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Jeppson, Morris R. (Morris Richard), 1922-2010

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1922 - 2010

Biographical History

Morris R. Jeppson (1922-2010) was a second Lieutenant in the Air Force during World War II, and served as assistant weaponeer on the Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

Morris R. Jeppson was born on June 23, 1922 in Logan, Utah to parents Robert Baird and Elsie Smith Jeppson. He studied physics at the University of Nevada-Reno before enlisting in the Army Air Force in 1943. He attended basic training in Florida and received electrical engineering training at Yale, Harvard, and MIT. He was requested in Wendover, Utah where he worked on bomb firing mechanisms with the Los Alamos scientists under extreme secrecy.

On August 6, 1945 he and his crew dropped "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan endeing World War II. Jeppson left the military in 1946. He went on to work on nuclear projects at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Calirofnia and later started his own company manufacturing microwaves.

He was married twice and has six children. Jeppson passed away on March 30, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Citation:
FamilySearch, via WWW, March 17, 2015 (Morris R. Jeppson was born on June 23, 1922 in Logan, Utah to parents Robert Baird and Elsie Smith Jeppson).

Wikipedia, via WWW, March 17, 2015 (He studied physics at the University of Nevada-Reno before enlisting in the Army Air Force in 1943; attended basic training in Florida and received electrical engineering training at Yale, Harvard, and MIT; he and his crew dropped "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan endeing World War II).

NewYorkTimes, via WWW, March 17, 2015 (He was requested in Wendover, Utah where he worked on bomb firing mechanisms with the Los Alamos scientists under extreme secrecy; left the military in 1946; went on to work on nuclear projects at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Calirofnia and later started his own company manufacturing microwaves; married twice and has six children; passed away on March 30, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada).

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Morris R. Jeppson collection of "The Only Surviving Parts of the First Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima"

 Collection — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197221961292]
Identifier: MSS 7646
Scope and Contents Contains a booklet with photocopies of the handwritten account of Morris R. Jeppson and his experience dropping the atomic bomb. He worked as the weapons electronics officer and made sure the bomb was properly armed before it was released. He shares information on how the bomb worked and his specific role in the process. News articles honoring Jeppson are also included. Photo copies of select documents relating to his Air Force service, and other photographs may be found with the materials....
Dates: Approximately 1945-2001
Found in: L. Tom Perry Special Collections / Morris R. Jeppson collection of "The Only Surviving Parts of the First Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima"

Filtered By

  • Subject: Hiroshima-shi (Japan) X

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