New film reminds us why we must oppose atomic testing

Many of us know about the Trinity Test, the first detonation of an atomic bomb, on July 16, 1945 in Alamogordo, New Mexico, and the precursor to the terrible and cruel US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 of that year respectively.

But what was it like to witness the biggest atom bomb ever blown up in the continental United States?

 It was 74 kilotons of hell, part of the Operation Plumbbob series at the Nevada Test Site. The Hood shot, on July 5, 1957, left the soldiers forced to watch it scarred both emotionally and physically. 

In Atomic Soldiers, a 22-minute documentary by Morgan Knibbe, released in 2018, we learn firsthand what that experience was like.

The Nuclear-Free Takoma Park Committee  and Beyond Nuclear are pleased to support this film, which is available to view for free on YouTube at this link: https://youtu.be/qbBu6cWczTY

As the Trump White House rumbles about resuming US nuclear tests, we must take a moment to remember the devastating impact of the 1,054 atomic tests already conducted by the US during the Cold War, (216 of them atmospheric), comprising more than half of all atomic tests conducted by nuclear powers.

In Atomic Soldiers, Knibbe lets American atomic veterans, silenced for 50 years, speak for themselves, straight to the camera. Sworn to secrecy, the trauma of what they saw roiled inside them for decades, along with anger at their abandonment after being treated, as they saw it, like guinea pigs.

Now they are talking, and in Atomic Soldiers, they often speak in slow, halting words about the impact of the Hood blast on their lives, their health and their psyches. Their emotion is palpable, sometimes just in the silences where no more words will come.

We encourage you to watch this moving and important film, and to support those in Congress who are speaking out and opposing any resumption of US atomic testing.

You can also read more about the film in this review on the Beyond Nuclear International website.

Thank you for watching this important and moving film. If you like the work of Beyond Nuclear, please consider making a donation here today. And thank you!