lousy navigating. Fifteen seconds off!’
No one spoke about what was happening on the ground. Don Albury, co-pilot on the picture plane flying with the
Enola Gay
, looked down at that great cloud, and the rainbow colours streaming out of it at the top, and said a little prayer.
‘Lord, please take care of them all down there.’
*
General Groves phoned Dr Oppenheimer at 2 p.m., Santa Fe time, that same day.
‘I’m very proud of you and all your people,’ Groves said.
‘It went all right?’ said Oppenheimer.
‘Apparently,’ said Groves, ‘it went with a tremendous bang.’
*
The president learned the news while he was at lunch on the USS
Augusta
, en route to Newport, Virginia. Excited, he turned to shake Captain Graham’s hand.
‘This is the greatest thing in history!’ he said.
He then made an announcement to all the crew gathered inthe mess hall that a successful attack had taken place on Japan with an extraordinary new weapon that was twenty thousand times more powerful than a ton of TNT. The crew cheered and clapped. The president and his party then attended a programme of boxing bouts on the ship’s well deck. The display came to an abrupt close when the ring collapsed, injuring a crew member, who was struck on the head by a post. The president and Secretary Byrnes visited the injured man in the sickbay to be sure he wasn’t seriously hurt.
In his statement released to the press, Truman said, ‘The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold.’ He revealed the scale of the Manhattan Project: up to 125,000 individuals working for two and a half years. ‘We have spent two billion dollars on the greatest scientific gamble in history, and won. It is an awful responsibility which has come to us. We thank God that it has come to us, instead of to our enemies; and we pray that He may guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes.’
6
On the second evening of Mary Brennan’s visions the priest was out on the sand of Buckle Bay as the sun was setting, along with Ned and Betty Clancy, who’d heard the tale from Eileen Brennan, and Michael Gallaher, who had followed out of mere idle curiosity. As the sun went down in the west Mary Brennan walked out alone towards the water’s edge and stood there, very still. They couldn’t see what she saw, but they could see the way her arms went out, and the look in her eyes that shone like the setting sun. They heard her speak, she said, ‘Yes, Lord,’ and, ‘I’ll tell them, Lord.’ The priest watched closely and he was moved. This is true faith, he told himself. Whether the vision was real or not, he could not doubt the child’s ardent and innocent surrender to her God.
Then Eileen Brennan was nudging him and saying, ‘The sea! The sea!’ The priest turned his gaze from the girl to the sea, and saw to his amazement that it was no longer moving. Just as the girl had said, a stillness had fallen over the world. He looked at the others and saw that they saw it too.
Mary Brennan let out a cry, and fell to the sand.
‘Mary!’
Her mother ran to her, and drew her up to her feet again.
‘What is it?’ she said. ‘What did you see?’
‘The chastisement,’ said Mary. ‘Oh, Mam, it was terrible! The great wind will take everything!’
‘Our Lord is warning us,’ said Eileen Brennan, turning to the priest. ‘You must tell the Holy Father what my child has seen.’ And to Mary, ‘When will it come, this great wind?’
Mary shook her head. She didn’t know.
‘Sure, you should ask him,’ said Eamonn, who saw matters in a practical light.
‘The sea was still,’ said Eileen Brennan. ‘Just like you said. The father saw it too.’
‘I did so,’ said the priest.
‘He’ll come again,’ said Mary. ‘One more time. Oh, Mam, I do love him so.’
‘I’m sure we all do,’ said her mother.
‘Wouldn’t it be the war?’ said Bridie. ‘There’s terrible things been doing in the
No one spoke about what was happening on the ground. Don Albury, co-pilot on the picture plane flying with the
Enola Gay
, looked down at that great cloud, and the rainbow colours streaming out of it at the top, and said a little prayer.
‘Lord, please take care of them all down there.’
*
General Groves phoned Dr Oppenheimer at 2 p.m., Santa Fe time, that same day.
‘I’m very proud of you and all your people,’ Groves said.
‘It went all right?’ said Oppenheimer.
‘Apparently,’ said Groves, ‘it went with a tremendous bang.’
*
The president learned the news while he was at lunch on the USS
Augusta
, en route to Newport, Virginia. Excited, he turned to shake Captain Graham’s hand.
‘This is the greatest thing in history!’ he said.
He then made an announcement to all the crew gathered inthe mess hall that a successful attack had taken place on Japan with an extraordinary new weapon that was twenty thousand times more powerful than a ton of TNT. The crew cheered and clapped. The president and his party then attended a programme of boxing bouts on the ship’s well deck. The display came to an abrupt close when the ring collapsed, injuring a crew member, who was struck on the head by a post. The president and Secretary Byrnes visited the injured man in the sickbay to be sure he wasn’t seriously hurt.
In his statement released to the press, Truman said, ‘The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold.’ He revealed the scale of the Manhattan Project: up to 125,000 individuals working for two and a half years. ‘We have spent two billion dollars on the greatest scientific gamble in history, and won. It is an awful responsibility which has come to us. We thank God that it has come to us, instead of to our enemies; and we pray that He may guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes.’
6
On the second evening of Mary Brennan’s visions the priest was out on the sand of Buckle Bay as the sun was setting, along with Ned and Betty Clancy, who’d heard the tale from Eileen Brennan, and Michael Gallaher, who had followed out of mere idle curiosity. As the sun went down in the west Mary Brennan walked out alone towards the water’s edge and stood there, very still. They couldn’t see what she saw, but they could see the way her arms went out, and the look in her eyes that shone like the setting sun. They heard her speak, she said, ‘Yes, Lord,’ and, ‘I’ll tell them, Lord.’ The priest watched closely and he was moved. This is true faith, he told himself. Whether the vision was real or not, he could not doubt the child’s ardent and innocent surrender to her God.
Then Eileen Brennan was nudging him and saying, ‘The sea! The sea!’ The priest turned his gaze from the girl to the sea, and saw to his amazement that it was no longer moving. Just as the girl had said, a stillness had fallen over the world. He looked at the others and saw that they saw it too.
Mary Brennan let out a cry, and fell to the sand.
‘Mary!’
Her mother ran to her, and drew her up to her feet again.
‘What is it?’ she said. ‘What did you see?’
‘The chastisement,’ said Mary. ‘Oh, Mam, it was terrible! The great wind will take everything!’
‘Our Lord is warning us,’ said Eileen Brennan, turning to the priest. ‘You must tell the Holy Father what my child has seen.’ And to Mary, ‘When will it come, this great wind?’
Mary shook her head. She didn’t know.
‘Sure, you should ask him,’ said Eamonn, who saw matters in a practical light.
‘The sea was still,’ said Eileen Brennan. ‘Just like you said. The father saw it too.’
‘I did so,’ said the priest.
‘He’ll come again,’ said Mary. ‘One more time. Oh, Mam, I do love him so.’
‘I’m sure we all do,’ said her mother.
‘Wouldn’t it be the war?’ said Bridie. ‘There’s terrible things been doing in the
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