Thomas Braswell worked on the assembly line for Mallinckrodt Chemical, a civilian contractor for the Manhattan Project in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1943 to 1945. Specifically, Braswell played a part in purifying the uranium ore. The uranium mud came in from mines, and it was purified following a complex step-by-step process, to obtain a pure uranium metal. After a year, he was selected to work in the next stage of development. At Mallinckrodt, the purified uranium ore was mixed with other ingredients and placed in a furnace. Braswell was in charge of the furnace. The ingredients then became stainless steel billets weighing 100 pounds, and were turned over to the 7th Army for shipment to other locations. At the Mallinckrodt Chemical Plant, he worked 10 hours a day, seven days a week, at 65 cents an hour. When he left, he was told by the superintendent that this was a secret project and no word was to be divulged about it to the public
Thomas Joe Braswell was born September 17, 1919, in the Missouri Ozarks. After leaving the Manhattan Project, he served as plant police at the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Plant in California. He earned an Advanced Masters Degree in Guidance and Psychological Counseling and worked in public schools for a decade as teacher, counselor, and principal. He now lives in Texas.