Read The Pentagon: A History Online
Authors: Steve Vogel
Bush wanted Somervell himself—who better than the Army’s miracle logistics man to drive the Manhattan Project to success?—but that idea went nowhere. Even had Somervell wanted the job, which he did not, Stimson and George Marshall were opposed to losing the services of their dynamic supply chief, particularly with furious preparations under way for the invasion of North Africa.
Bush’s second choice was Fat Styer, already serving as Bush’s liaison with the Army. Marshall approved, telling Styer that he would have to take the job. But Styer balked at the prospect of leaving his powerful position as Somervell’s deputy to head up a project that was such a long shot. Somervell likewise did not want to lose Styer and tried to talk Marshall out of it. The chief of staff told Somervell he would either have to give up Styer or come up with someone who was “entirely suitable” for the Manhattan Project.
Styer had a suggestion, having already concluded that Groves was ripe to leave the Construction Division. Styer admired Groves for “the fearlessness with which he tackled difficult jobs.” The Manhattan Project, though headquartered in Washington, would keep Groves on the road much of the time, away from the division engineers. It would be a perfect outlet for his forceful energy. “Somervell and I discussed the matter and decided you would be the victim,” Styer told Groves years later.
Yet Groves was not selected simply as a convenient way for Somervell to keep Styer and get rid of a talented but overly brusque officer. Somervell respected Groves’s quick mind, telling Stimson and Marshall that if Groves were assigned to the project, within a matter of weeks he would “understand and have a thorough knowledge of all the scientific and technical matters involved.”
Despite all his speculation, Groves later identified the most important reason Somervell selected him. “Somervell did feel that I was probably more capable than almost anyone he could think of, with respect to seizing hold of new ideas and carrying them forward,” Groves wrote. “[H]e knew that I was one person who would drive the thing forward.”
The Machiavellian considerations Groves identified likely influenced Somervell’s decision. But ultimately, the reason Groves was chosen to build the atomic bomb was precisely what Somervell whispered to him in their hallway conference on September 17, 1942: If it could be done, Groves would do it.
Political dynamite
Groves left Styer’s office, his venom spent. He was resigned to his fate and never looked back. With typical nerve, he wrangled a promise of quick promotion to brigadier general, and he rushed to work.
Formally taking over the Manhattan Project on September 23, 1942, Groves met that afternoon in Stimson’s office with the secretary of war, George Marshall, Vannevar Bush, Somervell, Styer, and other senior officials. Despite being easily the lowest-ranking man in the room, Groves forcefully and frequently voiced his opinions. Then, abruptly, he rose to his feet, looked at his watch, and asked to be excused; Groves told the startled officials he had to catch a train to Tennessee to inspect a possible site for an atomic plant at a place called Oak Ridge. Somervell and Styer exchanged a grin as Groves left. “You made me look like a million dollars,” a delighted Somervell told Groves upon his return. “I’d told them that if you were put in charge, things would really start moving!”
Lt. Gen. Brehon Burke Somervell, the “father” of the Pentagon, after assuming command of the Army Services of Supply in 1943. His eyes—“the keenest, shrewdest, most piercing eyes one is likely to meet”—were said to be able to spot red tape before it turned pink. (U.S. Army)
Col. Leslie R. Groves in 1941. The man who would be chosen to head the Manhattan Project to build an atomic bomb would first oversee the construction of the world’s largest office building. (U.S. Army)
Builder John McShain with Franklin D. Roosevelt at the president’s home in Hyde Park, N.Y., on August 30, 1941, twelve days before ground was broken on the Pentagon. Roosevelt fancied himself an architect and played a key role in the project, selecting the site and fiddling with the design. (AP, reprinted by permission.)
The project as seen from the air on October 22, 1941, little over a month after breaking ground. In Section A (left), the first floor forms are in place. In Section B (adjoining), the pile cap forms are ready. (U.S. Army)
G. Edwin Bergstrom. The chief architect was the man most responsible for the shape of the Pentagon, but he would have to leave before the job was done. (U.S. Army)
The project seen from overhead on Christmas Eve, 1941. Work on all five sides is visible. (U.S. Army)
Lt. Col. Clarence Renshaw. Somervell and Groves picked the army officer to head the project because they wanted someone who would not fail. “I wasn’t so sure,” Renshaw later said. (OSD files)
Maj. Bob Furman in October 1942. The young officer who had dreamed of becoming a builder suddenly found himself in the midst of the largest building construction project in the world. (OSD files)
The project seen from above the Potomac River on January 29, 1942. (U.S. Army)
David Witmer, Bergstrom’s chief assistant; Bergstrom; Somervell; J. Paul Groves, job superintendent; Renshaw; and Hauck looking over plans for the building at a design conference after Pearl Harbor. The restrictions on the building’s size were jettisoned after the attack. (U.S. Army)
Renshaw sent Somervell this aerial shot taken March 5, 1942, showing the structure 40 percent complete. “The section outlined in ink is for May occupancy,” Renshaw wrote Somervell. “We are running a close race with the architect and with our appropriations.”(U.S. Army)
John McShain, Clarence Renshaw and construction adviser Henry Thompson atop the building during construction. (U.S. Army)
With cries of “Concrete!” workers on the roof rushed to deliver with wheelbarrows and buggies for a roof pour. (U.S. Army)
A view of second floor construction. (U.S. Army)
The limestone facing is erected on the Section E façade. (U.S. Army)
Gen. George C. Marshall and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson conferring over a map of Europe soon after moving into the Pentagon in November 1942. (U.S. Army)
Ides van der Gracht (right), was recruited by Somervell to bring order to the massive design operation. “General, I never even thought of anything as big as this,” van der Gracht told Somervell. “Oh, don’t let that worry you, neither have we,” the general replied. (AOC Archives)
The Pentagon, as seen from a hill overlooking the black community of Queen City, in April 1942. Within days, the church, businesses, and homes in the foreground would be razed to make way for the building’s road network. (U.S. Army)
Columns being steam cleaned during construction in April 1942. (U.S. Army)
Architects and draftsmen work at long rows of drafting tables. “Construction was always on the heels of design,” Renshaw recalled. Sometimes construction was even ahead of design. (U.S. Army)