A Veteran Among Us
Posted by Caroline Cooper on 10/09/2008
Manhattan Project veteran Benjamin Bederson spoke with composer John Adams ahead of the Met opening of Doctor Atomic.
“Hey, look at that,” said Manhattan Project veteran Benjamin Bederson. “Members of the Special Engineering Detachment.”
Bederson made his way through the tables and chairs of the Met’s private cafeteria towards a group of Doctor Atomic chorus singers. The men were dressed in their costumes of military uniforms, laughing over lunchtime sandwiches.
“Hi, I thought I’d introduce myself,” Bederson said to the table. Everyone looked up. “I’m Benjamin Bederson. I was at Los Alamos.”
“Wow,” one of the singers said. “Really?”
“Really,” Bederson, who is in his late 80s, responded.
“I was a member of the Special Engineering Detachment,” Bederson continued. “I designed and tested electronic triggers for the bomb.”
“Woah. I can’t believe we’re talking to an actual veteran,” one singer said to another. “This is too much.”
“I was there from 1944 to ’46, working on Fat Man,” Bederson said, referring to the bomb dropped on Nagasaki.
Bederson leaned in. The singers peered up.
“I’ll tell you something. That bomb they made for this production looks exactly like the bomb we built. It’s unbelievable. It’s the very same bomb. Keep that in mind when you’re on the stage.”
Two singers looked at each other and nodded.
“Anyway, have fun. It’s a great show,” Bederson said, waving at the table. The singers waved back. “Wow,” one repeated.
Benjamin Bederson visited the Metropolitan Opera on October 7, 2008. Watch the Met’s live HD transmission of Doctor Atomic on November 8 in theatres nationwide for clips from a sit-down interview with Bederson conducted during his visit.