Have not yet seen. With the fighting skill which they are already aware. Im at langley, im senior director programs at the National WorldWar Ii Museum ignored orleans. Im joined today by two gentlemen. The first is paul sparrow who is director of the franklin de roosevelt president ial museum and library and hyde park, new york. Following a career as a documentary filmmaker and a Senior Executive of the museum,. Paul has been directing the Roosevelt Museum since 2015. He will be talking obviously about fdr and the Manhattan Project. Our second guest is Clifton Truman daniel who is the eldest grandson of president harry truman. He is also a truman scholar. He has spent quite a bit of time studying the life and career of his grandfather and he currently serves as honourary chairman of the board of trustees and at the harry truman president ial library and museum and independence, missouri. So today well give a great opportunity for question and answer. Please weigh in with lots of questions. Weve already been talking quite a bit off camera about our topic today and i guarantee you theres gonna be a lot of interesting ideas and discussion. I will begin and introduce yall to our program. Thank you thank you ed. Thank you clifton for being part of this today. Im very excited this is one of those topics that is generated enormous amount of debate throughout the years. Background for Franklin Roosevelt of courses that he was struggling in the late 1930s to convince americans who are very isolationist that they had to take an interest in the problems that were going on in europe. Some of the things that he understood about the spread of fascist nazi germany and the threat from japan, Many Americans disagreed with. They want to see the American Public to get involved. So one of fdrs issues was rebuilding the military. Hummed hundreds of new strips were constructed, there was a peacetime draft instituted and so he was very focused on how america would respond to the threat from nazi germany. Im just going to share a powerpoint here that has a few images. Thats the king and queen in the president. This is Albert Einstein in the right. They started drafting this letter to the president s trying to convince him that to the United States needed get involved. Although it was a world famous visitors, obviously he didnt have the same status that Albert Einstein did. The letter was drafted on your einsteins name. Heres a copy of the letter in which you can see it was sent in august of 1939. The war in europe is still not started yet. Germany doesnt invade poland until september. But this is the lead up to it and theres tremendous concern on the part of the scientists. You can see theres an expert excerpt of the may be possible to set up a Nuclear Chain reaction with uranium. This new phenomenon but also lead to the constructive bombs and it is conceivable. A much less certain that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thats be constructed single palm of this, type carried by boat and exploded report, id very well to destroy the whole port together are some of the surrounding territories. Then of course, just a few weeks later germany invades poland and we are the start of world war ii. On october 19th, fdr responds back to professor einstein and obviously a lot of been going on there he. Said i found the state of such import that ive convened chose to investigate your suggest jays suggestions regarding the in element of uranium. Over the period of the next several years there are different committees that are formed, but on july 20th 1941 the office of Scientific Research and development which oversees the entire project. A man named bush is put in charge in this is the point at which the project gains momentum. There is a sense now that that there is a cohesive and coherent objective. They need to develop a bomb, they need to beat the germans to it and then it just of course a few months later, the japanese attack pearl harbor which gives even greater impetus to the development of this bomb. The two men who were responsible for the development on the left there, you see Leslie Groves on the left who is a military representative in charge of the whole operation. On the right you, see the famous scientists Robert Oppenheim or. Their loss alamos facilities the one this most famous. But there of course about 20 different facilities. Across the country hundred thousand people involved in this, from extracting uranium corps, recruiting scientists, all done under top secrecy. Meanwhile at the same time, the british have been developing a similar nuclear bomb development which they called the tube alloys. Early on in the war when the germans were bombing the british, they decided that the british and american should work together, and britain share a lot of their data and their science with the americans several british scientists came over. By 1943, this photograph was taken at shangrila. By 1943 the americans had essentially cut the british out of the development of the ball bomb and the man had project. This was done for a variety of reasons. Churchill was very upset about this and one of the british to get back involved in this partnership. A few months after this photo was taken, and august 1943, right before the quebec conference, there have been tremendous tension between the british and the americans regarding the plans for the day. The americans wanted to make didier dday happen and churchill, British Military were very reluctant. Theyve been dragging their feet, coming up with alternative strategies. So at this meeting in august 1943 in high park just before the quebec conference, roosevelt and churchill are essentially planning a print pro quo hitter. Roosevelt saying the churchill that if you will commit to the dday invasion of normandy, well bring you back into the Nuclear Project and thats what happened. Both agreements were signed on the same day right before the quebec conference started. 1944 this was taken at right after the democratic convention. Its one of the few times the roosevelt got together with his Vice President of candidates, soon to be Vice President. There was very little communication at this point. Its really one of fdrs, i think failings as a leader that he did not fully brief truman on the development of the nuclear bomb. His plans for the United Nations, whole range of topics. This was a critical part of that. This photograph was taking on april 11th the night before fdr died. You can see he is a very sick man here. When he died, there was a tremendous sense of loss, not just for americans, but for people all over the world who had seen him as this great champion of freedom and fighter for their independence and against fascist nazi germany. A few months later, they had completed development of the first atomic bomb. This is a scaffolding for the test of the the infinity test, which is the first time they were gonna test this bump. And you see here, this is the expression ex explosion a trinity. Of course by this time truman is president. Im the closest off now. At this point, truman as president , hes been briefed and ill turn it over to uplift and will talk about the process that was happening in turn into the truman in his. Ministration there was never any question within the Roosevelt Administration or his top military advisers if they were gonna use the bomb. They were gonna drop that bomb as soon as it was ready. Thank you paula appreciate that. I just say im gonna go back in the comments he made about profit president roosevelt not telling my grandfather anything. That certainly true. Years ago when i met david roosevelt, fdrs grandson for the first time, we were talking about our grandfathers relationship. Before we went up to our rooms in the hotel, a said david you know youre grandfather didnt immigrant father a darn thing. We all went to bed and then we came down a breakfast, thats a good morning david how are you, david said im not gonna tell you my grandfather it was a tough subject about the atomic. Bomb he died when i was 15 years old and we sell them on Family Vacation so it always thanksgiving, christmas. Were going out of key west during the spring. Thats my fault. I couldve asked him about the atomic bomb but i never did. If i asked him, he probably wouldnt have told me anything that he had not written or said publicly. He made the decision to use the atomic bomb to shorten the war and save lives, both american and japanese. He did not find out about the atomic bombs until secretary of war stance and told him right after his swearing in on april 12th, 1945. Assistance in only told him the route the rudiments, just the bare minimum. We have a new very powerful new weapon i need to brief you on. It wasnt until almost two weeks later the distance and in general groves gave my grandfather a full briefing on the Manhattan Project. Not long after grandpa form the interim committee, scientists and leaders in the field, including some of the scientists who worked on the bomb, including mr. Open hammer doctoral up oppenheim or. This was to decide if the weapon should be used in and if so how. I never learned about any of this from grandpa as i said i found out about this in school. I learned in school like everyone else. I learn from my textbooks. For me, the dropping the bomb has always been much more, its what you do afterward. Its how grandpa felt about it. Its how you deal with the legacy. As paul said, this continues to be debated. People still ripe folks about this, people still talk about. It goes back and forth. In 20, this must be an in 2003 or four when my son wesley was ten years old. He brought home a book from school, cydonia cydonia and 1000 paper cranes, those of you dont know the story, sadat go was a real girl who survived the bond bombing of of hiroshima. Senior family. Did assad act was diagnosed with radiation induced leukemia about nine years later. To help undertreatment, she formed found a japanese tradition that said a few fold in the thousand organic cranes you are granted a. Wish its a symbol of life and longevity in japan. She folded 1300 cranes but sadly she died of leukemia at the age of 12 in 1955. There is a monument to her and all the children who were killed are sick and are wounded by the bomb. That was the first human story ive ever seen in hiroshima or of nagasaki. Everything up to that point had been in my textbooks or from my mother talking about my grandfathers decision. This was the first human story and a teacher, Rosemary Bullock didnt just give him the book. She taught them japanese history, culture, they had a tv ceremony in, class they folded cranes. Ive came home one afternoon i found wesley, in a colonial awe in a tea sorority in a so every five years, japanese journalists called it Truman Library and ask if they could to speak to a Family Member and its usually me. I mentioned to a japanese journalist that i had read sadat grocery with my son and that story got back to japan. I had a call from masahiro says a setbacky older brother whos also survivor of the bombing. He just said, can we meet someday and maybe do something . I said yes. We met five years later in 2010 at the 9 11 tribute center. And not so hero and his son eulogy were donating one of sadat goes last cranes as to the center as a gesture of healing in the wake of the 9 11 terrorist attacks. During that meeting, you just took out a little plastic box near remind removed a tiny paper crane and he said thats the last one thats sadat go ever folded before she died. At that point, he his father asked if i would go to the Memorial Services in hiroshima and nagasaki. I took is my lead for that. My grandfather in 1947 he made a state visit to mexico and during that visit he placed a wreath at the tomb of six mexican army cadets who had fought to the death about against u. S. Forces in 1847. Course a reporter asked my grandfather why would you place a wreath at a monument a to our animals. And my grandfather said, because they had courage. Courage does not belong any one country, you will reward courage where. Belongs universally suffering does not belong to any one country. If it exists then you acknowledges. We went to japan in 2012. My wife poly and my son wesley and i attended both ceremonies in hair seema and nagasaki. In between, we spoke to more than two dozen survivors just to let them tell us ours their stories. And we have that powerpoint, im not as adept as paul is because im doing this on my phone. That is me and mozzarella yes sassy in the peace park it hiroshima at the start getting ready to go in for the memorial on august six, 2012. The next one please. This is you can see thats our interpreter sitting next to us. You can see behind her, the Atomic Bomb Dome which was in Industrial Production facility in hiroshima that was nearly directly below the blast and was spared because of its steel and stone construction. It withstood the bomb, and it stands a memorial to the. Bob occluded the picture because the first question i was asked in japan is are you here to apologize . My answer was that was no. Im here to honor the dead and listen to the living. In the hopes that we dont ever do this ever again. The question came up several times and during this interview it came up to again and not zero as sort of for me and he jumped ahead of the question and. He said if we ask clifton an apology for nagasaki here summit, we can ask him for an apology for pearl harbor. Then where we go from . There it becomes a a blame game. Next slide please. A placing a wreath at the back of an office building. A used to be the sight of it should do middle military Police Headquarters. 12 american prisoners of war were held when the bomb went. Off all 12 of them died and they are interned, they are buried with the japanese victims of hiroshima. And japanese gentlemen, should get he morey spent 25 or 30 years and a lot of his own money finding out, and doing research what happened to those 12 servicemen. Those families back here in the states did not know. The secrecy behind a bombing and the war and that records were destroyed, people did not know what happened to the level. And he found out for them and recorded the fate of every one of those. Man that is huge society, mozzarella sun and thats one of sadat goes original cranes. Right after we went to japan in august, eugene flew to hawaii and donated that crane to the uss arizonian memorial where it sits today. Those are seedlings. Thats at the power gardens in kansas city. Those are seedlings from trees that survived the bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki. Some of them will be planted at the trumans library which be hopefully or reopen this year. Thats the japan society. Thats me in the left. With the microphone, she survived hiroshima, shes one of the hiroshima babies. She came to this country very constructive sir surgery. Next to her cynthia miller. His father worked on the Manhattan Project and bombings afterwards. She has been dealing with radiation sickness since she was a child. She is in some respects a survivor. Next to her with his head bowed is john coney who is also survivor of the bombing. This is speaking to high school students. I did this on and off for four years, speaking in the company of survivors, just telling the story and letting students hear firsthand firsthand what it was like to survive a nuclear. Spoken in the peace of peace and nuclear disarmament. Thats horrible who brought that sort home from japan at the end of the war, put it in his closet. He didnt really want to take it, but the quartermaster was telling him to take the sword. Or abroad at home, kept it oiled, kept it nice, and finally after 67 years, through the nagasaki st. Paul minnesota sister city commission, he found the son of the officer who had to surrender that sort. And he gave it back to him in a ceremony in 2013. Over the last that senators entire family sitting down. And the lefthand side is the sword and a shrine to it and his family. It was a wonderful gesture on both parts both for or vote for giving it back and fears mr. Moral moral with his entire family to receive. It those are the kinds of things that ive been interested in since the bombings. The acknowledging the harm that was done on both sides. I have shaken hands with american serviceman, pacific war veterans who told me that had not been for my grandfathers decision they would not have survived the war. They were not of families it would appear. Ive had a grandfather and grandchildren tell me the same things. But also held my hand that little girls crane. So my object is to honor both. Thank you clifton. Very moving and powerful presentation. Theres so much to discuss with respect to two of the most important towering personalities of the 20th century in relation to the Manhattan Project and to the dropping of the bombs and the consequences in japan and the United States and the world. We have a number of questions but im going to start off with a couple of my own. Paul, fdr stood in charge through the first several years of the Manhattan Project. It was really his administration abroad to fruition. One of the most important things that he accomplished was the funding. The funding of the men and karate project and correct me if im wrong but i recall that it cost two billion dollars to bring the Manhattan Project completion. Thats two billion dollars 1945 money. It can imagine it would be astronomically more now. Can you Say Something about how fdr made that happen . This was something that was conceal from congress. Fdr was a master of the mechanics of government. He understood how to get things done, he would as he famously said try something, if it didnt work try something else. Just make i