William L. Uanna
William Lewis Uanna | |
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1st Technical Service Detachment | |
Battles/wars | World War II:
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Department of State |
William Lewis "Bud" Uanna (May 13, 1909 – December 22, 1961) was an American security expert, who gained prominence as a security officer with the
Uanna was in charge of security at the project's facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and later at the 509th Composite Group, which dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
After the war, he headed the
Education and military career
William Lewis Uanna was born in
Uanna worked for private companies as well as the
Enlisting in the U.S. Army on May 28, 1941,
In February 1943, Uanna was posted to X Corps, then based at Sherman, Texas, where he was responsible for setting up the first intelligence units assigned to combat formations in the United States. With 112 officers and 35 agents he conducted investigations and evaluated the loyalty of individuals within X Corps and trained its troops in security procedures. In August 1943, Uanna became an instructor at the CIC school in Chicago.[9][10]
Manhattan Project security
Joining the
In February 1945, Uanna assumed command of the 1st Technical Service Detachment, which was attached to the
Uanna oversaw the movement of the 509th from its training base in
On Tinian, Uanna was in charge of the physical security of its installations, and supervised the unloading and installation of its stores and equipment.[9][10] At one point Russ left his shirt on the line over night, and it disappeared. He mentioned this to Uanna "who seemed to know everything",[15] and he told Russ that it had most likely been taken by one of the Japanese soldiers holding out in caves and tunnels on Tinian, who made periodic raids in search of food.[15] Uanna thought that one was responsible for an outbreak of diarrhea in the 509th Composite Group. Security around the cookhouse was increased, and the outbreak did not recur.[16]
Uanna also looked after security at other bases that might be used by the 509th in an emergency, such as
Postwar career
Uanna returned to the United States in October 1945, and was discharged from the Army in April 1946. He returned to Boston, where he was admitted to the bar in 1946,
In 1948 Uanna became second-in-command of an Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) construction program to build storage bases for atomic weapons. As the highest ranking civilian on the project he was responsible for over $100 million of works.[5] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sought to continue the relationship they had developed at the Atomic Energy Commission where internal FBI memos described Uanna as the "main source of confidential information within the AEC."[21]
From 1949 to 1951, Uanna worked as an Intelligence Specialist at the newly established
From 1951 to 1953, Uanna was the special assistant to the
After this, Uanna accepted a temporary assignment at the Department of State as Otto Otepka's assistant. Otepka was in charge of State's Evaluations Division. Amidst allegations from Senator Joseph McCarthy about the presence of Communist sympathizers in the Army and State Department, Uanna's expertise in countering subversion won him the position. Using procedures he had developed at the AEC, Uanna wrote the Evaluators Handbook that would be used by State Department investigators to review the loyalty and "suitability" of employees in accordance with Executive Order 10450 and Executive Order 10501.[24]
In 1953 the State Department's physical security was split between foreign and domestic branches. Uanna reorganized these into one group called the Division of Physical Security, consisting of four branches, and took over as its new chief. He then published the Protection of Dignitaries Manual and developed the handbook used at the training school for
Dulles became ill in late 1958 and was replaced by
While on assignment, Uanna died of a heart attack in the office of the Air Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa on December 22, 1961.[26] He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[27] He was survived by his wife Bonnie née Leonard, who died on October 25, 1992, and his son Steven Lee.[26]
Film portrayals
Uanna was portrayed by James Whitmore in the 1952 motion picture Above and Beyond.[28] Lawrence H. Suid noted that Whitmore's Uanna "seems to be a fictional character, a cinematic creation who always seems to know the right answers, to do the right thing".[29] Whitmore wanted to meet Uanna, but was unable to do so.[28] Uanna has also been portrayed by Stephen Macht in the 1980 TV movie Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb[30] and Minor Mustain in the 1995 Japanese/Canadian film Hiroshima.[31]
Notes
- ^ "Anthony Uanna from Ward 3 Medford in 1940 Census District 9-318". Archive.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Marquis Who's Who in America - William Lewis Uanna". Retrieved June 19, 2016.
- ^ "Tufts Quarterback is Due Back Today". Lowell Sun. October 18, 1932. p. 38. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
- ^ "NCAA 1931" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Security is his Job – William Lewis Uanna". The New York Times. July 26, 1958. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
- ^ Uanna, William (November 19, 1956). "Bud Uanna Foreign Service Essay". Wikimedia Commons. p. 1.
- ^ Uanna, William (November 19, 1956). "Bud Uanna Foreign Service Essay". Wikimedia Commons. p. 2.
- ^ Uanna, William (November 19, 1956). "Bud Uanna Foreign Service Essay". Wikimedia Commons. p. 4.
- ^ a b c d e f "FBI background check on William Lewis Uanna". Wikimedia Commons. March 31, 1947.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Short Biographical Sketch of William Uanna". Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
- ^ a b Thomas & Morgan-Witts 1977, pp. 45–46.
- ^ Jones 1985, pp. 255–257.
- ^ Thomas & Morgan-Witts 1977, pp. 141–144.
- ^ Russ 1990, pp. 34–36.
- ^ a b Russ 1990, p. 43.
- ^ Thomas & Morgan-Witts 1977, pp. 326–327.
- ^ Thomas & Morgan-Witts 1977, p. 357.
- ^ Thomas & Morgan-Witts 1977, p. 381.
- ^ Thomas & Morgan-Witts 1977, pp. 409, 414, 420.
- ^ Girod 2014, p. 23.
- ^ "Office Memorandum: Keay to Fletcher: William L. Uanna, AFSWP, Requesting Investigations". Wikimedia Commons. July 1, 1949.
- ^ Montague 1992, pp. 77–79.
- ^ Uanna, William (November 19, 1956). "Bud Uanna Foreign Service Essay". Wikimedia Commons. p. 5.
- ^ Hale, William Harlan (August 17, 1954). "Big Brother in Foggy Bottom". The Reporter: 10–17.
- ^ a b Hove 2011, pp. 142–143.
- ^ a b "William Uanna, Security Expert: Officer of US Embassy in Addis Ababa". The New York Times. December 23, 1961. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
- ^ Spencer 1998, p. 111.
- ^ a b Tibbets 1998, p. 277.
- ^ Suid 2002, p. 218.
- ^ "Enola Gay (1980) – Overview". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ Filmography for Minor Mustain, Turner Classic Movies, retrieved June 2, 2016
References
- Girod, Robert J. (2014). Advanced Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Operations: Tradecraft Methods, Practices, Tactics, and Techniques. Boca Raton: CRC Press. OCLC 910531708.
- Hove, Mark T. (2011). History of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security of the United States Department of State (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Department of State. Bureau of Diplomatic Security.; Global Publishing Solutions (U.S.); United States. Department of State. Office of the Historian. OCLC 767823703.
- Jones, Vincent (1985). Manhattan: The Army and the Atomic Bomb (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 10913875. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- Montague, Ludwell Lee (1992). General Walter Bedell Smith as Director of Central Intelligence October 1950 – February 1953. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University. OCLC 22707456.
- Spencer, Thomas E. (1998). Where They're Buried: A Directory Containing More Than Twenty Thousand Names of Notable Persons Buried in American Cemeteries, With Listings of Many Prominent People Who Were Cremated. Baltimore: Clearfield Co. p. 111. OCLC 40245482.
- Russ, Harlow W. (1990). Project Alberta: The Preparation of Atomic Bombs For Use in World War II. Los Alamos, New Mexico: Exceptional Books. OCLC 24429257.
- Suid, Lawrence H. (2002). Guts and Glory: The Making of the American Military Image in Film. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. OCLC 48515656.
- Thomas, Gordon; Morgan-Witts, Max (1977). Ruin from the Air. London: Hamilton. OCLC 252041787.
- OCLC 40566286.
External links
- William Lewis Uanna Collection, The Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Association, Inc. at the Wayback Machine (archived October 22, 2013)
- Arlington National Cemetery