaned up. Do you need anything before I leave?”

“Not a thing. We’ll enjoy a nice chat without you hovering and scaring Miss Willett with your sour face.

” Elliot winked at me, making Jonas laugh.

It was obvious the two had a healthy father-son relationship.

“I’d like to show Laurel the town, but I’m laid up with this doggone ankle.

Hey, I have an idea.” He glanced between Jonas and me, landing on Jonas again.

“Since you have the rest of the day off, you can take our guest on a tour. You know all the interesting places as well as I do. Then you can have lunch at Big Ed’s and bring me a slice of pizza when you come back.

” He seemed quite pleased with the plan.

Jonas, on the other hand, had a look of annoyance in his hazel eyes. Probably as annoyed as I’d be if my dad tried to force me to spend time with someone I’d just met. While a tour of the town by someone knowledgeable would be fantastic, I wouldn’t inflict myself on the detective.

“I can’t ask you to do that,” I said, giving him an out. “Especially if you’ve worked all night. I’m sure I can find things on my own.”

Just as Jonas seemed about to respond, Elliot scoffed.

“Nonsense. You need a good guide, and he needs to stop playing nursemaid to his old man. My wife is out of town. Gone to Chicago to visit her sister for a couple weeks. She isn’t aware I sprained my ankle.

Jonas is taking good care of me, but he needs a break. ”

I stole a peek at Jonas.

After a moment, he put his hands up in surrender. “All right.” Facing me, he said, “It would be my pleasure to show you around town, Miss Willett. If you’re interested, that is. Don’t let my father bully you into doing anything you don’t want to do.”

Elliot let out a loud guffaw.

What a pair.

“If you’re sure,” I said, “I’d love to see the town through the eyes of someone who grew up here.”

It was decided I would stay and visit with Elliot while Jonas went home to freshen up. We bid him goodbye.

“He’s a good son.” Elliot’s eyes shone with parental pride. “A good cop, too. He’s one of the youngest to make detective.”

“I didn’t think detectives wore a uniform. At least, they usually don’t in the movies.”

“Our police department is modest,” he said, “so Jonas still does patrol work from time to time. If there’s an active investigation going on, he’ll wear street clothes. The uniform tends to make some people nervous.”

He told me about his daughter, Ashley, an elementary school teacher in Chattanooga. “She and her fella got engaged on New Year’s Eve. They’re planning a fall wedding. That’s why Charlotte went to Chicago. She and her sister are making Ashley’s wedding dress.”

“Did you meet Charlotte here in Oak Ridge?” I asked.

“Sure did. She was a cubicle operator, like Georgeanne. In fact, I met both of them at a dance in the rec center. Georgeanne was more outgoing, but I took a shine to Charlotte’s quiet nature.”

I smiled. “It sounds like you’ve had a good life here in Oak Ridge.”

“Yes, ma’am. After the war I was discharged from the Army, but I continued to work for the laboratory on the security force. The town opened to the public in 1949, and the population gradually decreased. Things became more normal. It was a great place to raise a family. Still is.”

“I’d like to ask some questions about your work as a military police officer,” I said, glad that Jonas wasn’t around for this part of the interview. “What was your day-to-day job like? What did you do?”

“I started out guarding the gates. There were seven main gates on the Reservation, plus some inside the fence that led to secure areas. Everyone who entered or exited was required to have a badge with their name and photograph, ID number, and color codes indicating what areas they were authorized to be in. We checked every badge on every person, coming and going, all day and all night.”

“I found Aunt Mae’s badge in a box of mementos.” I didn’t mention the badge belonging to the pretty blonde woman. It didn’t seem right to talk about things that Aunt Mae might not want known.

A sudden thought spilled through my mind.

Was this how it felt to live and work at Oak Ridge during the war? Keeping secrets about everything, all the time?

“Each vehicle that came through the gates had to be inspected,” Elliot continued.

“Some guards patrolled on horseback, mostly down by the river. At times I was assigned to the rail yard where we had to search railroad cars. Some contained building supplies, and some had components used to build the equipment that produced the enriched uranium. Lots of them were loaded with coal. But every few weeks or so, a shipment of containers would arrive that were heavily guarded.”

“Did you know what was going on at the plants? Did you know uranium was being enriched?”

He looked pensive. “Not at first. But as time went by, things started to add up.”

“How so?”

“Well, for one thing, the railroad cars arrived full, but they always left empty. Made me wonder what was being manufactured inside those massive buildings, and why nothing was ever shipped out. Most people who worked in Oak Ridge weren’t allowed in different areas of the Reservation, but my job as an MP gave me access to the whole place.

I’d pick up information here and there and sort of piece it together, like a big ol’ puzzle.

” A smug look crossed his face. “By early 1945, I’d figured things out.

At least, as much as I could. I didn’t know about Los Alamos, of course, and I didn’t understand about fission and isotopes and all that scientific stuff, but I had a suspicion we were working on some kind of new bomb. ”

“Then you must not have been surprised when you heard the news about Little Boy being dropped on Japan.”

He slowly shook his head. “No, I wasn’t surprised.”

“What did you think about it? About the role Oak Ridge played in its development?”

He pressed his lips together and didn’t answer right away.

“War is a terrible thing. Millions of people had been killed in Europe before the US even got involved. Then Pearl Harbor was attacked, which meant Americans were dying now. When would it stop? No one knew the answer. By May of ’45, we’d defeated Hitler and Germany, but Japan refused to surrender.

President Truman and those in power had to consider what would happen if we didn’t use the bomb on Japan.

How long would the war continue? How many more Americans would die before it ended? ”

He paused, then faced me.

“I know there are people who don’t think we should have used the bomb, especially after learning that most of the Japanese citizens killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were women and children.

That is a terrible, heartbreaking fact. It’s easy to look back on history and make judgement calls about what should or shouldn’t have been done.

We can debate the decision to use the bomb from now until eternity, but it won’t change things.

All we can do is learn from it and pray a weapon like that is never used again. ”

His eyes narrowed in thought. “But to answer your question, I believe using the atomic bomb was a dreadful but necessary wartime decision that ultimately brought an end to the fighting. Japan refused to surrender unconditionally. After the bombings, that is exactly what they did. I don’t think anyone who worked at Oak Ridge should ever feel guilty about what he or she did, especially since the vast majority were unaware of their role in it all. ”

I appreciated his honest answer.

We moved on to more general questions about Oak Ridge during and after the war. It wasn’t long before Jonas returned. His transformation left me a bit speechless.

Gone was the intimidating police detective. No longer wearing his uniform, he’d changed into jeans, a bright orange University of Tennessee T-shirt that showed off his muscles, and sneakers.

“I’m ready whenever you are, Miss Willett.”

I stood and thanked Elliot for his time. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Come back anytime. I have lots more stories.”

Jonas and I left the house. He approached the Camaro.

“This is a really nice car,” he said, appreciation in his eyes. When his gaze returned to me, he seemed to hold back a grin. “Not exactly the kind of car I would’ve guessed you drove.”

I didn’t take offense. “What kind of car would you put me in?”

He angled his head, as though sizing me up. “Maybe a VW or a Honda. Something small and economical.”

I had to laugh. He was spot-on. “I confess if it had been up to me to purchase my own ride, those would have been in the running. But my dad bought this for me when I graduated from college. I think he loves it as much as I do.”

“Ah, now it makes sense.” He indicated the black Ford Bronco parked at the curb. “But if you don’t mind, we’ll leave it here and take mine.”

He opened the passenger door and I climbed in. After he’d settled behind the wheel, he met my gaze.

“Are you ready to discover the mysteries of the Secret City, Miss Willett?”

A thrill rushed through me. “Lead the way, Detective Tyson.”