Henry Stimson -- 6 augustus 1945

• Henry Stimson (1887-1950) was een Amerikaanse politicus en minister van Oorlog in 1911-1913 en in 1940-1945, en als zodanig nauw betrokken bij het ontwikkelen van de atoombom. Fragmenten uit zijn dagboeken over de jaren 1944 en 1945 staan hier online.

August 6, 1945 Diary Entry: [The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima]
"A very rainy day but in the morning I got the news that the S-1 operation was successful. Marshall called me on the telephone to tell me of the success of the operation; also General Groves and Harrison. I talked again and again on the telephone as to various phases of the operation and the giving out of the President's release and my own release. The President's release was rewritten by taking out the word "destroy" as to the target. Altogether I had ten telephone talks with Washington during the day as follows [Stimson was at his farm, Highhold, on Long Island]:

7:45 AM - General Marshall phoned; General Groves and Mr. Harrison present.
9:25 AM - Harrison phoned re radio to the President notifying him bomb had been dropped and rewriting his release. [President Truman was returning from the Potsdam Conference, crossing the Atlantic Ocean on the U.S.S. Augusta at the time of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.]
11:05 AM - Harrison phoned re President's release; Groves and [Major General Alexander] Surles [head of the Bureau of Public Relations] also talked.
11:30 AM - Harrison phoned re another radio to the President re releases.
12:05 PM - Harrison phoned re press release re bomb damage.
4:00 PM - Harrison phoned re propaganda campaign against the Empire and General [Thomas] Farrell's authority for same [Farrell was on Tinian Island getting information from the Enola Gay crew on the damage done to Hiroshima so the U.S. could make a public announcement about it; see Leslie Groves, "Now It Can Be Told", pg. 327-331.]
4:00 PM - Kyle phoned re weather, [Assistant Sec. of War John] McCloy's return [he was away on an inspection tour of western Europe and would return to the U.S. on Aug. 10], Grew's call [probably Grew's request to meet with Stimson regarding the Van Slyck paper] and making appointment with the President [for Aug. 8].
4:10 PM - Talked with General Marshall re operations in the Pacific other than those covering the big bomb.
4:30 PM - Kyle talked on the phone re statement appearing in the "Times-Herald". Also talked with Lovett re communiques from the Pacific.
5:35 PM - Talked with Lovett about "Swan" paper re Pacific; also with Kyle re Grew's request to see me.
It was a rainy day and I didn't miss much by my occupation on the telephone."