The Pentagon: A History (74 page)

Worried about the growing
Farrell, memo to Groves, 29 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO. AP, Farrell obituary, 11 Apr. 1967; Groves, “My Associations with Major General Thomas F. Farrell,” 12 Aug. 1968, NARA RG 200.

Groves telephoned private
Groves, transcripts of telephone calls to Philadelphia and Detroit, 3–5 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO.

“It must be recognized”
Farrell, memo to Groves, 29 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO.

In the hangar

All-out
van der Gracht, White interview, AOC; Somervell letter to Delano, 11 Sept. 1941, I, CEHO; White, “The Pentagon Drawings.”

“Mr. Delano said”
van der Gracht, White interview.

He stood a shade
Ides van der Gracht membership file, AIA; White, author interview, 2004; White, “The Pentagon Drawings,” 3; Delano letter to New York State Education Department, 27 Oct. 1931, RG 45, series 45.1, AOC.

“Okay, go to work”
van der Gracht, White interview.

Larry Lemmon
Lawrence Clifton Lemmon,
Twentieth Century Sojourn,
147–151.

The drafting team
van der Gracht, White interview.

More problematic, the warehouse
“The Pentagon,” 9, Witmer papers, OSD HO; Pentagon photographs, Witmer papers, OSD HO; White, “The Pentagon Drawings,” 6; Lemmon,
Twentieth Century Sojourn,
152.

The design force was approaching
“The Pentagon,” 7–8, Witmer papers, OSD HO; Lemmon,
Twentieth Century Sojourn,
152.

The drafting force was broken down
van der Gracht, White interview; Lemmon,
Twentieth Century Sojourn,
152.

Van der Gracht was a natural
van der Gracht, White interview.

Van der Gracht issued a daily
Ibid.;
White, author interview; Furman, author interview.

Behind van der Gracht’s desk
van der Gracht, White interview.

The draftsmen were using tools
White, “The Pentagon Drawings,” 12; van der Gracht, letter to George Malcolm White, 4 July 1993, RG 45, series 45.1, AOC.

Drawings were issued nightly
“The Pentagon,” 9–10, Witmer papers, OSD HO; White, “The Pentagon Drawings,” 6–8.

The builders and Army
Furman, author interview; Polly McShain, author interview.

“We were designing”
van der Gracht, White interview; “Basic Data on the Pentagon,” III, 4, SDF, NARA RG 160. Leisenring, F&R interview; F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
438.

“How big should I”
Brinkley,
Washington Goes to War,
73 (AIA membership files and other documents spell Dickey’s first name as Allen instead of Alan).

To curb the design chaos
“Planning the Pentagon Building,” 21 Oct. 1942, 4, Witmer papers, OSD HO; White, “The Pentagon Drawings,” 10.

Oh the General
undated, Witmer papers, OSD HO.

Van der Gracht would make
van der Gracht, White interview.

A price to pay

At the construction site
1
^st
Lt. Charles Smith, “Fatality report on Vernon S. Janney,” 22 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO;
WP,
16 Oct. 1941.

Janney’s death was the first
Lloyd Blanchard memo to Groves, 7 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO;
WP,
6 Nov. 1941.

Groves ordered Renshaw
Groves memo to Renshaw, 14 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO.

When push came to shove

Somervell had picked
F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
522;
Star,
6 Nov. 1941; Quartermaster General memo on conservation of critical materials, 24 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO.

Industries and citizens
Somervell, letter to Capt. H. C. Whitehurst, 15 Sept. 1941, I, CEHO; Furman, author interview.

Steel was most critical
F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
438; Maj. George H. Christensen, “Miscellaneous Data, Pentagon Building”, 7 Oct. 1944, I, CEHO; Witmer planning memorandum, OSD HO; Colglazier, oral history, MHI; Alan Renshaw, author interview; “War Department Architects Saving Critical Materials,” 30 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO.

Furman was often sent
Furman, author interview.

Officials with the Office
Star,
6, Nov. 1941.

The OPM leak
W. B. Styer, memo, 6 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO; Col. Edmund Leavey, memo to Renshaw, 10 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO.

The gold rush

The building’s construction
Goldberg,
The Pentagon,
56; Telephone transcript, Renshaw calling H. Waples, OPM, 10 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO.

But OPM chief
F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
437; “The Pentagon Project—EHD,” 24, CEHO; Numerous letters and telegrams from wood industry representatives sent in November 1941 on file in I, CEHO; Stimson, letter to Sen. Lister Hill, 3 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO.

Other members of Congress
Smith letter to Somervell, 11 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO; Ramspeck letter to Styer, 2 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO; Bailey letter to Gen. Gregory, 6 Nov. 1941; Walter letter to Somervell, 28 Oct. 1941, I, CEHO; Somervell letter to Walter, 4 Nov. 1941; Bergstrom memo to Somervell, 10 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO; F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
437.

The President, after his conversation
Watson memo to Somervell, 4 Dec. 1941, OF 25, FDR Lib.

An exasperated Somervell refused
Somervell memo to Watson, 5 Dec. 1941, OF 25, FDR Lib.

“Will you tell”
Roosevelt note to Watson, 5 Dec. 1941, OF 25, FDR Lib.

You can kind of out-slicker yourself

On December 1, 1941
War Department press release, 2 Dec. 1941, Somervell papers, MHI; F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
472.

The Corps of Engineers played a unique
Cowdrey,
A City for the Nation,
34;
WP,
17 Aug. 1941.

The transfer was
F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
4–5, 239–241; Richard Groves, author interview.

In mid-1941
F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
159, 462–3.

Madigan quietly approached
Ibid.;
Madigan, F&R interview, CEHO.

Somervell’s bid
F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
462–3; Eugene Reybold, F&R interview, 1959, VII, CEHO;
WP,
21 May 1943; Groves, F&R interview, 1956, CEHO; Gregory, F&R interview, CEHO.

Somervell was “mad”
Madigan, F&R interview; Ohl,
Supplying the Troops,
53–54.

Reybold, though, had no interest
Reybold interview, CEHO; F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
472–3.

General Marshall considered
Marshall, oral history with Pogue, 14 Feb. 1957, GCM Lib.; Ohl,
Supplying the Troops,
54.

“We are right back”
Pagan interview, CEHO; F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
475.

Speed is paramount

By the beginning
“The Pentagon Project—EHD,” 60, CEHO; F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
439; Furman, author interview.

By late November
Farrell memo to Somervell, I, CEHO; Somervell order to Renshaw, 25 Nov. 1941, I, CEHO.

The Commission of Fine Arts
CFA minutes, 14 Nov. 1941, NARA DC.

Renshaw was also dealing
Davidson memo to Renshaw, 6 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO.

CHAPTER 9—THEY WOULDN’T DARE ATTACK PEARL HARBOR

Some deviltry

The tails set
Furman, author interview.

In Washington
John J. McCloy, oral history, 1983, 2–3, oral history collection, OSD HO; Marshall,
The Papers of George C. Marshall,
vol. 4, 4; Stimson diary, 7 Dec. 1941.

The news caught Washington
WP,
8 Dec. 1941;
Star,
8 Dec. 1941; Hart,
Washington at War,
1–24.

Helen McShane Bailey
Helen McShane Bailey, “The Office of the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, in World War II: A Memoir,” 7, Memories Project, GCM Lib.; Bailey, author interview, 10 July 2004;
WP,
8 Dec. 1941.

Inside the Munitions Building
McCloy, oral history, 5, OSD HO; Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas,
The Wise Men,
189; Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. Miles, Nelson Appelton,
www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online
.

At the White House
Brinkley,
Washington Goes to War,
95; minutes of conference in Marshall’s office, 8 Dec. 1941, entry 31, NARA RG 165;
WP,
8 Dec. 1941; F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
477.

Furman arrived
Furman, author interview.

Absolute necessity

Walker had been on the job
Donald Walker, author interview, 15 Jan. 2004.

After a stirring welcome
The Public Papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt,
1941 vol., 515; “The President’s Busy Day,” International News Service, 9 Dec. 1941.

“Glad of it”
Walker, author interview.

The decision was made
McShain autobiographical notes, 13, McShain papers, HML; Somervell letter to Rep. Clarence Cannon, 7 May 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160.

The agreement that Frederic
Groves, “The Construction of the New War Department Office Building,” 15 June 1942, prepared congressional testimony, Groves Collection, GCM Lib.

Congressman who in November
F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
478; CFA minutes, 18 Dec. 1941, NARA DC RG 66.

Within days
Renshaw, memo to Chief of Engineers, 17 Dec. 1941, I,CEHO; “Basic Data on the Pentagon,” III, 7, SDF, NARA RG 160.

It’s not fair to us to expect the impossible

The pressure
Groves, “The Construction of the New War Department Office Building,” GCM Lib.

At Somervell’s insistence
Renshaw, memorandum for Somervell, 22 Dec. 1941, SDF, NARA RG 160; Leisenring, F&R interview, CEHO.

“Instructions were issued”
U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on War Department, 77
^th
Congress, 2
^nd
sess., Hearings on the Military Establishment Appropriation Bill for 1943, 11 June 1941, 218 (hereafter House hearing, 15 June 1942).

Bergstrom had to be brought
Renshaw, memorandum for Somervell, 22 Dec. 1941, SDF, NARA RG 160.

“April first? It’s going up”
Telephone transcript, McShain calling Groves, 23 Dec. 1941, I, CEHO.

Putting the screws to the delegees

The strategy was simple
Richard Groves, author interview.

Groves learned it from Somervell
Engineer Memoirs—Hardin,
106–7.

“philosophy was to delegate”
William Lawren,
The General and the Bomb,
61.

Groves was not a screamer
Ken Nichols,
The Road to Trinity,
102; Furman, author interview; Norris,
Racing for the Bomb,
16; Teller, introduction to Groves,
Now It Can be Told,
vii.

“Don’t you ever praise”
Nichols,
The Road to Trinity,
102.

Groves had stenographers
Groves comments, 41–42, CEHO; Davidson letter Maj. Gen. A. C. Smith, VII, CEHO; Davidson, oral history, 160–1, CEHO; Davidson personnel file, CEHO;
NYT,
Davidson obituary, 27 Dec. 1992.

Like one of his few heroes
Groves,
Now It Can be Told,
28; Lawren,
The General and the Bomb,
64. Davidson, oral history, 136, CEHO.

John McShain bore
Polly McShain, author interview; Brauer,
The Man Who Built Washington,
154–57.

For Clarence Renshaw
Eileen Renshaw, author interview, 26 Feb. 2004; Furman, author interview.

Groves was often
Groves, oral history with Pogue, second interview, GCM Lib.; Davidson, oral history, CEHO.

Edwin Bergstrom
“Committee of Five” report, appendix A, minutes of the meeting of the AIA board of directors, 29 Oct.–1 Nov. 1941, AIA; Charles T. Ingham, letters to Bergstrom, 17 Dec. 1941, Bergstrom membership file, AIA; minutes of special meeting of AIA executive committee, 5 Feb. 1942, AIA.

Somervell’s three girls
Mary Anne Somervell Brenza, author interview, Feb. 31, 2004; Matter, author interview.
WT-H,
4 July 1941.