Oral Histories

John and Margaret Wickersham worked at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project. In this interview, John describes his time as a military policeman and guard at Los Alamos. He shares stories about patrolling for spies and meeting his wife. Margaret “Marge” (Hibner) Wickersham, a native of Española, discusses traveling to Los Alamos and working as a maid in the barracks and a cashier in the commissary. She also talks about growing up in Española and how Los Alamos has affected the area. The couple concludes by discussing their life in New Mexico after the Manhattan Project, including John’s construction work in the area.

Felix DePaula was an Army private stationed at the Trinity Site and Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project. After the war, DePaula stayed at Los Alamos, and worked for the Zia Company there. In this interview, DePaula talks about life at Trinity Site, especially the isolation and the entertainment he and his fellow soldiers would come up with to pass the time. He describes the rodeos the military police would help set up. DePaula also witnessed the Trinity test, and talks about the feeling among the troops after seeing the detonation. He also recalls the high security at the gates to Los Alamos.

Lawrence Antos was a member of the Military Police at Los Alamos. He checked the passes of civilians entering and exiting Los Alamos. He talks about the sports team Los Alamos residents played on for fun, and recalls the reaction of the soldiers to the Trinity Test and the atomic bombings of Japan.