 Parsons arranged for Bradbury to be quickly discharged from the Navy , which awarded him the Legion of Merit for his wartime services . He remained in the Naval Reserve , though , ultimately retiring in 1961 with the rank of captain . On 16 October 1945 , there was a ceremony at Los Alamos at which Groves presented the laboratory with the Army @-@ Navy " E " Award , and presented Oppenheimer with a certificate of appreciation . Bradbury became the laboratory 's second director the following day . 
