| abstract | - Herb Druce was an upwardly mobile Philadelphia man and a World War I veteran. He was married to Peggy Eubank, a marriage which had helped her to escape the poverty of her early life. In the fall of 1938, Herb Druce had been planning to meet his wife in Europe for part of her vacation. He had to cancel his trip on account of the war. His wife was trapped behind German lines for months. When she returned back to America, both of them admitted to each other that they had both been having affairs. While they forgave each other, there was nevertheless a loss of trust between the couple. With the arrival of the war between the U.S. and Japan in January 1941, Druce was employed as an efficiency expert and trouble shooter for various military programs. In 1942, he was informed of a program headquartered in Tennessee that was attempting to build a bomb large enough to destroy a city. Despite the fact that no less than Albert Einstein supported the program, Druce convinced the government that the scheme was an expensive "boondoggle". While on the road, Druce soon realized that his feelings had in fact changed, and that he no longer wanted to be married to Peggy. In 1942, he quickly established residency in Reno, Nevada, so he could secure a divorce. Peggy, still living in Philadelphia, was completely blindsided.
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