His arrival was announced by a frantic guard

Monday, December 1st, 2025

Now It Can Be Told by Leslie M. GrovesWilliam S. Parsons was the first Navy officer to be assigned to Los Alamos, General Groves explains (in Now It Can Be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project), and he appeared at the gate wearing his Navy summer uniform:

His arrival was announced by a frantic guard, who telephoned his sergeant: “Sergeant, we’ve really caught a spy! A guy is down here trying to get in, and his uniform is as phony as a three dollar bill. He’s wearing the eagles of a colonel, and claims that he’s a captain.”