issue, President Truman ordered the Conmission to proceed with the development. of a hydrogen batb on January 31, 1950.8 The President's order put the Commission in a difficut position. To produce the large quantities of tritium that the hydrogen bomb would require, the Commission would have to reduce plutonium production at Banford and switch reactors to tritium production. duction dropped, If plutonium pro- so would the production of Wezpcns. ~ The Commission Gecided in May 1950, therefore, to build two reactors at a new site (Savannah River was later selected) to proé:ce tritium for the hydrogen bamnb program.” The Korean War On June 25, 1950, North Korear. forces attacked South Korea. Within days the United States had camricted air, naval, and ground forces to the Korean War. Once again +. 2 nation was at war and the Joint Chiefs of Staff had to send what few -2serves of trained infantry units America possessed into action. Secause of fears that the Korean War easily could escalate into a general war, the Commission felt even greater urgency for the mucl<ear weapon program. ' President Tran soon decided to reinforce overstretched American troops with atomic muscle. With the "very safety of the nation . in the balance," the Joint Chiefs of Staff asked the Commissicn to transfer ncnnuclear weapon components to military bases in the United Kingdom -n early July. Only nuclear cores would then have to be rushed across the Atlantic should the Commimists attack in Europe. Because che process of arming the bombs and loading them onto airplanes wes so ponderous, the move constituted a significant increase in American iD