National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Mary Lou Curtis joined the Manhattan Project in Dayton, Ohio in 1943. Mrs. Curtis worked in the Counting Room at Monsanto’s Unit III facility, where she developed new methods to measure and analyze radioactive materials, such as polonium, which was used as the trigger for the atomic bombs.
Phil Gardner was senior labor recruitment supervisor for the Hanford site. Although he was first an employee of the DuPont Company, he worked under the direction of the War Manpower Commission and his tasks were assigned according to the needs of the War Department.
