Richard "Dick" Skancke was a security guard at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project from late 1946 until late 1947. Among his responsibilities was transporting materials between the three Manhattan Project sites, often using retrofitted ambulances or other covert methods. He also worked to maintain the high level of secrecy of the Manhattan Project, sometimes to the dismay of the civilian workers. One of his most important duties as a security guard was safe-guarding bomb material anytime it was out of the vault.