Trinity + 75

[P.W.Browning]

75 years ago today, Charles L. Browning witnessed history from the forward most observation position of the Trinity Project.    

 

He voluntarily enlisted in the U.S. Army and after a short stint in the Quartermaster Corps joined the Corps of Engineers.  While with the Corps of Engineers, he began working security for a project that started in remote Tennessee then moved him to New Mexico.  

 

Staff Sergeant Browning’s most memorable assignment was transporting the core of the Trinity device from the lab to the test site.  When telling this story years later, he always got a kick out of moving one of the most important objects ever created by man in the back of a pickup truck with nothing more than a tarp thrown over it.  
 

Staff Sergeant Browning wasn’t boastful about his involvement in the Manhattan project.  Most who knew him had no idea what his wartime service involved.  He never even told his grandson what he did during the war, until he was asked.   

 

Staff Sergeant Browning was my grandfather.  

 

Below are a few of the items he had with him 75 years ago today.  
 

The brass box contained X-Ray Film that was used to determine how much radiation he was exposed to during his service.  He said everyone was required to wear them, and that the boxes were collected every few weeks for evaluation.  This is the actual one he wore during the detonation.  It was given back to him after inspection to keep as a souvenir.  

 

The Welding Glass was issued to him, so he could directly view the detonation.  Through this piece of glass he witnessed something that would forever change the world.   

 

We lost Staff Sergeant Browning in 1999.   Luckily, he never experienced any illness or problems from the radiation or radioactive dust.  While I never told him this directly, he had a lasting impact on my life.  It was the gift of these items that started my lifelong interest in WWII and Militaria collecting.  He was also the first person to take me shooting... but that’s another post.  
 

-Patrick

 

 

[Persian Gulf Command]

Patrick,

  Thank you for sharing these items with the members of USMF.  Your grandfather, Staff Sergeant Browning's, service is exemplary of his generation and what he was willing to do to serve his Country and its Citizens.    

[gwb123]

Thank you for posting.  This is an unusual grouping associated with a major event, and we don't see things like this everyday.

 

That is an interesting detail that they gave the early dosimeter back to him and other participant as a souvenir. 

[sundance]

Great group. A man to be proud of. My father-in-law was in the Navy and witnessed the Bikini detonations. My father was in the Army from '42 to '46 and traveled right through Hiroshima while on occupation duty. My father-in-law entered service about a week after Japan's surrender and was happy to talk about his time in the Navy. Like your Grandfather, my father would not talk about the war until his last years and only if asked. I have often wondered  how people like my dad got through life after witnessing what they did.  

[ludwigh1980]

Wonderful grouping of the Atomic age. Thank you for posting!

[m1ashooter]

Great post from one who once stood nuclear alert

 

[M24 Chaffee]

Amazing, interesting and cherished heirlooms for you to have! Thanks for posting them!

 

Frank