50th anniversary of the atomic bomb test at Trinity Site, New Mexico, 1995, by George Walker
From MemoryArchive
Who: George Walker What: 50th Anniversary of the Explosion of the First Atomic Bomb When: July 1995 Where: Trinity Testing Site, New Mexico
My parents used to own a cabin in Ruidoso, New Mexico. This is a few hours away from the site where the United States first tested an atomic bomb, which was the first atomic bomb set off in the history of humanity. The atomic bomb was developed during World War II in a United States government project known as the Manhattan Project.
We began the day at 6:30 in the morning, leaving our cabin and heading towards the near barren wasteland that is the New Mexico desert. As we left the mountianous area of New Mexico, the landscape gradually gave way to a flat horizon, accentuated by scrub brush, but dominated by the yellowish earth and the sapphire blue sky. It was hot- certainly over 100 degrees fahrenheit, probably around 105.
Around 11:00 we neared the town of Los Alamos, New Mexico. This is the closest town to the testing site for the first atomic bomb. There is a small museum in the city, dedicated to the development of the atomic bomb. We stopped, and looked. I don't remember much, but I do remember that they had a replica of the bomb that is known as "The Fat Man."
After we visited the museum, we continued on to the testing site. We drove straight into the desert on a slightly improved road. Eventually, we came to a roadblock manned by soldiers. My dad rolled down the window, and a soldier welcomed us to the Trinity Testing Site. He advised us that "for every hour we stayed, we absorbed a year's worth of radiation, so use your best judgement." We continued on.
A short while later, we arrived at an improvised parking lot. We parked our car, and followed the signs to the area designated as the atomic bomb testing site. When we arrived, there were around 150 people milling around the site, and reading short exhibits about the atomic bomb.
The most striking feature of the site was the gnarled, twisted, metal in the center of the site. As we read the exhibits, we discovered that the atomic bomb was detonated on the top of a large, steel platform. The only thing left was a 10 meter crater in the ground, with the foundation of the tower on top of it. It was pretty amazing, because what it amounted to was basically a small radio tower being completely vaporized with only the very bottom feet remaining.
There was something else that was really amazing there; the Trinitite. Trinitite is the bright green, glassy material that was formed when the atomic bomb detonated above the New Mexico soil. It's basically radioactive glass, from what they told us. They warned us not to take any home, because if we did, we would be running the risk of prolonged radiation exposure.
After about an hour or so we left. There wasn't an incredible amount of stuff to see, but the stuff there was awesome.
