The Pentagon: A History (76 page)

Justifiable pride

Joe Allan knew
Allan, author interview.

Crews had worked
“The Pentagon,” 11, Witmer papers, OSD HO; Renshaw letter to Joseph McNulty, 27 Apr. 1944, I, CEHO;
Federal Architect,
Jan.–Apr. 43; Holmes memo, 14 Sept. 1942, I, CEHO; Kast, “Not Everyone Thought It Was So Dreamy”
Star,
3 May 1942.

All through the last
Allan, “Building the Pentagon” Allan, author interview.

More were arriving
Furman, author interview.

Several hundred employees
War Department press release, 29 Apr. 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160; Downey, author interview.

The employees “rattle”
WP,
3 May 1942.

The newspapers
Ibid.; WT-H,
3 May 1942.

A War Department press release
War Department press release, 29 Apr. 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160.

From the day
House hearing, 22 July 1941, 508; Committee on Appropriations report 988, First Supplemental National Defense Appropriation Bill, 1942, 24 July 1941, 13; conference on New War Department Building, 19 Aug. 1941, I, CEHO; construction authorization, 6 Sept. 1941, I, CEHO; “The Pentagon,” Witmer papers, 5, OSD HO

“It is almost inconceivable”
WP,
4 May 1942.

Somervell was exhilarated
Somervell memo for the Chief of Engineers, 30 Apr. 1942, I, CEHO.

Somervell also sent
Somervell, “Memorandum for Mr. Hopkins,” 30 Apr. 1942, SDF, NARA 160.

Roosevelt and Hopkins
Renshaw memo to the Chief of Engineers, 4 May 1942.

Touring the interior
Green,
Washington: A History of the Capital, 1800–1950,
vol. II, 477; Goldberg,
The Pentagon,
62.

A War Department employee
Renshaw, report of cafeteria incident to Groves, 19 May 1942, Army AG decimal files, file 291.2, NARA RG 407.

Another confusing
War Department press release, 29 Apr. 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160;
Federal Architect,
Jan. 1943.

Nine days after
Ulio memo, 9 May 1942, I, CEHO.

The plank walkers

Even as the Pentagon’s
Frierson,
The Pentagon,
6; “The Pentagon,” Witmer papers,12,OSDHO.WarDepartment press release, 29Apr.1942,SDF,NARARG160.

Marjorie Hanshaw and her co-workers
Downey, author interview.

Groves ordered
“The Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Groves calling Renshaw, 24 Apr. 1942

The overriding taste
“Notes on the Pentagon,” draft of article prepared by Lt. Col. Karl Detzer for Somervell, circa 1944, I, CEHO; Brinkley,
Washington Goes to War,
73.

Where there wasn’t dust
Neighbors, author interview; Lucille Ramale, author interview, 6 Feb. 2004; Downey, author interview;
WT-H,
9 June 1944.

The ranks of War Department
Star,
7 June 1942; F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
512.

Moving crews
Schintelin letter to administrations branch, 5 May 1942, 600.91, NARA RG 407.

The employees were packed
Renshaw memo to Groves, 24 July 1942, I, CEHO;
Washington Daily News,
30 Oct. 1942.

Senior officers
Brinkley,
Washington Goes to War,
113.

“They’re spoiling the outer”
“The Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Renshaw and Groves, 14 May 1942.

Overshooting the mark

Somervell finally notified
Somervell, letter to Rep. Clarence Cannon, 7 May 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160; Groves, oral history with Pogue, second interview, GCM Lib.

“I’m in favor”
F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
411.

“You have overshot”
House hearing, 15 June 1942.

“They listened to a $15 million”
“The Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Miscellaneous,” Renshaw and Holmes, 16 June 1942.

Nothing is usual

Like everyone else
Downey, author interview; Amy Iselin, ed., “Reminisces of Early Days,” box 1303, OSD HO.

Renshaw had come up
Alan Renshaw, author interview; Goldberg,
The Pentagon,
60.

Groves was skeptical
“The Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Groves calling Renshaw, 30 Apr. 1942.

My people are Americans

Henry E. Bennett followed
Henry Bennett, statement to Judge William Hastie, 19 May 1942, Hastie papers, RG 107.

A modest and serious-minded
Henry E. Bennett, Jr., author interview, August 2005; resume of Henry E. Bennett, courtesy Henry E. Bennett, Jr.

Bennett sat at the table
Bennett statement to Hastie, 19 May 1942, Hastie papers, RG 107.

a slight young man
Renshaw memo to Lt. Col. Benjamin Weisbrod, 8 Aug. 1942, Hastie papers, RG 107.

Roosevelt’s executive order
Renshaw memo to Chief of Engineers, 17 Mar. 1942, I, CEHO; W. P. McFarland, Industrial Foods, Inc., to Renshaw, 30 Mar. 1942, I, CEHO; McShain memo to Renshaw, 18 May 1942, file 291.2, NARA RG 407; Fox, “World’s Largest Cafeteria to Feed 40,000 Nearing Completion.”

Whatever the legal
Bennett statement to Hastie, 19 May 1942, Hastie papers, RG 107; Bennett testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159.

The rebellion
McFarland and Horace Crump testimony cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159.

The chief of the Pentagon
Sumner Dodge and Alfred Lee testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159; McShain memo to Renshaw, 18 May 1942, 5:30
P.M.
, file 291.2, NARA RG 407; Bennett statement to Hastie, 19 May 1942, Hastie papers, RG 107.

On Monday
McShain memo to Renshaw, 18 May 1942, 10
A.M.
, file 291.2, NARA RG 407.

Gladys Lancaster
Gladys Lancaster, Ruth Bush, and Laurel Carson testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159.

At 11:35
Bennett, Harold, Crump, and McFarland testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159; Ristine report, 25 May 1942, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159; statement of Crump, 18 May 1942, file 291.2, NARA RG 407.

Four officers rushed
Theodore Lee, Harold, Bennett, Carson, Charles Meisel, and Bush, testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159; Bennett statement to Hastie, 19 May 1942, Hastie papers, NARA RG 107; statements of Crump, Lee, and J. A. McDaniel, 18 May 1942, file 291.2, NARA RG 407.

Harold was staggering
Mildred Neal, Charles Bush, Carson, Bush testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159; Bennett statement to Hastie, 19 May 1942, Hastie papers, RG 107.

Back at the cafeteria
Theodore Lee testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159; undated memo circa 18 May 1942, about visit of five Ordnance employees to Hastie’s office, Hastie papers, NARA RG 107.

Integrating the Pentagon

Judge William H. Hastie
Ibid.

At thirty-seven, Hastie
NYT,
Hastie obituary, 15 Apr. 1976; William Hastie, oral history, 1972, HST Lib.

In his office
Bennett statement to Hastie, 19 May 1942, Hastie papers, NARA RG 107.

The resulting investigation
Ristine report, 25 May 1942, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159; Bush, Harold, Evelyn Caines testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159.

In their testimony
Theodore Lee, McDaniel, Smith, and Crump testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159; statements of Crump, Lee, and McDaniel, 18 May 1942, file 291.2, NARA RG 407.

Moreover, Charles Meisel
Meisel testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159.

Hastie had to fight
Howard Peterson memo to Hastie, 29 June 1942, file 291.2, NARA RG 407; Hastie memo to the Under Secretary of War, 3 July 1942, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159.

An aide to Patterson
memo about Howard Peterson, 30 July 1942, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159; Maj. Gen. Virgil Peterson memo on investigation to Howard Peterson, 14 Aug. 1942, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159; National Negro Congress, letter to Stimson, 22 May 1942, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159.

Yet the rebellion
Renshaw report to Groves, 19 May 1942 and Reybold memo to Somervell, 19 May 1942, file 291.2, NARA RG 407. McFarland and Renshaw testimony, cafeteria IG report, NARA RG 159. After the war, Bennett continued his work on behalf of civil rights, serving as president of the NAACP in Gary, Indiana.

Miss Ten Thousand

Opal Sheets did her best
Opal Sheets Belen, author interview, September 2003;
Washington Daily News,
18 July 1942.

McShain’s workers
Field progress report, 15 June 1942, Records of the Office of Chief of Military History, entry 145, NARA RG 319.

By the time
Adjutant General memo to Styer, 21 July 1942, I, CEHO.

Critical days
Rick Atkinson,
An Army at Dawn,
16; Murphy, “Somervell of the S.O.S.” McCloy, interview with Sevareid, Amherst College.

McCloy had an idea
McCloy memo to Somervell, 13 July 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160.

Reviewing McCloy’s suggestion
Styer memo to Somervell, 14 July 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160.

Without a doubt
Cong. Rec.,
29 Feb. 1944, 2106; conference about fifth floor, 16 July 1942, Witmer notebook, OSD HO.

Groves notified Renshaw
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Renshaw and Groves, 14 and 15 July 1942, I, CEHO; Renshaw memo to Davidson, 17 July 1941, I, CEHO; “Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Miscellaneous,” Renshaw and Davidson, 17 and 21 July 1942.

Somervell soon issued
Somervell memo for the Chief of Engineers, 20 July 1942, I, CEHO; Col. W. A. Wood memo for the Chief of Engineers, 24 July 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160; Sidney Shalett, “Mammoth Cave, Washington, D.C.”
NYT,
27 June 1942.

Army documents submitted
Gavin Hadden, memo to Renshaw, 15 Jan. 1944, I, CEHO;
Cong. Rec.,
1 Oct. 1942, 7692.

Nor was it the only
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Miscellaneous,” Renshaw and Antes, 25 and 27 July, 1942.

“Here’s the story”
Ibid.

Groves wanted Renshaw
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Renshaw and Matthias, 3 Aug. 1942; “Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Miscellaneous,” Renshaw and Antes, 24 July 1942; Davidson memo to Renshaw about additional construction, 29 July 1942, I, CEHO; Col. Foster calling Groves, 22 July 1942, Groves papers, entry 5, box 1, NARA RG 200.

“To get the whole”
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Miscellaneous,” Renshaw and Mr. Sherman, 22 Aug. 1942.

McCloy, you blackmailer

One problem
McCloy, Sevareid interview, Amherst College.

Help came
Ibid.;
Isaacson and Thomas,
The Wise Men,
201; Steven Casey, “Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ernst ‘Putzi’ Hanfstaengl and the ‘S-Project’, June 1942–June 1944,”
Journal of Contemporary History,
1 July 2000.

“So I sent back word”
McCloy, Sevareid interview, Amherst College.

McCloy recalled
Isaacson and Thomas,
The Wise Men,
201; McCloy, Sevareid interview, Amherst College.

Great strain

Even as War Department
Star,
21 June 1942;
WP,
21 June 1942.
Star,
22 July, 1942.

A heat wave
WT-H,
18 July 1942; Stimson diary, 29 July 1942; Stimson and Bundy,
On Active Service in Peace and War,
411.

Even Paul Hauck
McShain autobiographical notes, 14, VII, I, McShain papers, HML; Reynolds notes, 42, McShain papers HML; Brauer,
The Man Who Built Washington,
84; Lew Edwards in 1984 McShain video, courtesy Polly McShain.

One day I’ll be famous

The job and the weather
McShain, letter to Groves, 20 Aug. 1942, entry 5, box 1, NARA RG 200; Polly McShain, author interview.

Yet there was little
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Renshaw and Davidson, 19 Aug. 1942, and Renshaw and Groves, 19 Aug. 1942.

Meanwhile, open warfare
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Groves and Renshaw, 29 July 1942; Wise Contracting Co. letter to Renshaw, 27 July 1942, I, CEHO; “Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Groves and Renshaw, 31 Aug. 1942; McShain letter to Renshaw, 30 July 1942, I, CEHO.

Renshaw and Groves backed
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Groves and Renshaw, 31 Aug. and 1 Sept. 1942; Renshaw, memo to Chief of Engineers, 26 Aug. 1942, I, CEHO; H. E. Doyle, letter to Robins, 28 Aug. 1942, I, CEHO.

However, the Virginia
Somervell and Woodrum, telephone transcript, 31 Aug. 1942, SDF, NARA RG 160.

The limestone plaque
Hauck recollections on cornerstone, Oct. 1962, Pentagon vertical file, Pentagon Library; E. A. Rogner,
The Pentagon: A National Institution,
27; “Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Renshaw and Matthias, 28 and 29 Aug. 1942; “Personnel principally responsible for design and construction,” Oct. 1943, Hadden notebook, I, CEHO; Furman, author interview.

Hell-an-gone

Why anyone
Richard E. Lauterbach, “The Pentagon Puzzle,”
Life,
24 May 1943; Immen, “The Pentagon…Fact and Fancy.”

the food operation
McShain address to engineers, McShain papers HML; Fox, “World’s Largest Cafeteria to Feed 40,000 Nearing Completion” J. H. Beswick, letter to the editor,
WP,
12 Aug. 1942.

Those eating
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Renshaw and Groves, 11 June 1942;
WP,
13 June 1942;
Washington Daily News,
13 June 1942;
WT-H,
16 June 1942.

Groves worried obsessively
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Groves and Renshaw, 3 June 1942; Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Groves and Renshaw, 30 July 1942.

Still dissatisfied
Groves, memo to Renshaw, 6 Aug. 1942; “Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Miscellaneous,” Antes and Renshaw, 7 Aug. 1942.

The plank walkers reserved
Ramale, author interview.

Air-conditioning
Frierson,
The Pentagon,
18–19; “The Pentagon Building,”
Airlanes;
“World’s Largest Building Cooled by Sun Control,”
Popular Science,
September 1943; Somervell memo to Donald Nelson, 20 Aug. 1941, I, CEHO; “Refrigeration Plant for the Pentagon,” undated report, circa 1943, NARA RG 319; “Heating and Refrigeration Plant,” sent to Renshaw 20 May 1944, I, CEHO.

It was impossible
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Groves and Renshaw, 17 July 1941; Ulio memo, 10 Aug. 1942; SDF, NARA RG 160.

The situation here is tragic

The final insult
Washington Daily News,
27 May 1942;
WP,
2 Aug. 1942; McShain address at Rosemont College, 2 Apr. 1946, VII, McShain papers, HML; “Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Renshaw and Matthias, 7 Aug. 1942.

Drivers who
Renshaw memo to Groves, 24 July 1942, I, CEHO; Iselin, ed., “Reminisces of Early Days.”

Nelson Clayton
Nelson H. Clayton, author interview, 23 Feb. 2004.

In the evening
Kelly, “Pentagon Veterans Recall Construction Days”
Star,
2 Aug. 1942.

The Capital Transit Company
Stimson letter to Nelson, 8 Mar. 1942, NARA RG 107; “New War Building Creates Huge Transportation Problem,”
Star,
c. June 1942, I, CEHO; Downey, author interview.

Getting to and from
WP,
7 Oct. 1942;
WT-H,
24 July 1942; Henry F. Pringle, “My Thirty Days in the Pentagon,”
The Saturday Evening Post,
16 Oct. 1943;
WT H,
5 Sept. 1942.

The most fantastic operation

General George Marshall
Furman, author interview;
Time,
19 Oct. 1942; “Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Miscellaneous,” Antes and Renshaw, 7 Aug. 1942; Pogue,
Organizer of Victory,
30

Hauck took Marshall
Reynolds notes, 42–3, McShain papers, HML.; field progress report, 31 Aug. 1942, NARA RG 319;
WP,
2 Aug. 1942; “The Pentagon Building,”
Airlanes;
McShain autobiographical notes, “The Pentagon,” VII, McShain papers, HML.

Even before its completion
WP,
17 Aug. 1941; Shalett, “Mammoth Cave” “Inside the Five-sided Brain,”
Time,
2 July 1951.

Among all the visitors
Bureau of the Budget, “Report Covering Pentagon Building,” 31 Aug. 1942, I, CEHO; War Department press release, 13 July 1942, I, CEHO; House hearing, 15 June 1942, 219.

“This project”
Bureau of the Budget, “Report Covering Pentagon Building,” 31 Aug. 1942, I, CEHO.

CHAPTER 13: ONE OF THE WORST BLUNDERS OF THE WAR

Washington’s demon investigator

Engel was “Washington’s demon”
Robert Humphreys, “The Man Who Astonished Washington,”
Saturday Evening Post,
9 Oct. 1943;
Time,
12 July 1943; Engel address to Washington Society of Engineers, 1 Oct. 1941, Somervell papers, MHI; F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
378–80.

Armed with his findings
Humphreys, “The Man Who Astonished Washington” Engel, address to Washington Society of Engineers, 1 Oct. 1941, Somervell papers, MHI.

Engel was nothing
Humphreys, “The Man Who Astonished Washington.”

In early 1941
F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
379–80;
NYT,
9 Mar. 1941.

Engel did make it
F&R,
The Corps of Engineers,
381.

Somervell was irritated
Ibid.;
Groves, oral history with Pogue, second interview.

The man on horseback

Somervell by then
War Department Bureau of Public Relations, press digest, 18 Sept. 1942, Somervell papers, MHI;
Time,
19 Oct. 1942.

Somervell’s rise
transcript of radio broadcast on WOL in Washington, 2 Mar. 1942, Somervell papers, MHI.

Roosevelt’s own
Ickes diary, 21 June 1942, 6720; Ohl,
Supplying the Troops,
161–4; Ickes diary, 14 June 1942, 6715.

Lunching with Roosevelt
Ickes diary, 10 Oct. 1942, 7064.

Many in Washington
Rexford G. Tugwell,
The Democratic Roosevelt—A Biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt,
568; Stimson and Bundy,
On Active Service in Peace and War,
440; Charles R. Shrader, “World War II Logistics,”
Parameters,
Spring 1995.

Somervell was “one”
Murphy, “Somervell of the S.O.S.” Somervell address to Michigan industry group, 3 July 1942, Somervell addresses, vol. 1, Somervell papers, MHI; AP article in
WP,
29 Sept. 1942.

Somervell was driven by
Millett,
The Army Service Forces,
366;
Newsweek,
7 Dec. 1942; Somervell address to conference of commanding generals, S.O.S., 30 July 1942, Somervell addresses, vol. 1, Somervell papers, MHI; Murphy, “Somervell of the S.O.S.” Tugwell,
The Democratic Roosevelt,
568.

A request for munitions
Janney, “The Man Behind the Invasion.”

With the Army in need
Somervell, “Problems of Production in World War II,” lecture to Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C., 18 Nov. 1946, 5, Somervell papers, MHI; Charles E. Funk,
Thereby Hangs A Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins,
30–31.

“Prominent members”
Renshaw, F&R interview, I, CEHO.

The obstacle course

Groves would later say
Groves, F&R interview, I, CEHO.

“And there’s no way”
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Groves and Renshaw, 14 July 1942.

“He wanted the report”
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Groves,” Davidson and Renshaw, 10 July 1942.

Never mind that Somervell
House hearing, 22 July 1941, 505.

The only problem
Groves, oral history with Pogue, second interview; Groves comments, 46, CEHO.

“Groves had the idea”
“The Pentagon Telephone Conversations, Re: Congressman Engel Inquiry,” Renshaw and Matthias, 22 Sept. 1942, I, CEHO (hereafter “Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Engel”).

The congressman fancied
Humphreys, “The Man Who Astonished Washington” Groves, oral history with Pogue, second interview.

Groves’s strategy
Groves letter to McShain, 11 Dec. 1947, Groves papers, entry 7530B, box 6, NARA RG 200; Groves, oral history with Pogue, second interview; Groves diary, 24 June 1942, entry 7530G, NARA RG 200.

Groves had certainly succeeded
“Pentagon Telephone Conversations—Engel,” Renshaw and Matthias, 22 Sept. 1942; Renshaw, memo for Major Carl Sciple, 11 July 1941, I, CEHO.