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TLS signed “J. R. Oppenheimer,” one page, 8 x 10.5, P.O. Box 1663, Santa Fe, New Mexico letterhead, October 1, 1945. Letter to T/5 Evan Gale Newbury, in full: “This letter is to acknowledge your contribution to the development of the atomic bomb. The striking success of this project was only made possible by the work and sacrifices of the Military Personnel. I wish to thank you for the work you have done since you joined the project in April 1945.
According to your Group Leader, you are to be especially commended for your work as a shop technician. In this capacity, you have helped in the construction of equipment to be used in an important experiment. You have carried out all your duties skillfully and carefully with a minimum of supervision. You have always shown a spirit of cooperation. You are urged to present this letter as a reference.” Framed to an overall size of 10.5 x 13.25. In fine condition.
Accompanied by Newbury's original 19-page Employees' Handbook from the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory of Los Alamos, New Mexico, a rare surviving booklet that offers a glimpse into everyday life inside the nation's most secret scientific installation. Its sections on security detail the laboratory's strict access controls, including Tech Area badges, resident identification requirements, and visitor pass procedures—policies that reflect the extraordinary secrecy under which Newbury and thousands of other Manhattan Project personnel worked. Also included is Newbury's copy of the front page of the Santa Fe New Mexican from August 6, 1945, headlined "Los Alamos Secret Disclosed by Truman / Atomic Bombs Drop on Japan," published on the day President Truman publicly announced the existence of the Los Alamos laboratory. Newbury has annotated inside the upper banner: “This is where I am and what I am doing.”
Preserved alongside the handbook are Newbury's original World War II U.S. Army identification tag; an August 26, 1945 “Enlisted Man's Temporary Pass” authorizing travel to Albuquerque; a wartime V-Mail letter sent to his family while serving overseas, advising that he was participating in military operations and temporarily unable to write home; a period photograph of Newbury posing beside heavy machinery during his overseas Army service, and a signed letter of provenance from his daughters recalling their father’s military service and work as a machinist on the Manhattan Project.
Dated two months after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a month after the close of World War II, Oppenheimer praises the contributions of Technician Fifth Grade Evan Gale Newbury, who joined the Manhattan Project in April 1945 as a shop technician at Los Alamos. Crediting him with helping construct equipment used in "an important experiment," Oppenheimer commends Newbury's skill, careful workmanship, independence, and spirit of cooperation, recognizing the vital behind-the-scenes work performed by the laboratory's machinists and technicians in support of the atomic bomb's final development.
In the weeks following Japan's surrender, Oppenheimer mailed letters of gratitude to departing Los Alamos personnel, recognizing the indispensable contributions of the scientists, engineers, technicians, and military members who had made the Manhattan Project a success. Many of these letters also reaffirmed the ‘absolute secrecy’ surrounding the work, a mandate established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and rigorously enforced by General Leslie R. Groves. At Los Alamos, every employee was required to have both a purpose and a pass; information was strictly compartmentalized, all personnel signed secrecy oaths, and signs posted throughout the laboratory reminded workers: ‘What you see here, what you do here, what you hear here, when you leave here, let it stay here!’ Maintaining that secrecy across a project that employed approximately 129,000 people at its peak in June 1944 remains one of the Manhattan Project's most remarkable achievements.
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