Our History  Atomic City Recruits Responded to Secret War Duty
Sunday, June 23, 2013  Unknowingly, the women signed up to work
for the Manhattan Project during World War II, drawn by promises
of solid wages and war-ending work, says Denise Kiernan in "The
Girls of Atomic City." In this excerpt, secretary Celia starts
her journey.  Jen Larsen Residents of Oak Ridge, Tenn., a secret
site of the Manhattan Project, waiting at the post office.
Credit: James Edward Westcott, courtesy of the National Archives
Bookmark and Share  (WOMENSENEWS)-- Southbound trains pierced
the early morning humidity. The iron and steel of progress cut
through the waking landscape.  Celia sat in her berth, the
delicate folds of her brand-new dress draping over her knees as
she gazed out the window of the train. Southbound. That much she
knew, and that she had a sleeping berth because it was going to
take a while to get to her destination. Towns and stations
simmering in the August heat rippled past her view. Buildings
and farms bubbl