Description:

Enola Gay Weapons Specialist Morris Jeppson ALS on Hiroshima Mission, "I have no regrets"

JEPPSON, MORRIS. Autograph Letter Signed, “Morris R. Jeppson”, as Weapon Test Officer, 2 pp., blue ink on unlined white paper, n.p., n.d., 8.5” x 11”. Fine condition.

Jeppson’s letter, in part, “Here are answers to your questions: Q1 Did you work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where the bomb was created? / In November 1944 I was one of 8 Air Force second lieutenants recruited by Los Alamos. We had completed 8 months of training in advanced electronics and radar at Harvard and MIT. We were ordered to Wendover, Utah to join the 509th Bomb Group. But, we worked for Dr. Edward Doll, PhD Cal Tech, of Los Alamos, who was developing the fuzing system, including radar height detection radar, for weapons being developed by Los Alamos. / Los Alamos civilian scientists were not permitted to fly combat missions. We assisted with development and made test drops of dummy bombs with fuzing systems on targets on the Salton Sea in California - flying B29s from Wendover, Utah. / At times we flew to Albuquerque and on to Santa Fe, where Security changed our Air Force insignia to Army Ordnance and drove us to Los Alamos. There we worked with Dr. Doll's people. Los Alamos personnel were not to know that the Air Force was preparing to use their weapons.” Jeppson was one of the few, other than very high up chief scientists like Oppenheimer, who knew, as he had to arm the fusing system inside the plane bomb bay, right before it was dropped over Hiroshima.

“Q2 Any regrets about the Hiroshima mission? / I have no regrets. For me, the two objectives of ending the war and eliminating an invasion of Japan were realized. Accomplishment of these objectives surely prevented much more suffering and loss of lives.” Ninety days later, on August 6, 1945, Jeppson was on the Enola Gay mission to Hiroshima, as weapon officer in the first Atomic bomb.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

 

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice, unless you inform us otherwise, immediately upon your receipt of invoice***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.


After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.


Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

May 26, 2021 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000