Plug pulled to activate Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb is housed in this Missouri museum

Monty Davis, Randy Mason
·2 min read
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When “Oppenheimer” opens in theaters July 21, audiences will already know the ending. But the story of how America developed and ultimately used the first atomic bombs to effectively end WWII appears to pack a serious dramatic punch.

Though it may not be portrayed directly in Christopher Nolan’s film, decisions made by President Harry S. Truman were crucial to the deployment of the bombs known as Fat Man and Little Boy at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The atomic bomb named Fat Man was the second nuclear weapon to be detonated over Japan. A safety plug removed from this bomb to arm it moments before the detonation is on display at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.
The atomic bomb named Fat Man was the second nuclear weapon to be detonated over Japan. A safety plug removed from this bomb to arm it moments before the detonation is on display at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.

The Truman Library and Presidential Museum in Independence has collected various objects that bring parts of that history to life. They range from secret correspondence that alerted Truman to the existence of the Manhattan Project to the reports he received describing the wonder and horror of the first tests in the New Mexico desert.

The most notable artifact is the safety plug from the bomb that was used at Nagasaki, a small green capsule removed so the weapon could then be armed. It was donated in the 1980s by Philip Barnes, an engineer on the mission.

This is a plug that was removed from the atomic bomb named Fat Man to arm it moments before being detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. The plug was donated to the Harrys S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum by Philip Barnes, an electronic test officer on the flight who kept the safety plugs after they were pulled from the bomb and replaced with the red arming plugs. The note that came attached to the plug is signed by Barnes and Navy Commander Frederick Ashworth, the weaponeer responsible for arming the bomb is to authenticate the provenance of the artifact.

Mark Adams, education director at the library, says the plug looks so innocuous but it’s the closest thing we have to the beginning of the Atomic Age.

The display does make clear the enormity of the situation the new president faced after taking office in April 1945, with the end of the war in Europe and the birth of the United Nations immediately vying for his attention.

A mushroom cloud rises into the atmosphere after the atomic bomb named “Fat Man” was detonated over Nagasaki in Japan on on Aug. 9, 1945. The plutonium powered bomb was 40% more powerful than the uranium bomb detonated over Hiroshima just three days before.
A mushroom cloud rises into the atmosphere after the atomic bomb named “Fat Man” was detonated over Nagasaki in Japan on on Aug. 9, 1945. The plutonium powered bomb was 40% more powerful than the uranium bomb detonated over Hiroshima just three days before.

Adams believes Truman’s experience as a soldier in World War I contributed greatly to his decision to use the fearsome new technology in hopes of preventing the kind of massive American casualties that would have resulted from a land invasion of Japan.

There are chilling depictions of the toll the bombings took on their Japanese targets throughout the exhibits. The moral dilemmas Truman faced are acknowledged as well.

A display of paper cranes just a few feet from the safety plug alludes to the origami birds created by a young survivor of the bombing at Hiroshima before she died in 1955 from radiation-induced leukemia.

Adams points to a guest book that allows visitors to write down reflections on what they’ve experienced.

“Our mantra is you do the research, you come look, you examine and you decide, and that’s probably the best way for a presidential library to operate.”

Watch the video to learn more about the museum’s presentations on the legacy of the detonations of the atomic bombs over Japan.

Here are more things related to the Oppenheimer legacy

How Sadako Sadami”s origami brought nations closer

Hibakujumoku: A fascinating photographic study of atomic-bombed trees

There’s another big summer movie coming out the same day as “Oppenheimer”