“Aboard the USS Fall River (CA-131), Bikini Atoll, 5 Jul 1946 – Given the serious nature of Test Able on 1 July, there were no Fourth of July fireworks at Bikini. However, the radio room was abuzz with news about a different type of explosion. “On 5 July in Paris, the two-piece bikini swimsuit was…
Bikini Atoll, 24 June 1946 – All men not required below deck were ordered on deck for a dress rehearsal for Test Able on 1 July, the first postwar bomb dropped from the air since Hiroshima and Nagasaki the year before. The rehearsal was code-named Queen Day. There would be a similar dress rehearsal a…
Dress Rehearsal for a Bomb Before Tests Able and Baker, there was a full dress rehearsal, each with its own code name: Queen Day, 24 June, for Able; William Day, 19 July, for Baker. Officers and crew aboard the USS Fall River (CA-131) were given the following orders: Bill McGee’s Letter Home (Maybe His Last)…
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On July 16, 1945, the world’s first detonation of a nuclear bomb was conducted by the United States on the plains of the Alamogordo Bombing Range 210 miles south of Los Alamos, New Mexico. Code name: TRINITY. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan designated July 16 as National Atomic Veterans’ Day, “a day dedicated to those…
OPPENHEIMER WINNER OF FIVE GOLDEN GLOBES IN THE MOTION PICTURE CATEGORY Best Drama Best Director – Christopher Nolan Best Performance by an Actor – Cillian Murphy Best Performance by a Supporting Actor – Robert Downey Jr Best Original Score – Ludwig Göransson AFTER TRINITY, HIROSHIMA, AND NAGASAKI, THE COUNTDOWN TO CROSSROADS BEGAN. OPERATION CROSSROADS AT…
British Movietone Moment – Test Able, 1 July 1946 (4:03) Operation Crossroads – Able and Baker Day Tests 1946 (26:36) Project Crossroads – Nuclear Test Film 1946 (42:33)
NBC radio reports live from Test Baker, 25 July 1946. Run time 14:30. (Courtesy of Hoover Archives) 10 Facts You May Not Know About Operation Crossroads Fact 8 Aboard the USS Fall River (CA-131), Bikini Lagoon, 25 Jul 1946, Test Baker – At 0835 on 25 July by the Bikini calendar (24 July in…
10 Facts You May Not Know About Operation Crossroads Fact 10 From 1947 to 1969, a secret group of atomic cinematographers filmed 6,500 nuclear tests in the Pacific and Nevada for the U.S. Government. In October 1997, Bill and Sandra McGee were invited to the American Film Institute in Hollywood for the 50th anniversary…
The heavy cruiser USS Fall River (CA-131) was the Target Vessel Control Ship at Operation Crossroads, the first post-war atomic bomb tests at Bikini in the Marshall Islands in July 1946. The Fall River was responsible for positioning the 95 target vessels in the Bikini Lagoon for the Able and Baker bomb blasts, the first from…
Publishers Weekly BookLife shines its November 2020 Indie Spotlight on the contributions of veterans with a roundup of 15 books on military history, including… For all 15 books, click Publishers Weekly BookLife November 2020
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…
July 1, 2017 – Seventy-one years to the day after the Test Able atomic bomb test at the Bikini Atoll, former USS Fall River shipmates Bill McGee and Paul Dowling reconnected by telephone, thanks to Paul Dowling’s daughter, Paula. “My dad was at Operation CROSSROADS in 1946,” wrote Paula in an email to Bill in…
Just in from KTVU Fox 2 (the broadcast station) … The atomic veterans story, which Bill was interviewed for in May, will air on Thursday, June 29, on KTVU Fox 2, in the 5-6 pm news hour. Set your DVRs… (Note: We have not seen the edited version.)
April 5, 2017 – Bill had a nice visit with former Fall River shipmate, Bob “Chris” Chrisman. In 1946, Chris and Bill did duty on the heavy cruiser USS Fall River (CA-131) at Operation Crossroads, the first postwar atomic bomb tests at Bikini in July 1946. Chris had just celebrated his 94th and his son, Rob,…
January 25, 2017 Dear Bill, I read your book, Operation Crossroads – Lest We Forget! stem to stern the same day it arrived. It sure brought back memories and some I didn’t know about, like the beer shack and the warm beer. I have a grandson who did a lot of homework on the…
January 2, 2017 Dear Mr. McGee: I had been following with keen interest your five-part series in the U.S. Navy Cruiser Sailors Association magazine about the USS Fall River (CA-131) and its participation in Operation CROSSROADS in 1946. We both came aboard the new heavy cruiser in January 1946 in Norfolk, Virginia—I was a Quartermaster,…
A big thank-you across the Atlantic to Mr. Mark Barnes for his review of Operation Crossroads – Lest We Forget! Read the full review here WAR HISTORY ONLINE … Available on Amazon
Just in … Review by PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Las Vegas, Nevada, September 14, 2016 – The National Association of Atomic Veterans (NAAV) held their annual convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAAV was founded in 1979 for the purpose of assisting America’s atomic veterans secure proof of their exposure to ionizing radiation while on active duty. The convention hotel was located within walking distance…