SPLENDOUR OF THE MIGHTY
It is said that, upon witnessing the detonation of the first atomic bomb, Robert J. Oppenheimer recited the Bhagavad Gita. He uttered the now infamous line, "Now, I am become death, destroyer of worlds". A little earlier in the Bhagavad Gita, is another relevant line. Maybe, Oppenheimer drew inspiration from it as well. It reads, "If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once in the sky, that would be the splendour of the mighty One".
Wendover is roughly 120 miles west of Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a border town. Technically, the town is cut in half. West Wendover, Nevada and Wendover, Utah. West Wendover, Nevada boasts a handful of casinos, which are the tent poles of the community's economy. Wendover, Utah is home to the Wendover Airfield. Formerly, the Wendover Army Air Base. Nicknamed "Kingman", established in 1941, the base would eventually be selected by The Manhattan Project to be the test site for the 509th composite group. The group that would eventually fly the "Enola Gay" and "Bockscar" over Japan, dropping the bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, forever changing the world. While the first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico at the Trinity Site. The soldiers at "Kingman" learned to fly their bombers with payloads of specific size and weight. So, when the eventful call would come there would be no mistakes, seeing as the consequences were so great. The Enola Gay and Bockscar would work with what were called "Test Shapes", the bomb shells that would later become "Little Boy" and "Fat Man". These weapons were tested on the desolate terrains just outside Wendover before they were unleashed on the people of Japan. Today the area is still used for weapons testing. Just south of Wendover is a continuation of Hill Air Force Base. This is where F-22 pilots learn their trade today.
Over the course of the last 18 months, I have been visiting Wendover to document the town and its role in our nation's nuclear weapons history.
This work was featured on Popular Mechanics.
The bomb pit that was used to load nuclear test shapes on to the Enola Gay.
A makeshift Christmas tree stands year long on a butte above Wendover, Utah. The Enola Gay hanger looms in the distance.
Bomb pit #2
The Enola Gay hanger.
Tourists gather around bomb pit #1.
Wendover Army Air Base barrack.
Wendover Army Air Base barracks.
Wendover Army Air Base Weapons storage facilities.
Wendover Army Air Base Weapons storage facilities.
Door to weapons storage facility.
Former weapons storage facility.
Color Guard, C/SAr Cole Snow for the Wendover, 4th of July parade.
Color Guard for the Wendover, 4th of July parade.
Concrete block would hold nuclear "test shapes".
Decommissioned bomb pieces.
Border of Wendover Airfield and Hill AFB weapons testing range.
Wendover cemetary.
Views from Wendover, UT.
A man rests outside of a West Wendover, Nevada casino.
Statue of the Virgin Mary, San Felipe Catholic Church. Wendover UT.
Piled rocks in front of a locals home, walking distance from the Enola Gay hanger.
West Wendover, NV
Wendover locals enjoy the 4th of July fireworks show on 3 Mile Hill.