Exercise Desert Rock (1951)

0800060 - Exercise Desert Rock - 1951

In 1951, the Army, working with the Atomic Energy Commission, carried out the Desert Rock Exercises, an experiment to "dispel much of the fear and uncertainty surrounding atomic radiation and the effects of gamma and x-rays."
A tent encampment was set up about 27 miles from where the atomic explosions were detonated on the Nevada Proving Grounds. The encampment housed about 5,000 Army soldiers, civilian observers and technicians. Troops spent hours in classes receiving training in radiation and nuclear weapons effects.

The following is a recorded interview between a sergeant and a training officer prior to a blast: Question. "How many of your men would volunteer to go up and be in the foxholes?" (one-half mile from ground zero) Answer. "I guess about half a dozen." Question. "Its quite a loud noise when that bomb goes off. . .would it do them any harm?" Answer. "No sir, not the noise, no." Question. "How about the radiation? Do you think there is much danger?" Answer. "Radiation is the least of their worries that the men are thinking about." Question. "I think most thought radiation was the greatest danger, didnt they? Where did they learn differently?" Answer. "They were, prior to our instructions here. We received a very thorough briefing."

For the Desert Rock I Exercise, the weapon was fired as an airburst. The majority of the troops were out in the open about seven miles away. The soldiers were told to crouch down and face away from the blast. The bomb flash blanked out the troops from view, and the flash was followed by blast winds and the noise of the explosion. Interviews with soldiers were conducted after the test.

Following the test, the troops were trucked toward the stationary military equipment used for experiments. The experiments were set up one-half mile and also at three miles from the blast. At three miles, the gun emplacements and military vehicles were undamaged, but at on-half mile damage was moderate to heavy.

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[LaGioiella]

@jacrocks2

HI! He is 82.

[BassRX]

@clone273 Wow 50 million people,you wouldn't mind sharing your sources,these documents I have got to see, and I wonder if there has ever been an army that was not brutal to the people it was at war with,I dunno maybe the Canadians.

[suprhero1]

SHEEP!!

[CalvinSilverbow]

The MP's were there to shoot any smart people who knew what they were being forced into and tried to run away. This film had me squirming and grinding my teeth. The interview with the 1SG was bone chilling and should tell you that the leaders were telling their soldiers: "Nothing to worry about." All those guys out there just completely in the dark. Anybody in the military (past or present) would know how little these guys would have actually known. [deep sigh of sadness for these poor guys]

[CalvinSilverbow]

Having been in III Corps, I know this must have been one sucky base camp!

[jamestripney]

a phrase comes to mind , it starts with the letter f and ends with the words king and watch me

[malikismyname]

the narrator got a David Lynch kind of sound

[MrTurkeybutt]

thats just messed up

[clone273]

The context is often forgotten.

It was the tail end of a war that had killed maybe 50 million people. The target was one of the enemies who started it, and an enemy that was notorious for its brutality and mistreatment of both prisoners and civilians (eg "massacre of Nanking"). The Japanese were ***hated***. Very few were going to shed any tears over any number of Japanese corpses.

[LaGioiella]

I do not understand why they had to continue to do these human experiments when they had reports on the ill effects of uranium from the late 1800's. Not to mention the proof of horrific damages to unarmed Japanese citizens at Hiroshima and Nagasawki when Japan was starving, had a skeleton military force and was talking about surrendering and was being blatantly ignored and demonized for their ethnicity. Ugly how history has a way of repeating itself and atrocities are forgotten.