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 know I ever

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<v Speaker 2>heard this story is myself and his son Jr. As

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<v Speaker 2>far as Jr knows, he never told his story to

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<v Speaker 2>anyone else. Toby was in the Marines and in nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>fifty one to nineteen fifty seven out in Nevada proving grounds.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 2>on 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 The funny

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

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<v Speaker 2>he wasn't looking at JR. He was looking at the wall.

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<v Speaker 2>I had this distinct impression that if he bothered to

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<v Speaker 2>look at either one of us, we'd never hear the story.

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<v Speaker 2>He said, they stuck us out in the middle of nowhere,

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<v Speaker 2>And if you've ever been out that section of Nevada,

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<v Speaker 2>it's pretty much the middle of nowhere. And he went

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<v Speaker 2>on to say that they told us we're part of

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<v Speaker 2>an atomic bomb test. Now, the name of these tests

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<v Speaker 2>that I looked up later on was called the Desert

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<v Speaker 2>Rock Exercises, and this is what we call Desert Rock

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<v Speaker 2>for Operation tumblr Snapper. Well, he said they took him

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<v Speaker 2>out there and they were there for several different several

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<v Speaker 2>days beforehand, the sheriff said, they took him out there,

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<v Speaker 2>had the trenches, they built, the defensive fortified positions, all

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<v Speaker 2>that stuff. Now, the idea was they were to be

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<v Speaker 2>able to stand in these or squat at them some cover.

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<v Speaker 2>And then he said, I remembered as we were digging,

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<v Speaker 2>there were trucks carrying tanks and jeeps and things like that.

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<v Speaker 2>Some of the vehicles were towing artillery pieces out there,

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<v Speaker 2>and some of the marines he was with went out

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<v Speaker 2>with them, and they came back to saying how they'd

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<v Speaker 2>set up dummies that were in uniform and some of

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<v Speaker 2>them were standing up, some were lying down. That kind

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<v Speaker 2>of stuff. Now I went on to research a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit more, and this seems to be that he was

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<v Speaker 2>out there for what they called the Shot Dog nuclear test.

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<v Speaker 2>And this happened on May one, nineteen fifty two, and

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

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

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<v Speaker 2>using 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 happen, you know, give him a warning. The

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<v Speaker 2>bomber was to hear the bombers coming in, stuff like that,

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<v Speaker 2>and they needed to be doing this. She said. Along

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

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<v Speaker 2>and that's when the warning happened. So they climbed to

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<v Speaker 2>the trenches and they got the position they were told

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<v Speaker 2>to get into. He said he was pouched down, he

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<v Speaker 2>had his head down, his eyes closed, and even with this,

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<v Speaker 2>all of a sudden, he said, there was light. He

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<v Speaker 2>seriously felt that he had actually seen the blast of

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<v Speaker 2>the bomb. Now what he had witnessed here was the

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<v Speaker 2>debtonishing of a nineteen kiloton bomb, and it exploded about

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<v Speaker 2>a thousand meters above the ground. And then he went

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<v Speaker 2>on to say that the light faded, but as it faded,

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<v Speaker 2>there was thunder like they'd never heard before. And then

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<v Speaker 2>there was wind. I mean, the wind just came up

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<v Speaker 2>and it was so intense that it rocked him back

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<v Speaker 2>against the back of his U wrench, and then the

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<v Speaker 2>wind reverse directions came back and pushed him face forward

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<v Speaker 2>into into uh the front of the trench. And so

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

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<v Speaker 2>leave the trenches. So they climbed out, and as he

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

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<v Speaker 2>and atomic bomb generates, but he says, seeing that in

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

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<v Speaker 2>you can't you can't wrap your mind around something like this.

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<v Speaker 2>And you sat there, I look at it and say, something

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<v Speaker 2>humans built generated this. And he said it was already

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<v Speaker 2>towering up into the sky, and he compared it to

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<v Speaker 2>something that was like a cloud that was bowling up

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<v Speaker 2>from Hell. And they told him to start walking forward,

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<v Speaker 2>and they did. He went on to relate that as

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<v Speaker 2>they moved along, he started seeing some of those things

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<v Speaker 2>have been so a few days before, Like, for one location,

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<v Speaker 2>remember seeing the Sherman tank and he said, look like

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<v Speaker 2>the Shriman tanks had been swatted aside by some giant's hand.

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<v Speaker 2>And then he started encountering some of these dummies had

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<v Speaker 2>been set up some were almost burnt up entirely. Others

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<v Speaker 2>were smoldering. So they kept walking. They got within about

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<v Speaker 2>three quarters of a mile of where the bomb had exploded,

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<v Speaker 2>and they stopped him. They turned him around and marched

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<v Speaker 2>him back out of there. And he said, remember hearing

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<v Speaker 2>somebody saying that it had gotten it was too hot

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<v Speaker 2>to go much further, and well that basically mean was

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<v Speaker 2>too radioactive. Then Marsha to a certain site. There they

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<v Speaker 2>swept them off, hosed them off, and he says, actually

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<v Speaker 2>surprised by how much dust came off of him and

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<v Speaker 2>his up Latombe. And rather keep the uniform he had

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<v Speaker 2>been wearing, he wadded it up and threw it away.

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<v Speaker 2>Like I said, that's the only time that we know

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<v Speaker 2>of as myself and Jr. That Toby actually ever talked

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<v Speaker 2>about the day of the bomb. A lot of people

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<v Speaker 2>wound up getting sick and dying because of exposure to fallout.

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<v Speaker 2>The thing is, I don't think a lot of people

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<v Speaker 2>knew what they were headed for. They had a pivotal

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<v Speaker 2>moment of history and they didn't realize it. I know

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<v Speaker 2>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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