WEBVTT - The Atomic Marine

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<v Speaker 1>This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories,

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<v Speaker 1>the show where America is the star and the American People.

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<v Speaker 1>And to search for the Our American Stories podcast, go

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<v Speaker 1>to the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>From nineteen forty five to nineteen ninety two, the United

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<v Speaker 1>States conducted one thy fifty four nuclear tests as a

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<v Speaker 1>part of the nuclear arms race with Soviet Russia. Many

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<v Speaker 1>of these tests were conducted in Nevada, where soldiers were

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<v Speaker 1>sent to be tested on by military scientists and upper

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<v Speaker 1>brass trying to figure out the psychological and health effects

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<v Speaker 1>brought on by the use of nuclear weapons. One of

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<v Speaker 1>those soldiers was Tobi Madrid. Here's listener Richard Munez, who

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<v Speaker 1>worked with Toby with the story of this atomic Marine.

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<v Speaker 2>The only two people I know I ever heard this

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<v Speaker 2>story is myself and his son Jr. As far as

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<v Speaker 2>Jr knows, he never told his story to anyone else.

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<v Speaker 2>Toby was in the Marines and in nineteen fifty one

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<v Speaker 2>to nineteen fifty seven out the Nevada Proving grounds. It

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<v Speaker 2>a small camp. It's called Camp Desert Rock, and it

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<v Speaker 2>was barricks and mess halls and things like that. But

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<v Speaker 2>it had one mission, one purpose. It was to support

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<v Speaker 2>military personnel while tests involving the atomic bomber conducted. Remember

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<v Speaker 2>Sheriff Toby to Madrid. We were in his office if

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<v Speaker 2>you can call a broom closet with a light and

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<v Speaker 2>a desk and an office. He had a cup of

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<v Speaker 2>coffee in his hands, and he has feet up on

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<v Speaker 2>the desk. I mean, it was totally laid back attitude,

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<v Speaker 2>but I could see the tension in his job. The

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<v Speaker 2>funny part about it was he wasn't looking at me,

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<v Speaker 2>and he wasn't looking at Jr. He was looking at

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<v Speaker 2>the wall. I had this distinct impression that if he

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<v Speaker 2>bothered to look at either one of us, we'd never

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<v Speaker 2>hear the story. He said, they stuck us out in

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<v Speaker 2>the middle of nowhere, And if you've ever been out

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<v Speaker 2>that section of Nevada, it's pretty much the middle of nowhere.

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<v Speaker 2>And he went on to say that they told us

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<v Speaker 2>we're to be part of an atomic bomb test. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>the name of these tests that I looked up later

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<v Speaker 2>on was called the Desert Rock Exercises, and this is

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<v Speaker 2>what we call Desert Rock for Operation tumblr Snapper. Well,

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<v Speaker 2>he said they took him out there and they were

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<v Speaker 2>there for several different several days beforehand, the sheriff said,

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<v Speaker 2>they took him out there, had the trenches, they built,

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<v Speaker 2>the defensive fortified positions, all that stuff. Now, the idea

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<v Speaker 2>was they were to be able to stand in these

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<v Speaker 2>or squat at them some cover. And then he said,

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<v Speaker 2>I remembered as we were digging, there were trucks carrying

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<v Speaker 2>tanks and jeeps and things like that. Some of the

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<v Speaker 2>vehicles were towing artillery pieces out there, and some of

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<v Speaker 2>the marines he was with went out with them, and

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<v Speaker 2>they came back to saying how they'd set up dummies

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<v Speaker 2>that were in uniform and some of them were standing up,

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<v Speaker 2>some were lying down. That kind of stuff. Now, I

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<v Speaker 2>went on to research a little bit more, and this

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<v Speaker 2>seems to be that he was out there for what

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<v Speaker 2>they called the Shot Dog nuclear test, and this happened

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<v Speaker 2>on May one, nineteen fifty two, and involved the dropping

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<v Speaker 2>of what we call a Mark seven bomb. Now, the

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<v Speaker 2>Air Force was doing the drops and they were using

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<v Speaker 2>either B fifties or B forty five to do these.

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<v Speaker 2>So he said the day of the test, they got

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<v Speaker 2>them up, they had breakfast, and they took them out

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<v Speaker 2>there to the site and they got in their trenches

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<v Speaker 2>and what they were told to do. They were told

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<v Speaker 2>to crouchs below the rim of the trench, have their

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<v Speaker 2>faces down, their eyes closed when the blast happened. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>they would get plenty of warning beforehand that this was

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<v Speaker 2>going to happ happened, you know, give him a warning.

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<v Speaker 2>The bomber was to hear the bombers coming in sot

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<v Speaker 2>like that, and they needed to be doing this. She said.

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<v Speaker 2>Along around eight thirty or so, they heard the aircraft

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<v Speaker 2>coming in, and that's when the warning happened. So they

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<v Speaker 2>climbed to the trenches and they got the position they

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<v Speaker 2>were told to get into. He had said he was

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<v Speaker 2>pouched down, he had his head down, his eyes closed,

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<v Speaker 2>and even with this, all of a sudden, he said,

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<v Speaker 2>there was light. He seriously felt that he had actually

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<v Speaker 2>seen the blast of the bomb. Now what he had

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<v Speaker 2>witnessed here was the debtonishing of a nineteen kiloton bomb,

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<v Speaker 2>and it exploded about a thousand meters above the ground.

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<v Speaker 2>And then he went on to say that the light faded,

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<v Speaker 2>but as it faded, there was thunder like they'd never

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<v Speaker 2>heard before. And then there was wind. I mean, the

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<v Speaker 2>wind just came up and it was so intense that it

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<v Speaker 2>rocked him back against the back of his u and

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<v Speaker 2>then the wind reverse directions came back and pushed him

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<v Speaker 2>face forward into into uh the front of the trench.

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<v Speaker 2>And so then the second few seconds later came to

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<v Speaker 2>order to leave the trenches. So they climbed out, and

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<v Speaker 2>as he put it, we've all seen movies of the

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<v Speaker 2>mushroom cloud and atomic bomb generates, but he says, seeing

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<v Speaker 2>that in real life, it was like it just wasn't real.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, you can't you can't wrap your mind around

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<v Speaker 2>something like this. And you sat there and look at

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<v Speaker 2>it and say, something humans built generated this. And he

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<v Speaker 2>said it was already towering up into the sky, and

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<v Speaker 2>he compared it to something that was like a cloud

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<v Speaker 2>that was bowling up from Hell. And they told him

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<v Speaker 2>to start walking forward, and they did. He went on

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<v Speaker 2>to relate that as they moved along, he started seeing

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<v Speaker 2>some of those things have been so a few days before, Like,

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<v Speaker 2>for one location, remember seeing the Sherman tank and he said,

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<v Speaker 2>look like the Shrimann tankers had been swatted aside by

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<v Speaker 2>some giant's hand. And then he started encountering some of

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<v Speaker 2>these dummies had been set up. Some were almost burnt

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<v Speaker 2>up entirely, others were smoldering. So they kept walking. They

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<v Speaker 2>got within about three quarters of a mile of where

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<v Speaker 2>the bomb had exploded, and they stopped him. They turned

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<v Speaker 2>him around and marched him back out of there. And

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<v Speaker 2>he said, remember hearing somebody saying that it had gotten

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<v Speaker 2>it was too hot to go much further, and well

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<v Speaker 2>that basically mean was too radioactive. Then Marsha to a

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<v Speaker 2>certain site. There they swept them off, hosed them off,

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<v Speaker 2>and he says, actually surprised by how much dust came

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<v Speaker 2>off of him in his up Latombe. And rather keep

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<v Speaker 2>the uniform he had been wearing, he wadded it up

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<v Speaker 2>and threw it away. Like I said, that's the only

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<v Speaker 2>time that we know of as myself and Jr. That

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<v Speaker 2>Toby actually ever talked about the day of the bomb.

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<v Speaker 2>A lot of people wound up getting sick and dying

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<v Speaker 2>because of exposure to fallout. The thing is, I don't

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<v Speaker 2>think a lot of the Peo people knew what they

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<v Speaker 2>were headed for. They were had a pivotal moment of history,

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<v Speaker 2>and they didn't realize it. I know the chef didn't.

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<v Speaker 1>And this is why we routinely celebrate our veterans on

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<v Speaker 1>this show because our soldiers serve in so many distinct

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<v Speaker 1>and dangerous ways, and you just heard about one, the

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<v Speaker 1>story of Toby Madrid, the Atomic Marine. Here on our

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<v Speaker 1>American Stories, Folks, if you love the stories we tell

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<v Speaker 1>rich past, know that all of our stories about American history,

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<v Speaker 1>from war to innovation, culture and faith, are brought to

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