— oo, UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENFRGY COMMISSION WASHINGTON 25, D. C. November 14, 1952 Honorable J. Edgar Hoover, Director Federal Bureau of Investigation U. S. Bepartment of Justice Washington, D. C. Dear Mr. Hoover: Transmitted herewith arc copies of memoranda by members of the Atomic Energy Commission Washington staff concerning telephone calls on October 31, 1952 from Clay Blair, Jr., Washington correspondent of Life Magazine, and Enno Hobbing, Washington correspondent of Time. It is observed that the memorandum on the Hobbing call states that Hoobing phened about 4:15 p.m., on October 31 and in the course of the call stated: "We understand the H-bomb has Just been set off." The memorandum on the Blair call reports that Andrew Berding, Department of Defense Director of Public Information, advised at 4:50 p.m. October 31, that he had just had a phone conversation with Berding,* in the course of which Berding* asserted that Life has positive knowledge that the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense had | ex ploded an H-bomb in the Pacific "three hours ago, at 2:15. For your information, a thermonuclear device was detonated at Eniwetok at 2:15 p.m., Washington time, October 31, 1952. The exact time of detonation of such test device (that is, accuracy within one minute) is secret information affecting the national defense. The fact that the dctonation involved a thermo- nuclear device is “restricted data” under the Atomic Energy Act, of a Seeret classification. The Atomic Energy Commission and Department of Defense releases forwarded herewith constitute the cole information on the current tests which presently is authorized for public dissemination * Seeretariat nete - should be Blair