Seeking record of Manhattan Project Award Certificates

Through research I have learned “The Atomic Pin Awards” or “A” Awards were given by the United States War Department Army Corps of Engineers to civilian contractor employees who participated in work on the Manhattan Project essential to the production of the Atomic Bomb, thereby contributing to the successful conclusion of World War II. Eligible employees received a certificate and a metal lapel pin (bronze or silver) based upon the amount of time they worked on the project.

According to a representative of The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), NARA maintains lists of employees eligible for the "A" Award that contractors sent to the Army Corps of Engineers. These lists consist of over 9200 pages and NARA has estimated that around one hundred thousand names are on the lists. Most personnel who worked for the Manhattan Engineering District were civilian. Not all worked long enough to qualify for an “A Award” or for other reasons did not receive one. Correspondence from the Dupont corporation, located in NARA files, describes the awards and the criteria for their issuance. While the Army Corps of Engineers did not keep copies of the certificates issued, lists identifying some of the recipients are present in NARA Files. As the creation and issuance of the “A” Awards was approved at the headquarters level of the War Department, records pertinent to their issuance, if they exist, may be held at NARA, College Park.

NARA Atlanta noted that not all contractors responded at the same time or in the same format to the War Department’s solicitation of nominees for the Award.  According to NARA, the lists received from contractors vary greatly in layout and information provided. As the Army Corps of Engineers distributed the Awards as they obtained the information from contractors over a period of many months, it may not have been administratively necessary for the Department to maintain a running count of the number issued. If there was such a count, it may have been maintained on a temporary basis for financial or payment purposes only and as such may not have constituted a permanent record.

Ed Leary

A record on the letterhead of the Dupont Corporation in NARA files regarding the Manhattan Project contains the following background information about the “A” Awards and the government’s solicitation of nominees from contractors participating in the project.

"This Company has received official notice from the Army Service Forces, Corps of Engineers, Manhattan District, Office of the Area Engineer, Wilmington, that a special award has been authorized by the War Department for the purpose of recognizing certain individual contributions to the Atomic Bomb Program. There will be two types of awards; namely, bronze decorated and silver decorated and will consist of a distinctive lapel pin plus an appropriately worded certificate. The bronze award will be given for six to eighteen months satisfactory service during the period June 19, 1942 and August 6, 1945 and the silver award for more than eighteen months service during the same period. Service may be accumulated and need not necessarily be continuous.”