The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, July 12, 1946 Page: 8 of 10
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THE WINKLER COUNTY NEWS
Page Eight
Friday, July 12,1946
DIRECT FROM BIKINI:
DR. A. 0. THOMAS
PINKERTON STUDIO
MONAHANS, TEXAS
PHONE 177
BOX 542
9 A.M. to 5 P.M.
1
9
—PHOTOGRAPHIC COPIES-
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§3338 8
8
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G. C. Olsen
sssesseses
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR
AT LAW
Stnd Money Order or Check (thus saving C.O.D. Charges)
P. O. BOX 175
PHONE 191
K&K SALES COMPANY
KERMIT, TEXAS
A
WE TAKE ORDERS FOR
AUTO GLASS
A
I
Automobile and
Station
1
PHONE 171
What About O P A
WANTED
and Our Price Policy?
0
N
Applications for Sales Ladies
and Stock Work
I
Apply J. C. Sewell
G, F. Wacker Store No. 2
Rear Entrance
Next Door to L-B Drug
S
♦
i
of Reeves County
109th Judicial District of Texas
SOLICITS YOUR VOTE
and SUPPORT
for
“$
District
e
Attorney
i
Precision Marked Operations Crossroads
By PAUL FELTUS
★
1 '
Bone & Driver Hdw
FURNITURE
J
L@9K! ELECTRIC IRONS
and ventilator glass
Comer Service
Truck Windshield,
door, backs, quarter
Kermit Post
Veterans of
Foreign Wars
MEETS SECOND AND
FOURTH MONDAYS
AT 8 P.M. AT THE
ODD FELLOWS HALL
300 Block E. Austin
Time tells on a man . . . espe-
cially a good time.
When “Dave’s Dream” took to
the dawn sky on Kwajalein Atoll,
the long-planned and vast machin-
ery of the Army Air Forces role
in Operations Crossroads began to
move with the precision of a great
war mission.
The operation had been planned,
but this time there was a new
thrill of anticipation for they were
dealing with the force of atomic
• Cool, Easy-Grip Handle.'
• Convenient Size—weight 4% lbs.
• Complete with Detachable Cord.
• Suitable for All Types of Ironing.
• Attractive, Durable Chrome
Finish.
Portrait and Commercial Photographs
PHOTO FINISHING
CAMERAS AND PHOTOGRAPHIC SUPPLIES
-
L I
LET US ADVISE YOU ABOUT YOUR
INSURANCE
534 Pittsburg Life Bldg. Dept. E K
Pittsburgh 22, Pa.
Elect a Young, Experienced Lawyer
As Your District Attorney
(Pol. Adv.)
HUMBLE PRODUCTS
Esso and 997 Oils
Immediate Delivery!
Write Name and Address Plainly
OPTOMETRIST
ACROSS STREET FROM NEW CITY HALL
PR
Quick-Way Service
STATION
“WE
KEEP
’EM
SMILING”
The Very Best Humble Gasoline
Sold in a Very Humble Way
Expert Wash and Grease Service
Tires Repaired While You Wait
S. H. (Shell) Cruncleton, Owner
Phone 9503 Kermit
J. H. Starley
We want the people of Kermit to know that it has
always been our policy to establish only a fair list
price on all merchandise. We do not, above all
things, want to endanger our good will in this
community for a few extra dollars. We are here
to stay.
Elmer’s Radio-Electrical Service
One Block West of Grade School
Tune in on us for expert service! We
have a new shipment of new heating
elements for your iron. If you are
having iron trouble, see us.
All Work Guaranteed
J
WORLD WAR II VETERAN
*
To All Philco Radio and Refrigerator Dealers:
We received today the following telegram from
Philco Headquarters:
“Removal of OPA has caused endless confusion
and we have already found some dealers arbitrar-
ily increasing prices. This is the most critical
period in our history and we want our dealers and
distributors to hold the line and maintain our
present prices. Any dealers who do not control
their prices are to have their allocations of radios
and refrigerators automatically held up. The
main thing to do is to hold the line on prices for
the time being. We know we can count on your
co-operation.
)
1:
d
She isn’t a dumb girl if she
turns a deaf ear to a blind date.
CARTER INSURANCE & REAL
ESTATE
PHONE 177, KERMIT, TEXAS
ACROSS FROM N EW CITY HALL
i
j
Washington must have had a
wonderful memory for people to
build a monument to it.
An Eye Witness Account
Of Atomic Bomb Blast!
88
38888882
6U8875
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8
I
The way some people boast of
their ancestors you’d think they
were first-class passengers on
Noah’s Ark, or HAD a boat of
their own.
"M-d
2
I
—9
9
A TERRIFIC VALUE
$,.50 Add 354
•9 for postage
ABOARD USS APPALACHIAN,
OPERATIONS CROSSROADS.-
From a military standpoint the ex-
plosion of the fourth atomic bomb
was a huge success but as a spec-
tacle worth traveling 8,000 miles to
see it did not live up to its advance
billing. From the standpoint of ef-
ficiency and precision the plutonium
bomb was dropped squarely in the
target area. The advance weather
predictions held true. It was
dropped on time to the second. The
air drones were sent through the
cloud area and shepherded back by
their mother ships. The boat drones
were sent into the area of radio
activity and brought back via radio
control. The cameras clicked and
the instruments built especially to
measure the results of the blast
worked.
But to those of us here aboard
the Appalachian, who had been ori-
entated and lectured day after day
for the past two weeks, who had
interviewed scientists and scien-
tific writers, the bomb bur and
। the atomic cloud were a disappoint-
ment.
The recapitulation of the damage
showed the troop transports Giliom
and Carlisle sunk; the destroyer
Lampson capsized; heavy damage
was done to the submarine Skate,
the light cruiser Pensacola, the car-
rier Independence, the Jap cruiser
Sakawa, and the German pocket
battleship Prinz Eugen. Light to
’ negligible damage was caused on
the Jap battleship Nagata, the bat-
tleship Nevada, the oiler No. 160
and LCM No. 1. Small fires were
started and later extinguished on
the destroyer Wilson, the Pensacola,
the transport Briscoe, the Nevada,
the carrier Saratoga and transports
Niagara, Bladen, Banta, Butte,
Cortland,. Bracken and Faun and
the battleship New York. Heaviest
damage was caused on the Inde-
pendence and the fire which burst
into flames on her stern was more
dramatic to watch than the bomb
burst insofar as this writer was con-
cerned.
Because the atomic cloud did not
reach the heights achieved in previ-
ous drops was not considered as
reflection upon the efficiency of the
bomb. Reasons for the relatively
low coud given were that water ab-
sorbe much of the heat energy and
the difference in atmospheric struc-
ture caused a slower rise.
It may be that those of us who
stood along the starboard rail of
the Appalachian were expecting too
much. We had been led to be-
lieve from many sources to exct
drama and adventure and excite-
ment. Let me assure you there
was no drama and certainly no ex-
citement. I confess that as I pulled
the polarized plastic goggles over
my eyes as we heard the signal
“bomb away” I did feel excited
and tense as I awaited the blast.
It came as I saw it, well above
the horizon, a huge orange ball.
It might have been a fireworks
display on the Fourth of July, al-
though not near so dazzling. I
watched the cloud appearing like
nothing more than a huge cherry
ice cream soda. Cream white on
the surface but deep inside the
hues were pink and rose, and it
boiled and seethed up through a
cumulous natural cloud which hid
it from our view. I felt a slight “pft”
in my ears but felt no heat blast.
Seconds later the sound of detona-
tion came like a distant peal or
roll of thunder that’s all, but then
we were 18 miles away.
Ten minutes after the blast the
cloud had mushroomed up to a
height of 26,000 feet and was ap-
proximately 12,000 feet across the
r
top. The trade winds soon broke
it up and it was pushed westward
where it gradually leveled off and
dispersed as our ship steamed slow-
ly along the seaward side of Bikini
island.
We could see the ghost fleet P
the lagoon through our binoculars. (
Fire amidship showed on the Sa.,
toga. The Salt Lake City w::
ablaze. There appeared to be #
small fire aboard the Nevada. These
fires made a smoke haze over the
lagoon, but it soon cleared away and
as I look toward the lagoon now
there is little indication of a fir-
anywhere.
We are changing course now, fol-
lowing the Mt. McKinley, Admiral ;
Blandy’s flagship, apparently with
the intention of entering the lagoon, i
Television receiving sets in the !
ward room of the Appalachian reg
istered the blast from cameras in
stalled on the island, then they went
out of commission.
The carrier Independence likely
suffered more damage than any oth-
er capital ship to its superstruc-
ture and all planes which were atop
its flight deck were carried away
There was superficial or superstruc-
ture damage to other ships of the
73 in the target fleet but to me the
pathos of the thing was emphasized
when I saw the sturdy masts of the
old Nevada brilliant in its orang*
paint, standing there still staunch
and true despite the atomic bomb.
There was no wind, no waves an
no thunderstorm. No trees were
damaged on the island. There was
no tidal wave and no earthquake.
In fairness there was no prediction
from the navy or army officials that
any of these things might happen.
The navy frankly said they didn’t
know what would happen. These
wild predictions were made by sci-
entists or scientific writers. Also,
in all fairness to the officers of joint
task force No. 1, the bomb, which
looked to small, to the lay writers,
may actually have been big.
Scientifically of course there, can
be no adequate judgment of the re-
-suits until the instruments have
been read, the damage on the va-
rious ships actually determined and
measured. In the light of the ob-
jectives, the navy and the army had
in mind the actual effect of the
bomb on naval construction, navy
and army material, armament, ord-
nance and other equipment.
Admiral Blandy, commander of
the task force, issued a statement
in which he said he was highly
pleased with the whole operation;
with the bomb drop and with the ef-
ficiency of the bomb. There are sev-
eral aboard the ship who saw the
Nagasaki bomb drop and the drop
at Los Alamos, N. M. They de-
clared this bomb appeared to be
smaller, judging from the flash and
the atomic cloud which in the case
of Nagasaki soared to a height ci
about 55,000 feet.
There is no doubt that the force of
this terrible energy is like notheg i
•ver known on earth before but !
the distances out here are so grs: :
that the energy was dispersed ana
dissipated over a vast area. For
instance, at Nagasaki the area et
total bomb damage was in six
square miles, or an area of about a
mile and a half radius, while the
distance of the Nevada from the
shore of Bikini lagoon was about
three miles. And the lagoon itself :3
10 miles across and 25 miles long.
It must also be remembered that
as this story is written for trans-
mission in time to get it to you
there has been no actual assessment
of the real damage. There may be
more as we enter the lagoon and
can visually assay the damage.
energy.
The schedule for every one of the
hundreds of planes and ships had
been timed to the second. Evers
body knew just what to do as the
command plane headed for the tar-
get area of Bikini lagoon.
The vast network of communica-
tions was set in motion. The weatn-
er man had said, “This is the day,
and General Ramey had said, "Let,
Go.” Then the planes began t3
roll.
I
Ao
Damage from the atomic bomb test blast is shown here as the
light carrier USS Independence is pictured burning shortly after
bomb explosion.
By WALTER A. SHEAD
WNU Washington Correspondent.
MOVING and STORAGE
Serving New Mexico, Texas, Arizona
California, Colorado, Kansas, Oklaho-
ma and Louisiana.
—Weekly Trips To California
ROCKY FORD MOVING VANS
Bonded and Insured
Phone 400 Midland, Texas Box 401
i 1 *
Life — Accident
Compensation — Liability
Automobile — Burglary
Plate Glass — Windstorm
Fire
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Williams, Nev H. The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, July 12, 1946, newspaper, July 12, 1946; Kermit, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1457721/m1/8/: accessed June 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Winkler County Library.