Beyond Nuclear
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Dear Linda,
Atomic testing must not
resume!
New film reminds us why
we must oppose atomic testing
Many of us know about
the Trinity Test, the first detonation of an atomic bomb, on July 16, 1945 in
Alamogordo, New Mexico, and the precursor to the terrible and cruel US atomic
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 of that year respectively.
But what was it like to
witness the biggest atom bomb ever blown up in the continental United
States?
It was 74 kilotons of
hell, part of the Operation Plumbbob series at the Nevada Test Site. The Hood
shot, on July 5, 1957, left the soldiers forced to watch it scarred both
emotionally and physically.
In Atomic Soldiers, a
22-minute documentary by Morgan Knibbe, released in 2018, we learn firsthand
what that experience was like.
The Nuclear-Free Takoma
Park Committee and Beyond Nuclear are pleased to support this film, which
is available to view for free on YouTube at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbBu6cWczTY&feature=youtu.be.
As the Trump White
House rumbles about resuming US nuclear tests, we must take a moment to
remember the devastating impact of the 1,054 atomic tests already conducted by
the US during the Cold War, (216 of them atmospheric), comprising more than
half of all atomic tests conducted by nuclear powers.
In Atomic Soldiers,
Knibbe lets American atomic veterans, silenced for 50 years, speak for
themselves, straight to the camera. Sworn to secrecy, the trauma of
what they saw roiled inside them for decades, along with anger at their
abandonment after being treated, as they saw it, like guinea pigs.
Now they are talking,
and in Atomic Soldiers, they often speak in slow, halting words about the
impact of the Hood blast on their lives, their health and their psyches. Their
emotion is palpable, sometimes just in the silences where no more words will
come.
We encourage you to
watch this moving and important film, and to support those in Congress who are
speaking out and opposing any resumption of US atomic testing.
You can also read more
about the film in this review on the Beyond Nuclear International website.
Thank you for watching
this important and moving film. If you like the work of Beyond Nuclear, please
consider making a donation here today. And thank you!
Thank you for joining
us in working for a nuclear-free world. Please consider sharing our posts
with your friends and colleagues. And follow us on Facebook and Twitter!Beyond
Nuclear is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization. Donations are tax-deductible.
Copyright © 2013. All Rights Reserved.
Beyond Nuclear, 7304 Carroll Avenue,
#182, Takoma Park, MD 20912
Sent by linda@beyondnuclear.org
in collaboration with
Linda Pentz Gunter is the curator and editor of Beyond
Nuclear International and the international specialist at Beyond Nuclear. Tel:
301.455.5655 (cell). Beyond Nuclear is a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership
organization located at 7304 Carroll Avenue, #182, Takoma Park, MD 20912.
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Donations can be sent to
Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206,
Baltimore, MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at]
comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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