John M. Sprecher was a chemical engineer. During the Manhattan Project, he worked for DuPont in Wilmington, DE. He spent the bulk of his time in Wilmington working on chemical engineering processes on refining the plutonium and uranium for Oak Ridge and Hanford.
He and his family lived in Newark, DE. On December 7, 1941, they were stunned to hear the radio announcement that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. Sprecher had served in World War I and was extremely worried. At this time, Sprecher was already working for DuPont. As a result of his chemical engineering background and experience, he was assigned to the Manhattan Project. He later said that millions of lives were actually saved by the dropping of the two atomic bombs. He never spoke to his family about his war work.
Information submitted by his son, William M. Sprecher.