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United States Army, Corps of Engineers
Manhattan Engineer District 1942 - 1946
- Captain Martin Luther Webb 0-1306027 -
United States Army, Military Intelligence, Counter-Intelligence Corps
Military Service : Second World War,
allies
Serial Number : 0-1306027
Arm or Service : U.S. Regular
Army, Corps of Engineers, Counter-Intelligence Corps
Selective Service Data from 1st
Precinct, Greene County, Missouri.
Compiled from D.S.S. Form 2 and D.S.S. Form 72
#7849
Order No. 3594 -
Serial no. #890 [numbers handwritten above name]
First name : Martin
Middle name : Luther
Last name : Webb
No. and Street; city or town, county and state : 2109 So. Kings; Springfield MO
has been duly registered this
16 day of Oct 19 40.
Signature of Registrar : Guy E. Turner [signature]
Registrar for Precinct : 1st
Ward : Campbell
County : Greene
State : MO
The person named herein whose Order No. is : 3594
Has been classified by Local Board in Class : 2A Until : 8 – 1 – 41 [ink-stamped with ‘Until Further Notice’]
Member of Local Board : Claud E. Woodruff [signature]
Notify your employer of this classification : June 6 ’41 [ink-stamped]
[click here to
see images of the Registration Cards]
Units, assignments :
Unit1 : Reception Center,
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri
Rank : Private, Selectee
Term of Service : 14 November 1941
Unit1 Notes :
Unit2 : Company C,
2nd Platoon, 26 Engineer Training Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
Rank : Private
Term of Service : November 1941 - February 1942
Unit2 Notes : Basic Training platoon (image)
Unit3 : DEML-CIC,
Headquarters 7th Service Command, Omaha, Nebraska
Rank : Technical Sergeant
Term of Service : February 1942 - October 1942
Unit3 Notes : 1 month at Counter-Intelligence Corps Investigator
School, Chicago, Illinois then stationed at District Intelligence Office, St.
Louis, Missouri as Special Agent CIC. Investigated military and civilian
personnel. Primary
duties included the investigation and surveillance of civilian employees of
sensitive defense industries, political dissidents and suspected enemy
sympathizers or potential saboteurs.
The secretary for the District Intelligence Office in St. Louis was a
War Department Stenographer named Hazel Jesse Skelly. She married Martin L. Webb on 5
September 1942 while they were stationed together. According to Hazel Skelly Webb, the agents in the
Counter-intelligence Office were all, “Hand-picked men.”
“When the agents came back from investigating someone, they dictated their
reports to me (I was a secretary & bookkeeper). I also kept track of their clothing allowance, which the
government gave them instead of a uniform. None of the agents wore uniforms. Only the major who was in charge of the office [wore one].
She was a secretary and bookkeeper for Major Keefer, who headed the St. Louis
Office, and who reported to Colonel Ball at the Seventh Service Command
Headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska.
Although, when hired, she had requested not to be given the duty of
doing the books, she quickly ended up handling that responsibility. She handled the expense accounts for
the agents, who were not required to wear uniforms, and she sent them to Famous
& Barr department store in downtown St. Louis for all their suits and work
clothes. Hazel noted, “…I sent them
to Famous & Barrs on Tuesdays to get double Eagles stamps for me, so I
could trade them in for merchandise later.” She also handled the travel accounts for the men who
traveled on assignment throughout the Seventh Service Command’s area of
operations, often to Denver, Omaha and Kansas City.
When the men returned from their counter-intelligence work, they would dictate
their note and reports to Hazel, so she could type them up and submit them to
the Major. Often, Hazel would sit
in a back-room behind the Major office, informants with information concerning
war plant production problems, potential sabotage, or sensitive internal
security matters would come to the Major’s office. In an informal style, the Major (or agents) would question
the informant, and through a hollow pen-set on his desk which housed a hidden
microphone, Hazel would listen in and take shorthand notes and transcribe the
conversation so that when the informant returned, a written statement would be
ready for them to sign. She also had
a phone in a drawer of her desk outside the Major’s office, so that she could
listen in to the conversations between the Major and the Seventh Service
Command Headquarters, and often had to copy and transcribe those conversations
as well. Hazel also accompanied the agents on surveillance missions and met
informants at remote locations.
After she married M. L. Webb, he was
shipped out to Denver. After 1943,
Hazel didn’t work in the defense industry or for the army any longer and began
to raise her family.
Martin worked with the Mallinckrodt
Chemical Works in St. Louis to help with the procurement of uranium oxide and
uranium metal. According to
Smyth,
“6.12. …Early in May 1942, arrangements were completed with the
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works in St. Louis to put the new grade of oxide through
an ether extraction process on a production basis for a further reduction in
impurity content and to deliver the final production as brown dioxide. Deliveries started in July 1942 at a
rate of 30 tons a month…
6.18. By the end of 1942
arrangements had been made by the Manhattan District to increase metal
production by making greater use of the Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, the Union
Carbide and Carbon Corporation, and the du Pont Company.
6.19 To summarize, almost no
metal was available during most of 1942, a fact that seriously delayed progress
as we shall see, but the production problems had been nearly solved by the end
of 1942 and some 6 tons of metal were incorporated in the pile built in
November 1942. The whole problem
of procurement of metal was taken over by the Manhattan District at the end of
the year, under the general direction of Colonel Ruhoff, formerly with the
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works. From
the point of view of the Metallurgical Project no further serious delays or difficulty
have occurred because of metal shortages.”
Unit4 : 18th
Company, 1st STR, Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia
Rank : 2nd Lieutenant
Term of Service : October 1942 - December 1942
Unit4 Notes : In attendance at Officer Candidate School, the
Infantry School. Graduated, commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, Inf-AUS.
Unit5 : SID,
Headquarters 7th Service Command, Omaha, Nebraska
Rank : 2nd Lieutenant
Term of Service : January 1943 - march 1943
Unit5 Notes : Assistant to District Intelligence Officer, Denver,
Colorado. Had charge of administration and assignment of duty to CIC
Special Agents at District Intelligence Office.
Unit6: Area
Engineer U.S. Engineers, Manhattan District, St. Louis, Missouri
Rank : 2nd Lieutenant
Term of Service : March 1943 - January 1944
Unit6 Notes : Area Intelligence Officer, charged with security and
intelligence responsibility for contracts with war plants, including personnel
clearance, plant security, and intelligence information.
Unit7 : Chicago
Branch Office, Manhattan Engineer District, Chicago, Illinois
Rank : 1st Lieutenant
Term of Service : January 1944 - May 1944
Unit7 Notes : Assistant to Branch Intelligence Officer
Unit8 : New York
Branch, Manhattan Engineer District, New York, New York (U.S. Engineer Office,
Manhattan District, PO Box 42, Station F, New York, New York)
Rank : 1st Lieutenant
Term of Service : May 1944 -
Unit9 : Oak Ridge,
Tennessee
Rank : 1st Lieutenant & Captain
Term of Service :
Unit9 Notes : Manhattan Engineer District ID Card (image 66k jpeg). It is possible that during his term of duty at Oak Ridge,
Martin was charged at various times with transporting radioactive material to locations
within the continental United States and on one occasion, Canada. He was sent to Canada in plain clothes,
the secrecy of his mission demanded that he not reveal his identity to civilian
or military authorities and he was almost arrested, although details are
unclear.
Unit10 : Los Alamos, New Mexico
Rank : Captain
Term of Service : September 1945 - February 1946
Unit10 Notes :
UAOE V UDAK NR 1 WD
From Commanding Ofcr U S Ebgrs Santa Fe Nmex Sept 45261420Z
To District Ebgr U S Engineer Office Oak Ridge Tenn GRNC
/Restricted/ Reurtt Eidmp-40-488
The following are duties of Captain Martin L. Webb. As Post Fiscal Officer, responsible for
supervising and coordinating all operations of the Fiscal Office.
Responsible for promulgating and issuing regulations to all operating sections
to insure compliance with all fiscal regulations. Consultant to the
Commanding and other staff members on all Fiscal regulations. Consultant
to the commanding and other staff members on all fiscal matters. As Post
Auditing Officer responsible for all audits required by Army regulations and/or
higher echelons on funds and/or operations at this station. Conducting
special investigations as directed by the commanding officer. Eidm Af – 1 Ref Pt
2921. 1424Z.
Army Service Forces, United States
Engineer Office
Manhattan District
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
7 September 1945
Special Order Number 214 : Extract
1. Captain MARTIN L. WEBB,
01306027, Inf, is reld sta New York Area, New York, N. Y., and of further TDY,
Oak Ridge, Tenn., it being in the best interest of the Govt not to complete
TDY, and WF o/a 7 Sep 45 to perm sta Santa Fe, N. Mex, for dy as Asst to the
Area Engineer, with the primary dy as Post Fiscal Officer. Three (3) days delay on route,
chargeable as leave is atzd. PCS
TDN TPA 212/60425 601-31 P431-02, 03, 07 S 99-999. AUTH: Circ Ltr No. 3355, OCE, 7 Oct 44. *** By Order of Colonel Nichols
Unit11 : US Army Officers Reserve, Military Intelligence, 1946 – 1953
[click here to see images of the remnants of his service record held by
the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)]
Honorably Discharged : 2 April 1953
Miscellaneous :
Adjusted Service
Rating Score : 58 points on 2 September 1945
Qualifications, Awards : Pistol Sharpshooter, score - 79.3, 25
August 1945; Production Award presented by General Leslie Groves at Los Alamos,
New Mexico 10 October 1945
Military
Record and Report of Separation Certificate of Service [facsimile] -
1.Name [last, first, middle] : WEBB MARTIN L
2.Army Serial Number : 01 306 027
3.AUS Grade : CAPT
4.Arm : INF
5.Componet : AUS
6.Organization : 9812th TSU-CE Manhattan District ASF Santa Fe Department, PO Box 1539, Santa Fe, NM
7.Date of Relief from Active Duty : 6 May 46
8.Place of Separation : Separation Center, Jefferson Barracks, Missouri
9.Permanent Address : 3857 Labadie Ave., St. Louis 7, Missouri
10.Date of Birth : 29 May 1916
11.Place of Birth : Springfield, Missouri
12.Address from which employment will be sought : St. Louis, Missouri
13.Color eyes : Blue
14.Color hair : Gray
15.Height : 5’ 10 1/2”
16.Weight : 152 lbs.
17.No. of dependants : 2
18.Race : White
19.Marital status : Married
20.US Citizen : Yes
21.Civilian Occupation and No. : Investigator 1-57.50
Military History -
22.Regsitered : Yes
23.Local SS Board Number : #3
24.County & State : Greene Co, Missouri
25.Address at time of entry on active service : 2109 S. Kings Ave.,
Springfield, Missouri
26.Date of Entry on Active Service : 29 Dec 42
27.Military Occupational Specialty and No. : Intelligence and Security Officer
9301
28.Battles and Campaign : None
29.Decorations and Citations : American Theater Campaign Ribbon, American
Defense Service Ribbon, Victory Ribbon, Meritorious Achievement Award with 1
Bronze Star
30.Wounds received in action : None
31.Service schools attended : None
32.Service outside continental US : None
33.Reason and authority for separation : Demobilization RR1-5, 1st Ind, Hq ASF
1772SCU Jefferson Barracks, Missouri 15 Feb 46
34.Current tour of active duty : Continental Service - 3 years, 4 months, 7
days Foreign Service –
0 years, 0 months, 0 days
35.Education : Grammar 8 years, High School 4 years, College 5 years
36.-41.[Insurance data]
42.Right thumb print [blank]
43.Remarks : Lapel Button Issued, ASR Score (2 Sep 45) 58, EM from 14 Nov 41 to
28 Dec 42
Documents, sources, images and related
ephemera :
Manhattan Engineer District ID Card of Captain
Martin Luther Webb.
Manhattan Engineer District Officers Directory, 30 June 1946 (image of cover), (partial transcription in progress, currently have all officers up to Captains listed).
Image of Company C, 2nd Platoon, 26 Engineer Training Battalion, Fort
Leonard Wood, Missouri.
External Links :
Counterintelligence
in World War Two from A Counterintelligence Reader
The Military Intelligence Story
7th Service Command patch, from Shoulder Sleeve
Insignia of the United States Army of World War Two.
Explaining the 7th SC and Manhattan
Project shoulder insignia, from U.S. Army
Organizational Insignia.
Trinity Atomic
Web Site.
Los Alamos
National Labs Technical Reports (linked pdf's from
LANL)
History of Los
Alamos.
Sources, bibliography :
Selective Service Registration Card of
M. L. Webb, Local Board, 1st Precinct, Campbell Ward,
Green County, Missouri, 10 October 1940
Military Intelligence ID Badge of Capt.
M. L. Webb, Special Agent of Counter Intelligence Corps,
Badge No. 347, Washington, DC, 9 January 1943 (facsimile)
Manhattan Engineers District ID Card of
Capt. M. L. Webb, No. 120, issued 1 January 1944
Officer Qualification Record, by 1st Lieutenant Martin Luther Webb, New York, New York, 10
February 1944
Manhattan District Production Award, issued by General Leslie Groves, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 10
October 1945
Smyth, Henry DeWolf. Atomic Energy
for Military Purposes, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1945
201 File of Captain Martin L. Webb, U.S. Army 201 File (discharge and travel papers), February 1946
Officer Directory, Manhattan District; Oak Ridge, Tennessee 30 June 1946 (facsimile)
Manual, Counter Intelligence Corps
Investigator, CIC Corps School, Camp Holabird, Maryland, 1
June 1949
Reserve Officers Qualification and
Availability Questionnaire, Captain Martin Luther Webb, St.
Louis, Missouri, 21 May 1951
Counter Intelligence Corps History and
Mission in World War II; The CIC School, Fort Holabird,
Baltimore, Maryland; courtesy US Army Military History Institute, Carlisle
Barracks, Pennsylvania (facsimile)
Honorable Discharge Certificate of
Captain M. L. Webb, USAR, 2 April 1953
Obituary for M. L. Webb, St. Louis Post
Dispatch; St. Louis, Missouri, 26 January 1971
Hazel Webb Letter; letter to Jonathan Webb Deiss by Hazel Webb, widow of Martin
Luther Webb, written in St. Louis, Missouri, Sunday, 11 January 1981
Personal communication with Hazel
Skelly Webb, Kathleen Webb Ackerson, and Susan Webb Williams, St. Louis, Missouri and Washington, DC, 1981 - 2001, ongoing
Photos of M. L. Webb, courtesy of Hazel Skelly Webb, St. Louis, Missouri, November
2000
Counter Intelligence in World War Two. http://www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/docs/ci2/2ch1_a.htm
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