Charles Vanden Bulck

Charles Vanden Bulck (born Carolus Joannes Cornelius Van den Bulck, Antwerp, Belgium, May 9, 1904, died Stamford, Connecticut, September 29, 1962) was an American of Flemish origin who played an important roll as a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer in the Manhattan-project. He received several honors for his contribution to the success of the activities and the associated furtherance of the war effort. He also contributed to the post-war transition of the American nuclear military installations into a civil nuclear industry.
==Biography== 
===Migration - Ellis Island (NY)===
May 10, 1914 his father Frans Van den Bulck left Antwerp on the and arrived in New York on May 21. He was registered as a 32 year old baker. Shortly after he found work as a longshoreman. When in the same year mother and children arrive on October 11th they settle at 578 Hudsonstreet, Hoboken, New Jersey. The Van den Bulck family is listed on the SS Finlands manifest lines 23-25 as "Marie 28 years", "Charle 9 years" and "Martha 2 years".
===Military service===
On May 15, 1922, at the age of 18, Charles joined the Navy department of the New York Guard (3rd Div 2nd Bn). His enlistment paper showed as address 117 Wall Street, New York City.See military draft document Charles Vanden Bulck.
===First jobs===
Charles took a correspondence course accounting and general management and worked shortly for a bank and a sugar refinery.Statement United States Supreme Court page 169
===World War II===
During World War II Charles worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). He started as a civilian on the Broadway office in New York and in 1941 he joined the Rome Air Force project team of Kenneth Nichols.
[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Charles_Vanden_Bulck_retirement_letter_to_Kenneth_Nichols.pdf Retirement letter to Kenneth Nichols
After accepting Brigadier General James C. Marshall's secret mission request in 1942 he moved to Oak Ridge where he was promoted to major and soon after to lieutenant colonel.
Starting from May 1943 "Van" - as Charles was often called in those days - worked in the newly build "Castle on the Hill" headquarters of the Manhattan Engineer District. It was a low building with a long central wing connecting to seven cross coupled administrative wings. The headquarters also had a heliport landing platform at the back. He worked closely together with General Leslie Groves known as project leader of the Pentagon building and Colonel Nichols.* the Manhattan District Engineer.
In day-to-day activities Charles was assisted by his secretary the tall blond well-dressed Sherry (Frances Rose McSherry 1921-2018)Obituary and biography Frances Rose McSherry or in her absence by one of her colleagues such as Celia Szapka Klemski.Interview Celia Szapka-Klemski
 
Sherry made such an impression on the physicist Richard Feynman that he would later mention her in his biography and refer to her as 'the movie queen'.
 pages 263 and 266
Charles was director of administration and special disbursing officer of the Manhattan Project. In more general terms he was the procurement manager in charge of the aquisition and administrative processing of all the materials and services. The project mainly contracted large American companies with prior army work experience. An important exception was the Belgian-Kongolese company Union Minière du Haut-Katanga or UMHK that took care of the supply of uranium via their director Edgar Sengier. An important part of the highly needed UMHK uranium stock was luckily already stored in New York.Edgar Sengier and his uranium
<BR>
During the war years about 2 billion USD Manhattan project cost in terms of materials and services would be processed by his administration.Manhattan project costs spend on the Manhattan Project making this is a success. theblackvault.com document bottom of page 164 In 2023 the estimated cost would represent a relative value of almost 34 billion USDUSD inflation calculator. Most of it was spend on the K-25 Gaseous diffusion plant and the Y-12 electromagnetic plant.
His ASN - Army Service Number was O-490878
Code 	Meaning
O 	Commissioned Officer
4 	drafted in either Alabama, Florida, Georgia Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
90878	"Special Use" service numbers range 90.001 – 99.999
The detailed Manhattan project timeline 
===Atomic Energy Commission===
The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was created in 1946 after signing the McMahon/Atomic Energy act in order to transfer the military nuclear knowledge and infrastructure to the civil world.
After World War II Charles continued the administration at the Oak Ridge site until November 1946.
Returning to civilian life he then worked 2 months for the United States Army Corps of Engineers to transfer in Januari 1947 with his relevant knowledge and experience to the non-military Atomic Energy Commission.
In 1953 he was promoted to "assistant manager of the operations offices" to lead 6 divisions including budgetting and rapporting.
He was listed among others in the January 3, 1956, edition of the Congressional DirectoryCongressional directory 1956 - FOR THE USE OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS, onder het "Office of the General Manger" als "Special Assistant to the General Manager", extensie 452. His home at the time near Washington D.C. is mentioned as 6017 Kirby Road, Bethesda,_Maryland.
In Augustus 1960 he retired from the Atomic Energy Commission but not without informing Kenneth Nichols by letter and looking back on their common history (see attached letter).
===American Machine and Foundry===
After his retirement from the Atomic Energy Commission in August 1960, he took one more job with the American Machine and Foundry (AMF) that originally started as a recreational equipment company. At that time however one of their products was the launching system for the U.S. Army's Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM). This required a thorough investigation into his past, revealing details about his birth and younger life in Antwerp, Belgium.
===Passing===
After fighting cancer he passed away September 29, 1962, at Stamford Hospital at the age of 58.The New York Times - C. VANDEN BULCK, 58, AIDED ATOM PROJECT
The year after on May 25, 1963 a new bridge on the Tennessee State Route 95, crossing the Clinch river, was dedicated in honor of his person and his achievements.
==Honours==
* October 2, 1945, for services rendered in the period 1942-1945 he was awarded the Legion of Merit.Legion of Merit according to official act
* Washington D.C. 1956, he receives the highest Atomic Energy Commission price "the gold Distinguished Service Award".Charles Vanden Bulck – Procurement Manager for Manhattan Project
* Loudon County 1962, a bridge on the Tennessee SR95, White Wing Road nearby Clinch View Church northeast of Bradbury Valley was named the Charles Vanden Bulck bridge in his honour.
* 1962, after his passing a certificate by president John F. Kennedy send in honor of the memory to Charles Vanden Bulck.The Oak Ridger’s Historically Speaking
* Honored by the National Civil Service League.The Oak Ridgers newspaper article
==Appraisals== 
* Several appraisals by General Kenneth David Nichols in his book "The Road to Trinity" (1987).
* Award quotation in the Manhattan History - book 1, volume 4, chapter 8, page 364 on the distinguished medals awards":
"TO: CHARLES VANDEN-BULCK, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Box 231, Mountain View, NJ
<BR>
FOR:As Chief Administrative Officer of the Manhattan Engineer District of October 1942 to August 1945. Although handicapped by rigid security control which at times required wide variation from normal War Department administrative procedures, he ingeniously devised many new means for effecting special administrative requirements. By his initiative, great force, and unusual comprehension of detail, he rendered service of outstanding value to the Government and assisted materially in the furtherance of the war effort.
==Charles Vanden Bulck Bridge==
The Charles Vanden Bulck Bridge is located on Tennessee State Route 95, White Wing Road, Loudon county, Tennessee. The current modern bridge replaced an old floating bridge and got its name on May 25, 1963.
The name was officialized March 2, 1965 by Tennessee governor Frank G. Clement via Public Act, House Resolution No. 37.
Senate Journal of the 48th General Assembly of the State of Tennessee (1965) - Charles Vanden Bulck bridge naming
Feature 	Value
GeoNames id. 	4612803
Classification	Structure with physical, cultural and historical features
ZIP code 	37771
County 	Loudon
State 	Tennessee
Country 	United States
Latitude 	35.8870216
Longitude 	-84.3240905
Elevation 	741 feet or 226m above sea level
==Family== 
Born May 9, 1904, in Antwerp, Belgium, as son of Frans - Francois - Van den Bulck (1880 – 1948) and his wife Maria Josephina Pauwels (1885 - 1969).
Once in the US their first names morph into more English sounding variants like Francis, Marie Jo, Charles en Marth.
His parents found their last resting place on the Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum of North Arlington, Bergen, County, New Jersey.Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum of North Arlington, Bergen County, New Jersey
According to his birth certificate (see gallery) his official given name was Carolus Joannes Cornelius Van den Bulck.
In 1933 he married Gertrude (Gerty) Korman (May 13, 1910), who was of German descend. Together they have a son Charles Franz Vandenbulck who was born September 1, 1934, in Hoboken, New Jersey, two grandchildren and several great grandchildren.
His sister Martha Marie (May 27, 1911-August 7, 2001) and her husband Joseph Paul Vidosic had 2 children Dorothy Marie Vidosic and Richard Paul Vidosic and several grandchildren.
Category:1904 births
Category:People from Antwerp
Category:Belgian people
Category:Engineers
Category:1962 deaths