Between 1945 and 1963, the United States conducted 235 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific Ocean and the Southwestern U.S.
In appreciation of the approximately 250,000 American service men and women who witnessed and participated in these tests, President Ronald Reagan designated July 16, 1983 as National Atomic Veterans Day.
Read the full text of H. RES. 377
Several states have declared July 16, National Atomic Veterans Day. Does your state?
(Image: Beth Flippen Scheel Papers, 1946. Hoover Institution Archives. American Red Cross worker, Kwajalein Atoll, 1946.)
For an eyewitness account of Operation Crossroads 1946, see Operation Crossroads, Lest We Forget! An Eyewitness Account by William L. McGee.
