Jack Rose was a machinist and armorer in the Special Engineering Detachment (SED) assigned to the 509th Composite Group in Wendover, Utah.
He enlisted and was inducted into the Army Air Corps in November 1943 and after basic training, was sent to Langley Field, Virginia, where he spent twelve months, working on B-17's and B-24's, before they departed for the European Theater of operations.
In March 1945, Rose was recruited for the 509th and the Manhattan Project and transferred to Wendover, Utah. As one of the only members of the SED with the 509th, Rose determined if and how an atomic weapon could be loaded into the bomb bay of a special B-29 for delivery over a target. Due to security concerns, he was restricted to the base and his mail was censored.
Rose stayed at Wendover until September 1945, when he was transferred to Albuquerque, New Mexico, receiving his discharge there in April 1946.