William Sterling Parsons

William Sterling Parsons
Parsonsc. 1946–1953
Nickname(s)	Deak
Born	(1901-11-26)26 November 1901 Chicago, Illinois, US
Died	5 December 1953(1953-12-05)(aged 52) Bethesda, Maryland,US
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1922–1953
Rank	Rear admiral (upper half)
Battles/wars	World War II Guadalcanal campaign Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Korean War
Awards	Navy Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Legion of Merit
Alma mater	United States Naval Academy(BS)

William Sterling Parsons(26 November 1901 – 5 December 1953) was an American naval officer who worked as an ordnance expert on theManhattan ProjectduringWorld War II.He is best known for being theweaponeeron theEnola Gay,the aircraft whichdropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan,in 1945. To avoid the possibility of a nuclear explosion if the aircraft crashed and burned on takeoff, he decided to arm the bomb in flight. While the aircraft was en route to Hiroshima, Parsons climbed into the cramped and dark bomb bay, and inserted the powder charge and detonator. He was awarded theSilver Starfor his part in the mission.

A 1922 graduate of theUnited States Naval Academy,Parsons served on a variety of warships beginning with the battleshipUSSIdaho.He was trained in ordnance and studiedballisticsunderL. T. E. Thompsonat theNaval Proving GroundinDahlgren, Virginia.In July 1933, Parsons became liaison officer between theBureau of Ordnanceand theNaval Research Laboratory.He became interested inradarand was one of the first to recognize its potential to locate ships and aircraft, and perhaps even track shells in flight. In September 1940, Parsons andMerle Tuveof theNational Defense Research Committeebegan work on the development of theproximity fuze,an invention that was provided to the US by the UKTizard Mission,a radar-triggered fuze that would explode a shell in the proximity of the target. The fuze, eventually known as the VT (variable time) fuze, Mark 32, went into production in 1942. Parsons was on hand to watch thecruiserUSSHelenashoot down the first enemy aircraft with a VT fuze in theSolomon Islandsin January 1943.

In June 1943, Parsons joined the Manhattan Project as Associate Director at theProject Yresearch laboratory atLos Alamos, New Mexico,underJ. Robert Oppenheimer.Parsons became responsible for the ordnance aspects of the project, including the design and testing of the non-nuclear components ofnuclear weapons.In a reorganization in 1944, he lost responsibility for the implosion-type fission weapon, but retained that for the design and development of thegun-type fission weapon,which eventually became Little Boy. He was also responsible for the delivery program, codenamedProject Alberta.He watched theTrinity nuclear testfrom aB-29.

After the war, Parsons was promoted to the rank of rear admiral without ever having commanded a ship. He participated inOperation Crossroads,the nuclear weapon tests atBikini Atollin 1946, and later theOperation Sandstonetests atEnewetak Atollin 1948. In 1947, he became deputy commander of theArmed Forces Special Weapons Project.He died of a heart attack in 1953.

Early life

William Sterling Parsons was born in Chicago, Illinois, on 26 November 1901, the oldest of three children of a lawyer, Harry Robert Parsons, and his wife Clara, née Doolittle. Clara was the granddaughter ofJames Rood Doolittle,who served as US Senator from Wisconsin between 1857 and 1869, and ofJoel Aldrich Matteson,Governor of Illinoisfrom 1853 to 1857.

In 1909, the family moved toFort Sumner,New Mexico,where William learned to speak fluent Spanish.He attended the local schools in Fort Sumner and was home schooled by his mother for a time. He commenced atSanta Rosa High School,where his mother taught English and Spanish, rapidly advancing through three years in just one. In 1917 he attended Fort Sumner High School, from which he graduated in 1918.

In 1917 Parsons traveled toRoswell,New Mexico, to take theUnited States Naval Academyexam for one of the appointments by SenatorAndrieus A. Jones.He was only an alternate, but passed the exam while more favored candidates did not, and received the appointment. As he was only 16, two years younger than most candidates, he was shorter and lighter than the physical standards called for, but managed to convince the examining board to admit him anyway. He entered the Naval Academy atAnnapolis,Maryland, in 1918, and eventually graduated 48th out of 539 in the class of 1922, in whichHyman G. Rickovergraduated 107th. At the time, it was customary for midshipmen to acquire nicknames, and Parsons was called "Deacon", a play on his last name. This became shortened to "Deak".

Ordnance

On graduating in June 1922, Parsons was commissioned as anensignand posted to thebattleshipUSSIdaho,where he was placed in charge of one of the 14-inch gun turrets.In May 1927, Parsons, now alieutenant (junior grade),returned to Annapolis, where he commenced a course in ordnance at theNaval Postgraduate School.He became friends with Lieutenant Jack Crenshaw, a fellow officer attending the same training course. Jack asked Parsons to be best man at his wedding to Betty Cluverius, the daughter of the commandant of theNorfolk Navy Yard,Rear AdmiralWat Tyler Cluverius Jr.,at the Norfolk Navy Chapel. As best man, Parsons was paired with Betty's maid of honor, her sister Martha. Parsons and Martha got along well, and in November 1929, they too were married at the Norfolk Navy Chapel. This time, Jack and Betty Crenshaw were best man and maid of honor.

Naval Research Laboratorycomplex on thePotomac Riverin Washington, DC

The ordnance course was normally followed by a relevant field posting, so Parsons was sent to theNaval Proving GroundinDahlgren,Virginia, to further studyballisticsunderL. T. E. Thompson.Following the usual pattern of alternating duty afloat and ashore, Parsons was posted to the battleshipUSSTexasin June 1930, with the rank oflieutenant.In November, the commander in chiefUnited States Fleet,AdmiralJehu V. Chase,hoisted his flag on theTexas,bringing Cluverius with him as his chief of staff. This was awkward for Parsons, his son-in-law, but Cluverius understood, being himself the son-in-law of an admiral,in his case, AdmiralWilliam T. Sampson.

In July 1933, Parsons became liaison officer between theBureau of Ordnanceand theNaval Research Laboratory(NRL) in Washington, D.C.At the NRL he was briefed by the head of its Radio Division,A. Hoyt Taylor,who told him about experiments that had been carried out into what the Navy would later nameradar.Parsons immediately recognized the potential of the new invention to locate ships and aircraft, and perhaps even track shells in flight. For this, he realized that he was going to need high frequencymicrowaves.He discovered that no one had attempted this. The scientists had not considered all the applications of the technology, and the Navy bureaus had not grasped their potential. He was able to persuade the scientists to establish a group to investigate microwave radar, but without official sanction it had low priority. Parsons submitted a memorandum on the subject to the Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) requesting $5,000 per annum for research. To his dismay, the BuOrd andBureau of Engineering,which was responsible for the NRL, turned down his proposal.

Some thought that Parsons was ruining his career with his advocacy of radar,but he acquired one powerful backer. The Chief of theBureau of Aeronautics(BuAer), Rear AdmiralErnest J. King,supported the use of radar as a means of determining aircraft altitude. When the Bureau of Engineering protested that such a device would necessarily be too large to carry on a plane, King told them that it would still be worthwhile, even if the only aircraft in the Navy big enough to carry it was the airshipUSSMacon.

Parsons's marriage produced three daughters. The first, Hannah, was born in 1932; the second, Margaret (Peggy), followed in 1934. Hannah died ofpolioin April 1935.Parsons returned to sea in June 1936 as the executive officer of thedestroyerUSSAylwin.He was promoted tolieutenant commanderin May 1937. His third daughter, Clara (Clare), was born the same year. On that occasion, Parsons left Martha with the newborn and three-year-old Peggy to care for and reported for duty the next day, believing that his first responsibility was to his ship. His skipper,CommanderEarl E. Stone,did not agree, and sent him home. In March 1938, Rear AdmiralWilliam R. Sextonhad Parsons assigned to hisflagship,the cruiserUSSDetroit,as gunnery officer. Parsons's task was to improve the gunnery scores of his command, and in this he succeeded.

Proximity fuze

Cut away diagram of the proximity fuze Mark 53

Parsons was posted back to Dahlgren in September 1939 as experimental officer. The atmosphere had changed considerably. In June 1940, PresidentFranklin D. Rooseveltapproved the creation of theNational Defense Research Committee(NDRC), under the direction ofVannevar Bush.Richard C. Tolman,dean of the graduate school atCaltech,was given responsibility for the NDRC's Armor and Ordnance Division. Tolman met with Parsons and Thompson in July 1940, and discussed their needs. Within the Navy, too, there was a change of attitude, withCaptainWilliam H. P. (Spike) Blandyas the head of BuOrd's Research Desk. Blandy welcomed the assistance of NDRC scientists in improving and developing weapons.

In September 1940, Parsons andMerle Tuveof NDRC began work on a new concept. Shooting down an aircraft with ananti-aircraft gunwas a difficult proposition. As a shell had to hit a speeding aircraft at an uncertain altitude, the only hope seemed to be to fill the sky with ammunition. A direct hit was not actually required; an aircraft might be destroyed or critically damaged by a shell detonating nearby. With this in mind, anti-aircraft gunners usedtime fuzesto increase the possibility of damage. The question then arose as to whether radar could be used to create an explosion in the proximity of an aircraft. Tuve's first suggestion was to have an aircraft drop a radar-controlled bomb on a bomber formation. Parsons saw that while this was technically feasible, it was tactically problematic.

The ideal solution was aproximity fuzeinside an artillery shell as was first conceived byW. A. S. Butement,Edward S. Shire, and Amherst F. H. Thomson, researchers at the BritishTelecommunications Research Establishmentbut there were numerous technical difficulties with this. The radar set had to be made small enough to fit inside a shell, and its glassvacuum tubeshad to first withstand the 20,000g forceof being fired from a gun, and then 500 rotations per second in flight. A special Section T of NDRC was created, chaired by Tuve, with Parsons as special assistant to Bush and liaison between NDRC and BuOrd.

On 29 January 1942, Parsons reported to Blandy that a batch of fifty proximity fuzes from the pilot production plant had been test fired, and 26 of them had exploded correctly. Blandy therefore ordered full-scale production to begin. In April 1942, Bush, now the Director of theOffice of Scientific Research and Development(OSRD), placed the project directly under OSRD. The research effort remained under Tuve but moved to theJohns Hopkins University'sApplied Physics Laboratory(APL), where Parsons was BuOrd's representative.In August 1942, a live firing test was conducted with the newly commissioned cruiserUSSCleveland.Threepilotless droneswere shot down in succession.

Parsons had the new proximity fuzes, now known as VT (variable time) fuze, Mark 32, flown to theMare Island Navy Yard,where they were mated with5 "/38 caliber gunrounds. Some 5,000 of them were then shipped to the South Pacific. Parsons flew there himself, where he met with AdmiralWilliam F. Halseyat his headquarters inNouméa.He arranged for Parsons to take VT fuzes out with him on the cruiserUSSHelena.On 6 January 1943,Helenawas part of a cruiser force that bombardedMundain theSolomon Islands.On the return trip, the cruisers were attacked by fourAichi D3A(Val) dive bombers.Helenafired at one with a VT fuze. It exploded close to the aircraft, which crashed into the sea.

To preserve the secrecy of the weapon, its use was initially permitted only over water, where a dud round could not fall into enemy hands. In late 1943, the Army obtained permission for it to be used over land. It proved particularly effective against theV-1 flying bombover England, and laterAntwerpin 1944. The use of a version fired fromhowitzersagainst ground targets was authorized in response to the GermanArdennes Offensivein December 1944, with deadly effect. By the end of 1944, VT fuzes were coming off the production lines at the rate of 40,000 per day.

Manhattan Project

Project Y

Captain Parsons on Tinian in 1945

Parsons returned to Dahlgren in March 1943.Around this time, aresearch laboratorywas established atLos Alamos,New Mexico, under the direction ofJ. Robert OppenheimerasProject Y,which was part of theManhattan Project,the top-secret effort to develop anatomic bomb.The creation of a practical weapon would necessarily require an expert in ordnance, and Oppenheimer tentatively penciled in Tolman for the role, but getting him released from OSRD was another matter.Until then, Oppenheimer had to do the job himself.In May 1943, the Manhattan Project's director,Brigadier GeneralLeslie R. Groves,took up the matter with the Military Policy Committee, the high-level committee that oversaw the Manhattan Project. It consisted of Vannevar Bush as its chairman, Brigadier GeneralWilhelm D. Styerwho represented the Army, and Rear AdmiralWilliam R. Purnellas the Navy's representative.

Groves told them that he was looking for someone with "a sound understanding of both practical and theoretical ordnance – high explosives, guns and fusing – a wide acquaintance and an excellent reputation among military ordnance people and an ability to gain their support; a reasonably broad background in scientific development; and an ability to attract and hold the respect of scientists."He said that a military officer would be his ideal, as the job might involve planning and coordinating the use of the bomb, but added that he knew of no Army officer who fit the bill. Bush then suggested Parsons, a nomination supported by Purnell.The next morning, Parsons received a phone call from Purnell, ordering him to report to Admiral King, who was now the commander in chief, US Fleet (Cominch). In a terse ten-minute meeting, King briefed Parsons on the Project, which he said had his full backing.That afternoon, Parsons met with Groves, who quickly sized him up as the right man for the job.

"Thin Man" plutonium gun test casings atWendover Army Air Field.In the background, casing designs for "Fat Man"bombs can be seen as well.

Parsons was relieved of his duties at Dahlgren and officially assigned to Admiral King's Cominch staff on 1 June 1943, with a promotion to the rank of captain. On 15 June 1943, he arrived at Los Alamos as Associate Director.Parsons would be Oppenheimer's second in command.Parsons and his family moved into one of the houses on "Bathtub Row" that had formerly belonged to the headmaster and staff of theLos Alamos Ranch School.Bathtub Row, so-called because the houses were the only ones at Los Alamos with bathtubs, was the most prestigious address at Los Alamos.Parsons became Oppenheimer's next-door neighbor,and in fact his house was slightly larger, because Parsons had two children and Oppenheimer, at this point, had only one.With two school-age children, Parsons took a keen interest in the construction of the Central School at Los Alamos, and became president of the school board. Instead of the temporary two-story structure that Groves had envisioned in the interest of economy and not misusing the project's high priorities for labor and materials, Parsons had a well-built, modern, single-story school constructed. On seeing the result, Groves said: "I'll hold you personally responsible for this, Parsons."

Oppenheimer had already recruited key people for Parsons's Ordnance Division.Edwin McMillanwas a physicist who headed the Proving Ground Group. His first task was to establish the ordnance test area. Later he became Parsons's deputy for thegun-type fission weapon.Charles Critchfield,amathematical physicistwith ordnance experience at the Army'sAberdeen Proving Ground,was in charge of the Target, Projectile and Source Group.Kenneth Bainbridgearrived in August to take charge of the Instrumentation Group. Parsons recruitedRobert Brodefrom the proximity fuze project to become head of the Fuze Development Group.Joseph Hirschfelderwas brought in as an expert oninternal ballistics,and headed the Interior Ballistics Group. From the beginning, Parsons wantedNorman Ramseyas the head of the delivery group. Edward L. Bowles, the scientific adviser to theSecretary of War,Henry L. Stimson,was reluctant to part with Ramsey, but gave way under pressure from Groves, Tolman and Bush. Perhaps the most controversial group head would beSeth Neddermeyer,the head of the Implosion Experimentation Group; for the time being, Parsons accorded a relatively low priority to this work. He also recruited Hazel Greenbacker as his secretary.

Parsons (right) supervises loading ofLittle Boyinto the bomb bay ofEnola Gay.

Groves, among others, felt that Parsons had a tendency to fill positions with naval officers. There was some aspect of service parochialism, and Parsons believed that involvement in the Manhattan Project would be important for the future of the Navy, but it was also due to the difficulty of getting highly skilled people from any source in wartime. Parsons simply found it easiest to get them through Navy channels.Lieutenant CommanderNorris Bradburysaid that he did not wish to join Project Y, but was soon on his way to Los Alamos anyway.Parsons recruited CommanderFrancis Birch,who replaced McMillan at Anchor Ranch.CommanderFrederick Ashworthwas a naval ordnance officer and aviator who was senior aviator at Dahlgren when he was brought in to work on the delivery side.By the end of the war, there were 41 Naval officers at Los Alamos.

Over the next few months, Parsons's division designed the gun-typeplutoniumweapon, codenamedThin Man.It was assumed that auranium-235weapon would be similar in nature. Hirschfelder's group considered various designs, and evaluated different propellants.The ordnance test area, which became known as "Anchor Ranch", was established on a nearby ranch, where Parsons conducted test firings with a 3-inch anti-aircraft gun.Work on implosion lagged by comparison, but this was not initially a major concern, because it was expected that the gun-type would work with both uranium and plutonium. However, Oppenheimer, Groves and Parsons lobbied Purnell and Tolman to getJohn von Neumannto have a look at the problem. Von Neumann suggested the use of shaped charges to initiate implosion.

A gun-type nuclear bomb

Oppenheimer considered that there was a "reciprocal lack of confidence" between Parsons and Neddermeyer,and in October 1943 he brought inGeorge Kistiakowsky,who began a new attack on the implosion design.Kistiakowsky clashed with both Parsons and Neddermeyer, but felt that "my disagreements with Deak Parsons were very minor compared to my disagreements with Neddermeyer."The implosion design acquired a new urgency in April 1944, when studies of reactor-produced plutonium confirmed that it could not be used in a gun-type weapon. An accelerated effort was called for to design and build the implosion-type weapon, codenamedFat Man.Two new groups were created at Los Alamos: X (for explosives) Division headed by Kistiakowsky, and G (for gadget) Division underRobert Bacher.Parsons was placed in charge of O (for ordnance) Division, with responsibility for both the gun-type design and delivery.

The uranium gun-type weapon known asLittle Boydid prove to be simpler than Thin Man. The gun velocity needed to be only 1,000 feet per second (300 m/s), a third that of Thin Man. A corresponding reduction in the barrel length reduced the bomb's overall length to 6 feet (1.8 m). In turn, this made it much easier to handle, and permitted a conventional bomb shape, resulting in a more predictable flight.The main concerns with Little Boy were its safety and reliability.

Project Alberta

Enola Gayafter Hiroshima mission, enteringhardstand

The delivery program, codenamedProject Alberta,got underway under Ramsey's direction in October 1943. Starting in November, theArmy Air Forces Materiel CommandatWright Field,Ohio, beganSilverplate,the codename for the modification ofB-29sto carry the bombs. Parsons arranged for a test program at Dahlgren using scale models of Thin Man and Fat Man. Test drops were carried out atMuroc Army Air Field,California, and theNaval Ordnance Test Station at Inyokern,California, using full-size replicas of Fat Man known aspumpkin bombs.The ungainly and non-aerodynamic shape of Fat Man proved to be the main difficulty, but many other problems were encountered and overcome.Parsons, wrote Oppenheimer, "has been almost alone in this project to appreciate the actual military and engineering problems which we would encounter. He has been almost alone in insisting on facing these problems at a date early enough so that we might arrive at their solution."

The "Tinian Joint Chiefs": Captain William S. Parsons (left), Rear Admiral William R. Purnell (center), and Brigadier General Thomas F. Farrell (right)

In July 1944, Parsons joined Jack Crenshaw, who was investigating thePort Chicago disaster.The two men surveyed the disaster area, where 1,500 tons of munitions had exploded and 320 men had died.A year later, Parsons watched theTrinity nuclear testfrom a circling B-29.Afterwards, Parsons flew toTinian,where the B-29s of ColonelPaul W. Tibbets'509th Composite Groupwere preparing to deliver the weapons. En route, he stopped off inSan Diegoto visit his eighteen-year-old half-brother Bob, a US Marine who had been badly wounded in theBattle of Iwo Jima.Parsons also met with CaptainCharles B. McVay III,the skipper of the cruiserUSSIndianapolis,in Purnell's office at theEmbarcaderoin San Francisco and gave McVay his orders:

You will sail at high speed to Tinian where your cargo will be taken off by others. You will not be told what the cargo is, but it is to be guarded even after the life of your vessel. If she goes down, save the cargo at all costs, in a lifeboat if necessary. And every day you save on your voyage will cut the length of the war by just that much.

Parsons was in charge of scientists and technicians from Project Alberta on Tinian, who were nominally organized as the 1st Technical Service Detachment. Their role was the handling and maintenance of the nuclear weapons. Parsons was joined by Purnell, who represented the Military Liaison Committee, and Brigadier GeneralThomas F. Farrell,Groves' Deputy for Operations. They became, informally, the "Tinian Joint Chiefs", with decision-making authority over the nuclear mission. Before Farrell left for Tinian, Groves had told him: "Don't let Parsons get killed. We need him!"

Presentation of theArmy–Navy "E" Awardat Los Alamos on 16 October 1945. Standing, left to right:J. Robert Oppenheimer,unidentified, unidentified,Kenneth Nichols,Leslie Groves,Robert Gordon Sproul,Deak Parsons.

In the space of a week on Tinian, four B-29s crashed and burned on the runway. Parsons became very concerned. If a B-29 crashed with a Little Boy, the fire could cook off the explosive and detonate the weapon, with catastrophic consequences. He raised the possibility of arming the bomb in flight with Farrell, who agreed that it might be a good idea. Farrell asked Parsons if he knew how to perform this task. "No sir, I don't", Parsons conceded, "but I've got all afternoon to learn."The night before the mission, Parsons repeatedly practiced inserting the powder charge and detonator in the bomb in the poor visibility and cramped conditions of thebomb bay.

Parsons participated in thebombing of Hiroshimaon 6 August 1945, flying on theEnola Gayas weaponeer and Senior Military Technical Observer.Shortly after takeoff, he clambered into the bomb bay and carefully carried out the procedure that he had rehearsed the night before. It was Parsons and not Tibbets, the pilot, who was in charge of the mission. He approved the choice of Hiroshima as the target, and gave the final approval for the bomb to be released. For his part in the mission, Parsons was awarded theSilver Star,and was promoted to the wartime rank ofcommodoreon 10 August 1945.For his work on the Manhattan Project, he was awarded theNavy Distinguished Service Medal.

Postwar career

In November 1945, King created a new position of DeputyChief of Naval Operationsfor Special Weapons, which was given to Vice Admiral Blandy. Parsons became Blandy's assistant. In turn, Parsons had two assistants of his own, Ashworth andHoracio Rivero Jr.He also brought Greenbacker from Los Alamos to help set up the new office.Parsons was a strong supporter of research into the use of nuclear power for warship propulsion, but disagreed with Rear AdmiralHarold G. Bowen Sr.,the head of theOffice of Research and Inventions,who wanted the US Navy to initiate its own nuclear project. Parsons felt that the Navy should work with the Manhattan Project, and arranged for Navy officers to be assigned to Oak Ridge. The most senior of them was his former classmate Rickover, who became assistant director there. They immersed themselves in the study of nuclear energy, laying the foundations for anuclear-powered navy.

News conference on board theamphibious command shipUSSAppalachianduringOperation Crossroads.In foreground is Parsons, Major GeneralWilliam E. Kepnerand Vice Admiral William H. P. Blandy. ColonelStafford L. Warrenholds the microphone.

On 11 January 1946, Blandy was appointed to command Joint Task Force One (JTF-1), a special force created to conduct a series of nuclear weapon tests atBikini Atoll,which he namedOperation Crossroads,to determine the effect of nuclear weapons on warships.Parsons, who was promoted to the rank of rear admiral on 8 January 1946, became Blandy's Deputy Commander for Technical Direction and Commander Task Group 1.1.Parsons worked hard to make a success of the operation, which he described as "the largest laboratory experiment in history".In addition to the 95target ships,there was a support fleet of more than 150 ships, 156 aircraft, and over 42,000 personnel.

Parsons witnessed the first explosion, Able, from the deck of the task force flagship, thecommand shipUSSMount McKinley.An airburst like the Hiroshima blast, it was unimpressive, and even Parsons thought that it must have been smaller than the Hiroshima bomb. It failed to sink the target ship, the battleshipUSSNevada,mainly because it missed it by a considerable distance. This made it difficult to assess the amount of damage caused, which was the objective of the exercise. Blandy then announced that the next test, Baker, would occur in just three weeks. This meant that Parsons had to carry out the evaluation of Able simultaneously with the preparations for Baker. This time he assisted with the final preparations onUSSLSM-60before heading back toseaplane tenderUSSCumberland Soundfor the test. The underwater Baker explosion was no larger than Able, but the dome and water column made it look far more spectacular. The real problem was the radioactive fallout, as ColonelStafford L. Warren,the Manhattan Project's medical advisor, had predicted. The target ships proved impossible to decontaminate and, lacking targets, the test series had to be called off.For his part in Operation Crossroads, Parsons was awarded theLegion of Merit.

The Special Weapons Office was abolished in November 1946, and the Manhattan Project followed suit at the end of the year. A civilian agency, theUnited States Atomic Energy Commission(AEC), was created by theAtomic Energy Act of 1946to take over the functions and assets of the Manhattan Project, including development, production and control of nuclear weapons. The law provided for a Military Liaison Committee (MLC) to advise the AEC on military matters, and Parsons became a member. A joint Army-Navy organization, theArmed Forces Special Weapons Project(AFSWP), was created to handle the military aspects of nuclear weapons.Groves was appointed to command the AFSWP, with Parsons and Air Force Major GeneralRoscoe C. Wilsonas his deputies. In this capacity, Parsons pressed for the development of improved nuclear weapons. During theOperation Sandstoneseries of nuclear weapon tests atEnewetak Atollin 1948, Parsons once again served as deputy commander.Parsons hoped that his next posting would be to sea, but he was instead sent to theWeapons Systems Evaluation Groupin 1949. He finally returned to sea duty in 1951, this time as commander, Cruiser Division 6, despite having never commanded a ship. Parsons and his cruisers conducted a tour of the Mediterraneanshowing the flag.He then became Deputy Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance in March 1952.

Death and legacy

Parsons remained in contact with Oppenheimer. The two men and their wives visited each other from time to time, and the Parsons family especially enjoyed visiting their former neighbors at their new home at Olden Manor,a 17th-century estate with a cook andgroundskeeper,surrounded by 265 acres (107 ha) of woodlands at theInstitute for Advanced StudyinPrinceton,New Jersey.Parsons was disturbed by the rise ofMcCarthyismin the early 1950s. In 1953 he wrote a letter to Oppenheimer expressing his hope that "the anti-intellectualism of recent months may have passed its peak". On 4 December that year, Parsons heard of PresidentDwight Eisenhower's"blank wall"directive, blocking Oppenheimer from access to classified material. Parsons became visibly upset, and that night began experiencing severe chest pains.The next morning, he went toBethesda Naval Hospital,where he died while the doctors were still examining him.He was buried atArlington National Cemeteryalongside his daughter Hannah.He was survived by his father, brother, half-brother and sister, as well as his wife Martha and daughters Peggy and Clare.

TheRear Admiral William S. Parsons Award for Scientific and Technical Progresswas established by the Navy in his memory. It is awarded "to a Navy or Marine Corps officer, enlisted person, or civilian who has made an outstanding contribution in any field of science that has furthered the development and progress of the Navy or Marine Corps."TheForrest Sherman-classdestroyerUSSParsonswas named in his honor. Her keel was laid down byIngalls ShipbuildingofPascagoula,Mississippi, on 17 June 1957, and was launched by his widow Martha on 17 August 1958.When it was rechristened as a guided missile destroyer (DDG-33) in 1967, Clare, now a naval officer herself, represented her family.Parsonswas decommissioned on 19 November 1982, stricken from the Navy list on 1 December 1984, and disposed of as a target on 25 April 1989.The Deak Parsons Center, headquarters of Afloat Training Group, Atlantic, in Norfolk, Virginia, was also named for him.Parsons's portrait is among a series of paintings related to Operation Crossroads.His papers are in theNaval Historical Centerin Washington, D.C.

In popular culture

Parsons was depicted in the following films or television works:

• The Beginning or the End(1947) byWarner Anderson
• Above and Beyond(1952) byLarry Gates
• Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb(1980) byRobert Pine
• Day One(1989) by Dee McCafferty
• Fat Man and Little Boy(1989) by Michael Brockman
• Hiroshima(1995) byGary Reineke

References

• Bird, Kai;Sherwin, Martin J.(2005).American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.New York: Alfred A. Knopf.ISBN0-375-41202-6.OCLC56753298.
• Christman, Albert B. (1998).Target Hiroshima: Deak Parsons and the Creation of the Atomic Bomb.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-55750-120-3.OCLC38257982.
• Furer, Julius Augustus(1959).Administration of the Navy Department in World War II.Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.OCLC1915787.
• Groves, Leslie(1962).Now it Can be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project.New York: Harper & Row.ISBN0-306-70738-1.OCLC537684.
• Hewlett, Richard G.;Duncan, Francis (1969).Atomic Shield, 1947–1952.A History of the United States Atomic Energy Commission. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.ISBN0-520-07187-5.OCLC3717478.
• Hoddeson, Lillian;Henriksen, Paul W.; Meade, Roger A.;Westfall, Catherine L.(1993).Critical Assembly: A Technical History of Los Alamos During the Oppenheimer Years, 1943–1945.New York: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-44132-3.OCLC26764320.
• Hunner, Jon (2004).Inventing Los Alamos: The Growth of an Atomic Community.Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.ISBN978-0-8061-3891-6.OCLC154690200.
• Lewis, Robert A.;Tolzer, Eliot (August 1957). "How We Dropped the A-Bomb".Popular Science.pp. 71–75, 209–210.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot(1948).Volume V: The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943.Boston: Little, Brown and Co.ISBN978-1612513188.OCLC4091661.
• Shurcliff, William A.(1947).Bombs at Bikini: The Official Report of Operation Crossroads.New York: William H. Wise and Co.OCLC1492066.Retrieved30 July2011.
• Terrett, Dulaney (1953).The Signal Corps: The Emergency.Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army.OCLC8990522.
• Thomas, Gordon;Morgan-Witts, Max(1977).Ruin from the Air.London: Hamilton.ISBN0-241-89726-2.OCLC252041787.
• Weisgall, Jonathan (1994).Operation Crossroads: The Atomic Tests at Bikini Atoll.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN978-1-55750-919-2.OCLC29477984.

External links

• Interview with Peggy Parsons Bowditch, daughter of Deak Parsons, about her father and growing up in Los AlamosVoices of the Manhattan Project
• Arlington National Cemetery