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Operation
Tumbler-Snapper
1952 |
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Following are sound clips of actual
government recordings concerning Operation Dessert Rock. All will
require several seconds to download and play. Currently plays with
MS Windows Media Player. Will not play with MusicMatch. |
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Briefing for the
Solders |
Advice from the
Chaplain |
Interviews with the
soldier observers |
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In 1952 personnel
of the 167 Regiment, 31st Infantry Division left Camp Atterbury and
traveled West to witness an Atomic Bomb Test. If you have any
information concerning this event,
please send it to me at
imo.jimwest@gmail.com |
US Atomic Veterans
Harold E. Nelson
Well my story is pretty much the same as many
stories about those test you have read. I was less than a mile from
ground zero, the shot was detonated a mile in the air. We had
no protective clothing or film badges.
After the shot we walked through ground zero, there were
sheep, goats, and a lot of old military stuff there at
different locations at ground zero. Most of the military stuff
was completely destroyed. Surprisingly some of the goats and
sheep were still alive but there backs were fried good and
done.
I would like to hear from some of the guys who were with
Co B
167th Infantry 31st Division. We were attached to an element of the 82nd
Airborne. All of this took place on April 22nd at around 9:00
a.m. in 1952.
Harold E. Nelson
aa9ki@adamswells.com
The 167th Inf. was on maneuvers
in Texas early in the winter of 1952. It was called "Operation
Longhorn". I was in Co A, 167th Regiment at that time,
then I was transferred to Co B, 167th and was airlifted to Nellis Air force base in Nevada.
From there we were sent to Camp
Mercury to take part in "Operation Tumbler Snapper".
After that we rejoined the division at Camp Atterbury.
From Nevada to
Camp Atterbury we
traveled by train.
H. E. Nelson
06/20/2001
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Franklin Evening Star - 16
April 1952
Troops Arrive for Atomic Maneuvers
LAS VEGAS, Nev.. April 15 (INS) -Troops poured into Camp Desert Rock, on the edge of the Nevada test site, today in preparation for the atomic maneuvers to be held within the next few days.
First units arrived by plane and truck yesterday and many hundreds more are due today.
Seven thousand troops from three branches of the armed services are to take part in the exercise.
It is an extension of the first atomic troop maneuvers conducted at the Nevada test site several months ago.
Its purpose is to indoctrinate the troops in both offensive and defensive atomic warfare and also to further test weapons.
To See Blast
The blast which is to accompany the exercise is to he observed by members of Congress, governors, other officials and by newsmen representing press, radio and television.
The first troops to arrive were members of the 82nd Airborne Division which took part in the
just completed mock atomic exercise Longhorn at Fort flood, Tex. They were flown to the Indian Springs auxiliary air field, 20 miles from Camp Desert Rock.
A convoy of the 31st transportation company arrived from Sixth Army headquarters in San Francisco.
Due in today and tomorrow are selected units of the
31st Infantry Division and the 17th Infantry division. |
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Franklin Evening Star - 23
April 1952
Assuming the famous
mushroom formation, the atomic cloud of the first "public"
test rises over the desert testing grounds near Las Vegas, Nev.
Rocket measuring devices shoot up on the left of the cloud to test the
radioactivity of the atmosphere. The bomb was the most powerful
atomic weapon exploded in the United States and was the first ever shown
to the public on television. |
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Franklin Evening Star - 26 May 1952
Daring A-Bomb Maneuvers Set
LAS VEGAS, Nev., May 26 - strategists and atomic scientists today turned their attention to plans for the most daring atomic troop maneuvers to date following successful completion of "Operation Jinx."
Gen. Harry P. Storks. commander of Camp Desert Rock in Nevada. said troops will pour from foxholes and move tactically toward the target point within seconds after the nuclear device has been exploded in the next test.
"Operation Jinx" which received its nickname after being postponed five times, finally was disposed of yesterday morning.
In describing the next test to be conducted, Gen. Storks stated:
"This will mark the first time during the AEC and Department of Defense joint testing program that the troops will leave their foxholes immediately after the detonation."
Fifteen hundred army troops comprising the personnel of Camp Desert Rock will participate in the maneuver scheduled for come time this week. It will be the seventh and last experiment in the current series.
"Operation Jinx" was completed al dawn yesterday when the Nuclear Device was detonated from
a steel tower on Yucca Flat on t h Nevada proving ground 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It had been postponed once for mechanical failure and the other times because of poor weather.
The explosion, brightest of the series, splashed a blinding light over hundreds of square miles of Nevada desert. Its orange fireball was vividly visible in Las Vegas.
However, unlike some of the earlier explosions, it was not heard in Las Vegas and there was no later
shock. |
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Franklin Evening Star - 31 May 1952
Big Atomic Blast Set For Tomorrow
Troops And Tanks Will Participate
LAS VEGAS, Nev.. May 31 (INS) -The Atomic Energy Commission and the military worked today on final preparations for what have been announced as "the most realistic atomic land maneuvers yet."
Weather permitting, the test will take place tomorrow morning on the Nevada proving grounds 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Brig. Gen. Harry P. Storke, commanding general of Camp Desert Rock. near the test site, said ISM troops and five M-6 General Patton tanks would take part in the exercise.
To Go Into Area
He earlier announced that for the first time the troops would move unto the blast area within seconds after the detonation.
However, he explained that the safety factor would continue to be (stressed and that there would be no blind charge into the area.
(Portions of Camp Atterbury's
31st Infantry Division were chosen to walk into the Bomb Blast Area) |
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The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
offers an apology and monetary compensation to individuals who
contracted certain cancers and other serious diseases from
exposure to radiation from above-ground nuclear weapons tests.
But time is running out for veterans to file for compensation.
 05/28/2024 |
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 Page last revised
05/28/2024
James D. West
imo.jimwest@gmailcom
www.Indianamilitary.org |
