Nuclear Museum Logo
Nuclear Museum Logo

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Robert Krauss

Official Historian of the 509th Composite Group

Expert
Bob Krauss Listen to Robert Krauss’s Oral History on Voices of the Manhattan Project

Robert “Bob” Krauss is the Official Historian of the 509th Composite Group. He and his wife, Amelia Krauss, published The 509th Remembered, which profiles the service members of the 509th Composite Group and the events that surrounded the group and its role in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Krauss became interested in collecting and preserving the history of the 509th in his twenties after reading the book Enola Gay by Max Morgan-Witts. During his research, he met and befriended many of the airmen of the 509th, including Donald Albury, Ray Gallagher, Fred Olivi, Paul Tibbets, George Caron, and others.

Krauss began planning the 509th’s reunions in 2000, and has hosted the gathering for nearly two decades. Over the years, he has collected photographs, correspondence, flight suits, and other artifacts from the members of the 509th.

 

Related Profiles

Mary Brennan

Santa Fe, NM

Mary Brennan lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She and her husband, Curtiss, moved next door to Dorothy McKibbin, the “Gatekeeper to Los Alamos.

Thomas E. Marceau

Hanford, WA

Thomas E. Marceau is an archaeologist and cultural resources specialist at the Hanford site.  Marceau works closely with Northwest tribal nations—including the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Yakama Nation—and federal agencies to evaluate archaeological/traditional cultural places and protect Native American sacred places.

John Adams

John Adams is an American composer of contemporary classical music. After graduating from Harvard in 1972, Adams moved to California, where his compositions began to attract attention.

Darrell Dvorak

Trinity Site

Darrell Dvorak’s father-in-law, Colonel Clifford John Heflin, worked for the Manhattan Project.