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00:00:00,868 --> 00:00:02,034
Tonight...
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00:00:02,103 --> 00:00:03,969
MAN:
The warhead
on top of the Titan II
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00:00:04,038 --> 00:00:05,971
was three times as powerful
4
00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:08,774
as all the bombs used
in the Second World War.
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00:00:08,843 --> 00:00:11,076
MAN:
Working on a weapon
of mass destruction,
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00:00:11,145 --> 00:00:13,746
you're counting on everything
to work perfect all the time,
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00:00:13,814 --> 00:00:15,881
and things just don't work
perfect all the time.
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00:00:17,518 --> 00:00:20,652
"Command and Control,"
on American Experience.
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00:00:23,491 --> 00:00:25,824
♪ ♪
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NASA ANNOUNCER:
Lift-off, the clock is running.
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00:00:48,015 --> 00:00:50,049
RINGSIDE ANNOUNCER:
Schmeling is down!
12
00:01:18,646 --> 00:01:21,914
(indistinct voices on radio)
13
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MAN (on radio):
Contact DCA, you read?
14
00:01:39,633 --> 00:01:41,800
MAN 2:
Roger, loud and clear.
15
00:01:47,208 --> 00:01:49,208
MAN 2:
Roger, station 7,
prepare for pressurization
16
00:01:49,276 --> 00:01:50,676
of stage 2 oxidizer.
17
00:01:50,744 --> 00:01:52,644
MAN 3:
Roger.
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00:02:00,221 --> 00:02:03,222
(hissing as suits pressurized)
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00:02:08,629 --> 00:02:12,030
MAN:
I was fairly new to working
out on the missile sites.
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00:02:16,337 --> 00:02:17,703
At the age of 19, you know,
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you've got that "no fear"
mentality.
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00:02:19,974 --> 00:02:23,075
MAN (on radio):
WCB, we got a transient read
on 54...
23
00:02:28,516 --> 00:02:31,116
(hatch opening and hissing)
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00:02:33,954 --> 00:02:35,287
MAN:
Right above us
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00:02:35,356 --> 00:02:38,023
was a nine-megaton
thermonuclear warhead.
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00:02:41,162 --> 00:02:43,128
To see the magnitude
of that weapon
27
00:02:43,197 --> 00:02:46,732
within ten feet from you,
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it was a monster
waiting to go off.
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00:02:53,174 --> 00:02:57,976
When you think about working
on a weapon of mass destruction,
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00:02:58,045 --> 00:03:00,812
you're counting on everything
to work perfect all the time,
31
00:03:00,881 --> 00:03:04,917
and things just don't work
perfect all the time.
32
00:03:11,025 --> 00:03:12,057
(piece hits floor)
33
00:03:12,126 --> 00:03:14,893
(alarms beeping)
34
00:03:14,962 --> 00:03:18,397
(urgent voices on radio)
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00:03:18,465 --> 00:03:20,799
MAN 2:
The first thing
that my commander heard
36
00:03:20,868 --> 00:03:22,301
are the words, "Uh-oh."
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MAN 3:
The fuel vapors in the silo
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00:03:25,339 --> 00:03:27,172
are just climbing and climbing
and climbing.
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MAN 1:
We need to get the hell out
of this complex
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00:03:30,744 --> 00:03:34,179
because this thing's
going to blow up.
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MAN 4:
Do we let the world know?
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00:03:38,219 --> 00:03:44,189
Do I run out and say, "We got
a potential nuclear explosion"?
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What do you do?
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00:04:00,441 --> 00:04:03,508
(men chatting)
45
00:04:10,618 --> 00:04:13,552
Complex 3-1 has phase 14
missile age inspection.
46
00:04:13,621 --> 00:04:17,556
Complex 3-2, instructor crew
scheduled for...
47
00:04:17,625 --> 00:04:19,124
That day, September 18,
48
00:04:19,193 --> 00:04:22,160
it was basically five days
before my 24th birthday.
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00:04:22,229 --> 00:04:26,298
So I was 23.
50
00:04:26,367 --> 00:04:28,900
Lieutenant Childers was 24,
was the deputy.
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00:04:33,540 --> 00:04:35,374
When we went on alert
in a Titan system,
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we were on alert for 24 hours.
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00:04:37,645 --> 00:04:39,478
That's what a tour was,
24 hours.
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00:04:42,650 --> 00:04:45,384
We had 18 silos spread
all the way out
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00:04:45,452 --> 00:04:48,053
to the eastern corner
of Arkansas.
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00:04:49,890 --> 00:04:52,090
We went to a complex
where there was supposed to be
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00:04:52,159 --> 00:04:56,695
very little maintenance,
and that was 4-7.
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00:04:58,632 --> 00:05:00,966
We went up the main highway
to a certain point,
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00:05:01,035 --> 00:05:02,768
and then you had to pull off
of the highway
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00:05:02,836 --> 00:05:04,469
onto much smaller roads.
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00:05:06,006 --> 00:05:08,607
Until you came over
a particular rise,
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00:05:08,676 --> 00:05:12,244
you wouldn't even know that
the missile complex was there.
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00:05:17,217 --> 00:05:19,551
HOLDER:
As we drove up
to missile complex 4-7,
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00:05:19,620 --> 00:05:22,087
it's very unassuming.
65
00:05:24,692 --> 00:05:26,658
There's not a lot there.
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00:05:26,727 --> 00:05:31,596
There's this huge door
and there are some antennas.
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00:05:31,665 --> 00:05:36,902
However, underneath that door
was the most powerful warhead
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00:05:36,970 --> 00:05:39,838
that the U.S. has ever operated.
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00:05:46,146 --> 00:05:48,613
CHILDERS:
Before you left the base,
they gave you some codes
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00:05:48,682 --> 00:05:52,517
that gave you access
to the complex.
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00:05:52,586 --> 00:05:54,353
MAN (on intercom):
MCC, what is your ident code?
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00:05:54,421 --> 00:05:57,456
MAN:
Ident code is
alpha-niner-victor...
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00:05:57,524 --> 00:05:59,758
CHILDERS:
You would read the code
to the commander
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00:05:59,827 --> 00:06:01,426
and then you would
take a lighter,
75
00:06:01,495 --> 00:06:04,663
set the codes on fire,
and drop them down into a box
76
00:06:04,732 --> 00:06:06,965
so they would burn up and no one
else could use those codes.
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00:06:09,937 --> 00:06:11,103
(door buzzes)
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00:06:15,709 --> 00:06:19,878
All four of the crewmembers went
down three flights of stairs.
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00:06:23,250 --> 00:06:25,817
At the bottom of that,
you got to a blast door.
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00:06:27,755 --> 00:06:29,221
(hissing and unlatching)
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00:06:30,758 --> 00:06:34,126
There were a series of blast
doors: 6, 7, 8, and 9.
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00:06:38,031 --> 00:06:39,965
So you'd walk through this,
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00:06:40,033 --> 00:06:42,401
and you'd step
into the middle level
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of the launch control center,
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00:06:45,105 --> 00:06:46,738
with all of the equipment
that you needed
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00:06:46,807 --> 00:06:49,474
to maintain the missile.
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00:06:54,715 --> 00:06:57,082
When we took charge
of a complex,
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00:06:57,151 --> 00:07:00,419
that meant that we owned
that missile
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00:07:00,487 --> 00:07:02,854
until the next crew came out.
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00:07:02,923 --> 00:07:05,490
So if we went to war,
we were prepared
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00:07:05,559 --> 00:07:08,226
to launch
those weapons on command.
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00:07:08,295 --> 00:07:10,762
MAN:
Apps power, silo soft,
guidance go.
93
00:07:10,831 --> 00:07:12,597
We're standing by
for fire engine.
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00:07:14,935 --> 00:07:16,835
We never knew
what our specific targets were,
95
00:07:16,904 --> 00:07:18,403
because you didn't really
want to know
96
00:07:18,472 --> 00:07:20,172
who you were going to destroy.
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00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,174
MAN:
Turning on my command,
everybody, turn keys.
98
00:07:22,242 --> 00:07:23,241
On the word "keys,"
we will turn.
99
00:07:23,310 --> 00:07:24,242
Is the crew ready?
100
00:07:24,311 --> 00:07:25,343
Your B-Man?
101
00:07:25,412 --> 00:07:26,344
MAN 2:
B-Man's Ready.
102
00:07:26,413 --> 00:07:27,345
MAN 1:
MFT?
103
00:07:27,414 --> 00:07:28,346
MAN 3:
MFT ready.
104
00:07:28,415 --> 00:07:29,347
MAN 1:
Deputy?
105
00:07:29,416 --> 00:07:30,515
MAN 4:
Deputy ready.
106
00:07:30,584 --> 00:07:32,584
MAN 1:
Crew is ready-- ready?
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00:07:32,653 --> 00:07:35,086
CHILDERS:
You had to be prepared to
destroy an entire civilization,
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and we were trained on that.
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I still today refer to myself
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00:07:38,325 --> 00:07:40,926
and other missileers
as crew dogs.
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00:07:40,994 --> 00:07:45,464
You had to almost be rote
in your actions
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00:07:45,532 --> 00:07:46,698
and not question the fact
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00:07:46,767 --> 00:07:49,401
that you were going to destroy
an entire civilization
114
00:07:49,470 --> 00:07:51,069
if you had to launch
those ICBMS.
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00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,774
As heartless as it sounds,
I never had a problem with it.
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00:07:55,843 --> 00:07:57,776
I was doing it for my country,
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00:07:57,845 --> 00:07:59,644
I was doing it
to protect my country.
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00:07:59,713 --> 00:08:01,513
The whole reason I sat out there
119
00:08:01,582 --> 00:08:04,015
was to prevent that
kind of thing from happening.
120
00:08:04,084 --> 00:08:05,750
That's what deterrence
was about.
121
00:08:05,819 --> 00:08:07,752
But deterrence is worthless
122
00:08:07,821 --> 00:08:10,555
if you don't demonstrate that
you're willing to do it, too,
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00:08:10,624 --> 00:08:12,324
and we always had to demonstrate
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00:08:12,392 --> 00:08:15,827
that I would walk out there
and turn those keys in a second
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00:08:15,896 --> 00:08:18,964
and I would kill ten million
people and never hesitate.
126
00:08:37,351 --> 00:08:39,050
Every time I went
onto a complex,
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00:08:39,119 --> 00:08:43,121
every time I saw
a Titan II missile,
128
00:08:43,190 --> 00:08:45,757
I had the same sense
of excitement.
129
00:08:57,104 --> 00:08:58,703
You couldn't see the warhead
from the bottom
130
00:08:58,772 --> 00:09:00,405
because you were
eight stories down,
131
00:09:00,474 --> 00:09:04,209
and the cone of the warhead
disappeared off in the distance.
132
00:09:11,952 --> 00:09:13,585
The warhead on top
of the Titan II
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00:09:13,654 --> 00:09:16,288
was three times as powerful
as all the bombs
134
00:09:16,356 --> 00:09:19,424
used by all of the armies
in the Second World War,
135
00:09:19,493 --> 00:09:21,927
including both the atomic bombs.
136
00:09:26,233 --> 00:09:29,234
When the crewmembers
successfully turned the keys,
137
00:09:29,303 --> 00:09:33,838
the 330,000-pound missile would
lift up out of the silo.
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00:09:37,244 --> 00:09:41,479
HOLDER:
And it would head out for about
five minutes of powered flight
139
00:09:41,548 --> 00:09:44,649
to the edge of space,
140
00:09:44,718 --> 00:09:47,986
fly for another 20 minutes,
141
00:09:48,055 --> 00:09:50,422
and hit its target
halfway around the world.
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00:10:01,068 --> 00:10:02,701
CHILDERS:
Before September 18,
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00:10:02,769 --> 00:10:03,969
the only warheads
that we thought
144
00:10:04,037 --> 00:10:06,304
would go off
in the United States
145
00:10:06,373 --> 00:10:09,608
would be Soviet warheads.
146
00:10:09,676 --> 00:10:12,611
We never considered
that our own warheads
147
00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:15,547
could detonate
on our own continent.
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00:10:38,805 --> 00:10:41,940
MAN:
From the very beginning
of the atomic age,
149
00:10:42,009 --> 00:10:45,744
there has been a sense
of this immense power
150
00:10:45,812 --> 00:10:49,614
just being on the verge
of slipping out of our control.
151
00:10:52,786 --> 00:10:57,188
The world's first nuclear device
was fully assembled
152
00:10:57,257 --> 00:11:00,225
in a small tent
in the middle of the desert.
153
00:11:04,431 --> 00:11:07,565
Nobody was sure
what would happen
154
00:11:07,634 --> 00:11:10,602
when this thing would detonate.
155
00:11:12,639 --> 00:11:14,072
They were even concernrned
156
00:11:14,141 --> 00:11:17,242
that when the first nuclear
device detonated,
157
00:11:17,310 --> 00:11:21,413
the Earth's atmosphere
would catch on fire
158
00:11:21,481 --> 00:11:26,918
and every single living thing
on Earth would die.
159
00:11:26,987 --> 00:11:30,221
And yet they did the test
anyway.
160
00:11:30,290 --> 00:11:33,625
(explosion roars and echoes)
161
00:11:45,472 --> 00:11:47,072
After the war ended,
162
00:11:47,140 --> 00:11:50,775
an engineering section
of the nuclear weapons program
163
00:11:50,844 --> 00:11:54,446
became known
as the Sandia Laboratory,
164
00:11:54,514 --> 00:11:59,451
and Sandia became America's
first atomic bomb factory.
165
00:12:03,223 --> 00:12:07,859
MAN:
I realized if I joined Sandia,
I would be working
166
00:12:07,928 --> 00:12:12,597
on atomic bombs,
and that was okay with me.
167
00:12:12,666 --> 00:12:19,370
We were driven by the fear
of the Soviet Union.
168
00:12:19,439 --> 00:12:24,008
You couldn't talk about what you
did outside of the tech area,
169
00:12:24,077 --> 00:12:26,711
but you could feel a sense of,
170
00:12:26,780 --> 00:12:30,582
"This is the number one
national priority."
171
00:12:33,153 --> 00:12:37,021
SCHLOSSER:
The early atomic bombs
were essentially handmade,
172
00:12:37,090 --> 00:12:40,992
and if you wanted to use one,
it would take days
173
00:12:41,061 --> 00:12:45,663
for a team of 20 or 30 people
to put it together.
174
00:12:47,834 --> 00:12:49,768
My computer was a slide rule.
175
00:12:49,836 --> 00:12:51,436
You ever seen a slide rule?
176
00:12:51,505 --> 00:12:52,470
Anybody?
177
00:12:55,075 --> 00:12:59,010
We pressed and pressed
to improve the early product
178
00:12:59,079 --> 00:13:03,815
to make it smaller
and more deadly.
179
00:13:03,884 --> 00:13:07,986
Anything we conceived of
the military wanted,
180
00:13:08,054 --> 00:13:10,455
and money was free.
181
00:13:12,025 --> 00:13:14,092
SCHLOSSER:
As the technology improved,
182
00:13:14,161 --> 00:13:18,196
as the number of nuclear weapons
in our arsenal increased,
183
00:13:18,265 --> 00:13:24,102
there were soon assembly lines
for making nuclear weapons.
184
00:13:24,171 --> 00:13:28,139
We had bombers in the air
at all times
185
00:13:28,208 --> 00:13:31,476
loaded with nuclear weapons.
186
00:13:31,545 --> 00:13:33,178
We had submarines
that had missiles
187
00:13:33,246 --> 00:13:36,614
carrying nuclear warheads.
188
00:13:36,683 --> 00:13:39,651
It was feared that the Soviets
189
00:13:39,719 --> 00:13:41,820
would have far more missiles
than the United States,
190
00:13:41,888 --> 00:13:45,623
so we went on a huge
missile-building binge.
191
00:13:52,732 --> 00:13:55,466
At one point, we only thought
we needed
192
00:13:55,535 --> 00:13:57,101
50 to 200 nuclear weapons
193
00:13:57,170 --> 00:14:01,005
to completely annihilate
the Soviet Union,
194
00:14:01,074 --> 00:14:06,544
and by the mid-1960s,
we had 32,000 nuclear weapons.
195
00:14:10,617 --> 00:14:12,884
But every one of those weapons
you build
196
00:14:12,953 --> 00:14:16,721
not only threatens your enemy,
but poses a threat to yourself.
197
00:14:35,475 --> 00:14:36,474
MAN:
One more time, ready?
198
00:14:36,543 --> 00:14:38,009
Launch verification...
199
00:14:38,078 --> 00:14:41,679
(men running launch drill)
200
00:14:48,722 --> 00:14:50,288
CHILDERS:
September 18
201
00:14:50,357 --> 00:14:52,790
was one of those days
where nothing was going
202
00:14:52,859 --> 00:14:54,359
the way it was supposed to go.
203
00:14:54,427 --> 00:14:56,494
MAN:
Step one, power on/off switch:
204
00:14:56,563 --> 00:14:58,363
on.
205
00:14:58,431 --> 00:15:00,198
CHILDERS:
What we did every day is
206
00:15:00,267 --> 00:15:03,501
we went through a daily shift
verification checklist.
207
00:15:03,570 --> 00:15:05,670
We had a whole book
full of checklists,
208
00:15:05,739 --> 00:15:07,505
and we lived by checklists.
209
00:15:07,574 --> 00:15:11,175
MAN:
On/off rotary switch: on.
210
00:15:11,244 --> 00:15:15,713
HOLDER:
That day, September 18,
we find out
211
00:15:15,782 --> 00:15:19,617
that we're going to actually
have some major maintenance
212
00:15:19,686 --> 00:15:23,621
because they have a problem
with the oxidizer tank,
213
00:15:23,690 --> 00:15:26,357
that the pressure
is a little bit low.
214
00:15:30,063 --> 00:15:33,998
CHILDERS:
Each stage of the missile
had two separate tanks.
215
00:15:34,067 --> 00:15:36,067
One was filled with fuel
216
00:15:36,136 --> 00:15:39,170
and the other was filled
with oxidizer.
217
00:15:39,239 --> 00:15:41,472
HOLDER:
All you got to do
is mix those two fuels
218
00:15:41,541 --> 00:15:44,342
and you're going to have
an explosion.
219
00:15:44,411 --> 00:15:48,880
We called back to base.
220
00:15:48,949 --> 00:15:51,916
They said, "We have
a maintenance team coming out."
221
00:15:51,985 --> 00:15:57,822
A specialized unit,
they called them the PTS team.
222
00:16:06,266 --> 00:16:08,232
MAN:
The difference
between PTS people
223
00:16:08,301 --> 00:16:11,369
and any other person
on a missile site is,
224
00:16:11,438 --> 00:16:18,443
we get to play with fuel
and oxidizer, and they don't.
225
00:16:19,980 --> 00:16:21,913
I loved PTS.
226
00:16:21,982 --> 00:16:24,382
I loved my job.
227
00:16:24,451 --> 00:16:27,719
My major goal at that time
was to be a PTS team chief,
228
00:16:27,787 --> 00:16:31,255
and be the best PTS team chief
ever.
229
00:16:33,693 --> 00:16:37,428
MAN:
When I arrived
at Little Rock Air Force Base,
230
00:16:37,497 --> 00:16:39,130
I would have been 19, yeah.
231
00:16:39,199 --> 00:16:40,298
Ah, no, 18.
232
00:16:40,367 --> 00:16:41,933
My birthday is in March,
233
00:16:42,002 --> 00:16:45,036
so I would have been
one month away from being 19.
234
00:16:48,508 --> 00:16:51,542
I think I was ready to take on
the world at that point.
235
00:16:51,611 --> 00:16:52,944
I wanted to go out to the field
236
00:16:53,013 --> 00:16:54,579
and work
on that Titan II missile.
237
00:16:54,647 --> 00:16:55,980
You know, we called it a bird,
238
00:16:56,049 --> 00:16:59,150
and I wanted to work
on the birds, you know?
239
00:16:59,219 --> 00:17:03,254
(gas hissing)
240
00:17:05,325 --> 00:17:07,425
JAMES SANDAKER:
Rocket fuel is extremely
poisonous.
241
00:17:07,494 --> 00:17:11,062
We were always told
if we could smell it,
242
00:17:11,131 --> 00:17:14,432
it was already too much.
243
00:17:16,503 --> 00:17:21,539
POWELL:
Oxidizer, when you breathe it,
it turns to nitric acid.
244
00:17:21,608 --> 00:17:24,942
And you basically drown
in your lungs
245
00:17:25,011 --> 00:17:26,611
if you breathe enough of it.
246
00:17:26,679 --> 00:17:32,650
MAN:
We would work 12-, 14-hour,
up to 16-hour shifts,
247
00:17:32,719 --> 00:17:34,452
and then go to sleep,
248
00:17:34,521 --> 00:17:38,222
and then five hours later or so,
you get up and head back in
249
00:17:38,291 --> 00:17:42,927
for another 12-, 13-,
or 14-hour day.
250
00:17:46,499 --> 00:17:50,501
POWELL:
On September 18,
we'd had a long week,
251
00:17:50,570 --> 00:17:52,303
we had the next day off,
252
00:17:52,372 --> 00:17:54,906
so when we finished
the maintenance task
253
00:17:54,974 --> 00:17:57,108
at the site that we were at,
254
00:17:57,177 --> 00:17:59,077
you know,
we thought we were done.
255
00:17:59,145 --> 00:18:02,947
(men talking)
256
00:18:03,016 --> 00:18:05,917
MAN:
Roger that, we'll send them
back your way.
257
00:18:05,985 --> 00:18:08,352
POWELL:
Our team chief called back
to the base
258
00:18:08,421 --> 00:18:10,354
to tell them
we were on our way back
259
00:18:10,423 --> 00:18:13,791
and they said,
"Well, before you come back,
260
00:18:13,860 --> 00:18:17,795
we want you to stop over at 4-7
at Damascus."
261
00:18:26,739 --> 00:18:29,207
When we got there,
they didn't have the right part.
262
00:18:29,275 --> 00:18:34,011
They had to bring the part out
on a helicopter.
263
00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:41,185
I would say we waited from 3:30
to about 6:00 in the evening
264
00:18:41,254 --> 00:18:43,855
before we could actually enter
the silo.
265
00:18:46,192 --> 00:18:49,127
We'd been on duty
about 11 1/2 hours.
266
00:19:13,453 --> 00:19:18,723
POWELL:
Myself and airman Plumb
suited up into a RFHCO.
267
00:19:18,791 --> 00:19:22,627
PLUMB:
You're wearing this backpack
for air,
268
00:19:22,695 --> 00:19:25,396
then you're going to slip
into a stiff,
269
00:19:25,465 --> 00:19:27,498
neoprene rubber glove
270
00:19:27,567 --> 00:19:30,101
that your hand just floats
around inside of.
271
00:19:30,170 --> 00:19:32,203
It's not tight.
272
00:19:32,272 --> 00:19:34,338
(men talking over radio)
273
00:19:34,407 --> 00:19:37,942
SANDAKER:
The only communication we had
was these radios,
274
00:19:38,011 --> 00:19:40,678
and they didn't always work
correctly.
275
00:19:40,747 --> 00:19:43,247
You could very easily
misunderstand.
276
00:19:43,316 --> 00:19:48,786
(men talking over radio)
277
00:19:54,394 --> 00:20:00,898
POWELL:
So we started down the cableway
to the silo,
278
00:20:00,967 --> 00:20:05,436
when all of a sudden, I realized
that I had forgotten
279
00:20:05,505 --> 00:20:07,371
the torque wrench
up in the truck.
280
00:20:10,276 --> 00:20:12,610
There was a change
in the checklist
281
00:20:12,679 --> 00:20:14,712
that we were supposed
to use a torque wrench
282
00:20:14,781 --> 00:20:16,180
from here on out,
283
00:20:16,249 --> 00:20:19,083
but that was a recent change.
284
00:20:19,152 --> 00:20:21,519
I had spent three years
285
00:20:21,588 --> 00:20:24,956
basically taking
the pressure cap off
286
00:20:25,024 --> 00:20:26,023
with a ratchet.
287
00:20:27,794 --> 00:20:30,761
And so instead of sending
somebody back
288
00:20:30,830 --> 00:20:32,763
to get the torque wrench,
289
00:20:32,832 --> 00:20:36,100
I grabbed the ratchet
to do that.
290
00:20:40,974 --> 00:20:43,608
The ratchet's
about three feet long
291
00:20:43,676 --> 00:20:46,277
and the socket's
about eight pounds.
292
00:20:51,718 --> 00:20:53,718
And I radioed to the team chief
293
00:20:53,786 --> 00:20:56,887
that we're ready to begin
the checklist
294
00:20:56,956 --> 00:21:00,992
for pressurization
of stage 2 oxidizer tank.
295
00:21:03,563 --> 00:21:06,731
(hatch opens, air hisses)
296
00:21:17,410 --> 00:21:19,677
PLUMB:
We had a problem
with that ratchet.
297
00:21:19,746 --> 00:21:23,180
It wouldn't allow Dave
to actually get the socket
298
00:21:23,249 --> 00:21:26,684
to clip or snap into place
to be secure.
299
00:21:26,753 --> 00:21:30,121
He held the socket
up against the dust cap
300
00:21:30,189 --> 00:21:33,924
and he put the ratchet
up against it.
301
00:21:33,993 --> 00:21:37,461
POWELL:
Basically you hold it with one
hand on that ratchet handle,
302
00:21:37,530 --> 00:21:41,499
and one hand cradles
the head of the ratchet
303
00:21:41,567 --> 00:21:43,634
with the socket on it.
304
00:21:43,703 --> 00:21:45,469
PLUMB:
And so I got on the end of it
305
00:21:45,538 --> 00:21:48,139
and kind of gave it
a little force,
306
00:21:48,207 --> 00:21:50,808
and I remember saying to him,
"You got this?"
307
00:21:50,877 --> 00:21:54,612
"Yeah, I got it, I got it,
let go of it."
308
00:21:54,681 --> 00:21:56,280
POWELL:
And I go to pick it up,
309
00:21:56,349 --> 00:22:00,217
and the socket falls off the end
of the ratchet.
310
00:22:00,286 --> 00:22:03,054
PLUMB:
Just boompf,
right through the hole
311
00:22:03,122 --> 00:22:04,955
and just straight down.
312
00:22:06,959 --> 00:22:08,492
As it was falling,
I was thinking,
313
00:22:08,561 --> 00:22:12,063
"Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no."
314
00:22:12,131 --> 00:22:13,898
I wanted to jump
after that thing.
315
00:22:16,069 --> 00:22:17,968
POWELL:
Anytime I want,
316
00:22:18,037 --> 00:22:20,905
I can close my eyes
and see that socket.
317
00:22:23,609 --> 00:22:27,812
I see the socket
bouncing off the platform.
318
00:22:29,449 --> 00:22:34,051
I see my RFHCO glove
reaching for it.
319
00:22:38,324 --> 00:22:40,891
And I see it falling
in slow motion.
320
00:22:44,964 --> 00:22:48,766
70 feet.
321
00:22:48,835 --> 00:22:51,268
Hitting the thrust mount
like it had eyeballs.
322
00:22:54,574 --> 00:22:56,607
(hissing)
323
00:22:56,676 --> 00:23:00,945
And then a stream of fuel
coming out of the missile.
324
00:23:01,013 --> 00:23:02,947
PLUMB:
I was just in total shock.
325
00:23:03,015 --> 00:23:05,683
I think we both just looked
at each other for a second,
326
00:23:05,752 --> 00:23:08,652
and we're like, "Oh, my God,
what are we going to do?"
327
00:23:11,791 --> 00:23:14,759
That missile was just
blowing fuel.
328
00:23:14,827 --> 00:23:18,529
Then the magnitude set in
as far as what could happen.
329
00:23:18,598 --> 00:23:20,698
The destructive force
if that thing exploded,
330
00:23:20,767 --> 00:23:23,100
and we can't stop it.
331
00:23:50,596 --> 00:23:53,364
SCHLOSSER:
19 years before
the Damascus accident,
332
00:23:53,433 --> 00:23:58,536
a B-52 bomber carrying
two powerful hydrogen bombs
333
00:23:58,604 --> 00:24:01,739
took off on a routine mission
over North Carolina.
334
00:24:04,811 --> 00:24:09,513
During the mission, the plane
experienced a fuel leak,
335
00:24:09,582 --> 00:24:14,485
and suddenly, the B-52 began
to break apart mid-air.
336
00:24:16,489 --> 00:24:19,023
As the fuselage was spinning
337
00:24:19,091 --> 00:24:21,525
and heading back towards Earth,
338
00:24:21,594 --> 00:24:26,163
the centrifugal forces pulled
on a lanyard in the cockpit,
339
00:24:26,232 --> 00:24:29,934
and that lanyard was pulled
exactly the way it would be
340
00:24:30,002 --> 00:24:33,604
if a crewmember wanted
to release its hydrogen bombs
341
00:24:33,673 --> 00:24:35,673
over enemy territory.
342
00:24:37,743 --> 00:24:41,412
Bombs are relatively dumb.
343
00:24:41,481 --> 00:24:43,080
They sort of think that
344
00:24:43,149 --> 00:24:46,717
if you drop the bomb
out of the bomb bay,
345
00:24:46,786 --> 00:24:49,620
you must have intended
to do that.
346
00:24:49,689 --> 00:24:51,589
SCHLOSSER:
One of the weapons
in particular
347
00:24:51,657 --> 00:24:57,995
went through all of its
arming steps to detonate,
348
00:24:58,064 --> 00:25:01,031
and when that weapon
hit the ground,
349
00:25:01,100 --> 00:25:03,167
a firing signal was sent.
350
00:25:06,239 --> 00:25:07,738
And the only thing
that prevented
351
00:25:07,807 --> 00:25:11,008
a full-scale detonation
of a powerful hydrogen bomb
352
00:25:11,077 --> 00:25:17,481
in North Carolina
was a single safety switch.
353
00:25:17,550 --> 00:25:21,652
All it is
is a two-position on-off switch.
354
00:25:21,721 --> 00:25:25,823
That prevented
a four-megaton disaster.
355
00:25:25,892 --> 00:25:28,659
If the right two wires
had touched,
356
00:25:28,728 --> 00:25:31,061
the bomb would have detonated.
357
00:25:31,130 --> 00:25:32,696
Period.
358
00:25:34,834 --> 00:25:38,135
SCHLOSSER:
The Goldsboro accident occurred
at a time
359
00:25:38,204 --> 00:25:41,405
when the number
of nuclear weapons accidents
360
00:25:41,474 --> 00:25:42,740
was increasing.
361
00:25:53,653 --> 00:25:59,089
PEURIFOY:
I read through all of the known
accident reports.
362
00:26:02,895 --> 00:26:05,062
And it scared
the hell out of me.
363
00:26:19,679 --> 00:26:21,378
NEWS ANNOUNCER:
The three bombs
that fell on land
364
00:26:21,447 --> 00:26:23,647
weren't all recovered
until five days after the crash.
365
00:26:27,186 --> 00:26:29,086
MAN:
We were shocked
when we realized
366
00:26:29,155 --> 00:26:32,056
all these years,
we've been thinking
367
00:26:32,124 --> 00:26:35,326
along this nice, neat line.
368
00:26:35,394 --> 00:26:37,361
That's not reality.
369
00:26:37,430 --> 00:26:40,998
These orderly sequences
of events
370
00:26:41,067 --> 00:26:43,467
were not going to happen
in an accident
371
00:26:43,536 --> 00:26:46,737
because an accident
by definition
372
00:26:46,806 --> 00:26:50,007
is something not definable.
373
00:26:50,076 --> 00:26:53,811
SCHLOSSER:
There had been all these
statistical assurances
374
00:26:53,879 --> 00:26:58,182
that weapons wouldn't detonate
in an accident.
375
00:27:00,319 --> 00:27:02,886
And then there was a realization
that the weapons
376
00:27:02,955 --> 00:27:06,223
were nowhere near as safe
as everyone had assumed.
377
00:27:12,965 --> 00:27:16,233
STEVENS:
We knew that fire, for example,
could set off
378
00:27:16,302 --> 00:27:18,669
these electro-explosive devices
379
00:27:18,738 --> 00:27:23,140
inside the warhead
in a random way.
380
00:27:26,712 --> 00:27:31,015
SCHLOSSER:
During a fire, the solder
might melt on a circuit board.
381
00:27:31,083 --> 00:27:35,152
It created all kinds
of new electrical pathways
382
00:27:35,221 --> 00:27:39,189
that could completely circumvent
a safety device.
383
00:27:39,258 --> 00:27:46,196
PEURIFOY:
Of the 20,000 or 25,000 weapons
that we had in stockpile,
384
00:27:46,265 --> 00:27:48,432
I could not in good conscience
385
00:27:48,501 --> 00:27:52,202
swear that they were
adequately safe.
386
00:27:52,271 --> 00:27:54,872
SCHLOSSER:
You had Bob Peurifoy,
387
00:27:54,940 --> 00:27:57,174
one of the vice presidents
of the lab,
388
00:27:57,243 --> 00:28:00,844
and Bill Stevens, the head of
the Safety Department at Sandia,
389
00:28:00,913 --> 00:28:05,749
saying thousands of weapons
in the American nuclear arsenal
390
00:28:05,818 --> 00:28:10,254
were vulnerable
during an accident,
391
00:28:10,322 --> 00:28:15,693
including the most powerful
warhead on an American missile,
392
00:28:15,761 --> 00:28:18,662
the warhead on top
of the Titan II.
393
00:28:38,984 --> 00:28:40,451
HOLDER:
I was sitting down
394
00:28:40,519 --> 00:28:43,187
in the kitchen,
eating a sandwich,
395
00:28:43,255 --> 00:28:45,556
when the klaxon went off.
396
00:28:45,624 --> 00:28:50,694
(alarm beeping)
397
00:28:50,763 --> 00:28:52,896
So I didn't think
too much of it.
398
00:28:52,965 --> 00:28:54,264
I mean, it went off,
399
00:28:54,333 --> 00:28:56,533
it's like, "Okay, they just...
400
00:28:56,602 --> 00:28:58,135
They're doing
their procedures."
401
00:28:58,204 --> 00:29:01,772
But about ten seconds later,
we got another klaxon.
402
00:29:01,841 --> 00:29:06,877
(alarm beeping)
403
00:29:06,946 --> 00:29:09,413
I got up and I walked about
halfway down the stairs.
404
00:29:09,482 --> 00:29:13,150
And I looked down and I can see
the commander's console.
405
00:29:13,219 --> 00:29:17,955
Then the commander's console has
lots of red lights flashing,
406
00:29:18,023 --> 00:29:23,494
and so I know something's wrong.
407
00:29:23,562 --> 00:29:26,296
CHILDERS:
Captain Mazzaro
was our crew commander.
408
00:29:26,365 --> 00:29:28,031
The first thing
that Mazzaro heard
409
00:29:28,100 --> 00:29:31,502
and that the other team members
heard are the words, "Uh-oh."
410
00:29:31,570 --> 00:29:33,637
Mazzaro said,
"What do you mean, uh-oh?
411
00:29:33,706 --> 00:29:36,306
What's going on?"
412
00:29:36,375 --> 00:29:39,376
They said, "There's smoke in
the bottom of the launch duct."
413
00:29:39,445 --> 00:29:41,378
Commander's trying to clear up.
414
00:29:41,447 --> 00:29:43,413
"What do you mean, smoke in the
bottom of the launch duct?
415
00:29:43,482 --> 00:29:45,015
Do you see a fire?"
416
00:29:48,754 --> 00:29:50,921
POWELL:
The fuel vapors in the silo
are just climbing
417
00:29:50,990 --> 00:29:53,223
and climbing and climbing.
418
00:29:58,164 --> 00:30:00,864
So I radioed back
that we had a cloud.
419
00:30:00,933 --> 00:30:05,402
A milky white cloud.
420
00:30:05,471 --> 00:30:09,540
I wasn't going to say "fuel"
over the radio.
421
00:30:09,608 --> 00:30:12,709
The reason I didn't want to say
the word "fuel" over the radio
422
00:30:12,778 --> 00:30:14,511
was because, uh,
423
00:30:14,580 --> 00:30:17,881
in case the missile commander
was listening,
424
00:30:17,950 --> 00:30:19,550
I didn't want him to freak out.
425
00:30:25,090 --> 00:30:27,925
PLUMB:
I think David was just scared
to say anything
426
00:30:27,993 --> 00:30:29,793
about really what was happening.
427
00:30:32,298 --> 00:30:35,365
Only being 21 years old.
428
00:30:35,434 --> 00:30:37,267
I guess it'd almost be like,
you know,
429
00:30:37,336 --> 00:30:39,803
you doing something wrong
as a kid
430
00:30:39,872 --> 00:30:43,874
and you got to tell your parents
about it, you know?
431
00:30:43,943 --> 00:30:45,742
You know, how you kind of
just stand there
432
00:30:45,811 --> 00:30:47,945
and you don't want to say
what you just did.
433
00:31:00,693 --> 00:31:05,729
POWELL:
I grabbed Plumb and we walked
back up the cableway.
434
00:31:05,798 --> 00:31:09,833
I immediately started looking
at the fuel level reader.
435
00:31:09,902 --> 00:31:13,337
When it hits
that explosive level,
436
00:31:13,405 --> 00:31:17,841
any spark can set off the fuel.
437
00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:23,947
CHILDERS:
You could run through
each of the tanks on each stage
438
00:31:24,016 --> 00:31:25,782
and see what the pressure was,
439
00:31:25,851 --> 00:31:27,918
and we saw that the pressure
was dropping.
440
00:31:27,987 --> 00:31:29,319
It was dropping fast.
441
00:31:31,891 --> 00:31:33,123
And then all of a sudden,
442
00:31:33,192 --> 00:31:34,958
sprays came on
in the launch duct.
443
00:31:35,027 --> 00:31:37,594
We thought,
"Well, there must be a fire."
444
00:31:37,663 --> 00:31:41,498
It doesn't make any sense,
nothing made any sense.
445
00:31:41,567 --> 00:31:44,835
And I jumped into my checklist.
446
00:31:44,904 --> 00:31:46,970
We did everything
according to checklists.
447
00:31:47,039 --> 00:31:48,872
(voice breaking):
You know, we ran
the oxidizer checklists,
448
00:31:48,941 --> 00:31:51,208
we ran the fuel checklists.
449
00:31:51,277 --> 00:31:53,710
You know,
you stay in the checklist,
450
00:31:53,779 --> 00:31:56,113
it'll take care of you.
451
00:31:58,751 --> 00:32:01,885
HOLDER:
About that time, the PTS team
that had been out working
452
00:32:01,954 --> 00:32:03,553
had gotten back,
453
00:32:03,622 --> 00:32:06,490
and they're standing over
in the short cableway,
454
00:32:06,558 --> 00:32:09,960
and the maintenance team chief
went over and met them
455
00:32:10,029 --> 00:32:14,298
and they started talking.
456
00:32:14,366 --> 00:32:17,868
At that point, I said,
"Okay, guys, what happened?"
457
00:32:17,937 --> 00:32:19,469
And they came in
458
00:32:19,538 --> 00:32:22,472
and then they explained
to the crew at that point
459
00:32:22,541 --> 00:32:24,074
exactly what happened.
460
00:32:27,479 --> 00:32:29,146
And that's when we finally
got him to admit
461
00:32:29,214 --> 00:32:31,214
that he had done something,
that he had dropped it,
462
00:32:31,283 --> 00:32:33,717
and there was a hole,
and he saw vapors coming out.
463
00:32:33,786 --> 00:32:34,985
It was more than "uh-oh."
464
00:32:35,054 --> 00:32:36,653
And that was the first time
we knew.
465
00:32:36,722 --> 00:32:39,356
It was a good half-hour into it.
466
00:32:39,425 --> 00:32:42,326
By then it was basically
out of control.
467
00:32:42,394 --> 00:32:45,929
(alarm beeping)
468
00:33:08,587 --> 00:33:10,620
MAN:
When I became
secretary of defense,
469
00:33:10,689 --> 00:33:14,624
we had tens of thousands
of nuclear weapons.
470
00:33:14,693 --> 00:33:16,293
The numbers were a big problem,
471
00:33:16,362 --> 00:33:23,500
because it only takes a few
or one getting out of hand
472
00:33:23,569 --> 00:33:28,171
to cause a catastrophic problem.
473
00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:30,807
And we worried about that.
474
00:33:30,876 --> 00:33:32,909
We probably didn't worry
about it enough.
475
00:33:35,514 --> 00:33:39,049
The Titan II missiles by 1980
were both old
476
00:33:39,118 --> 00:33:43,186
and much more prone
to accidents.
477
00:33:44,923 --> 00:33:48,191
NEWS ANNOUNCER:
At a silo near Searcy,
53 construction workers died
478
00:33:48,260 --> 00:33:51,094
when a welding torch sparked
flammable hydraulic oil.
479
00:33:51,163 --> 00:33:53,430
NEWS ANNOUNCER:
Nitrogen tetroxide drifted
from the missile site.
480
00:33:53,499 --> 00:33:57,200
NEWS ANNOUNCER:
This would be missile leak
number ten so far in Arkansas.
481
00:33:59,938 --> 00:34:01,805
Why was it still in the arsenal?
482
00:34:01,874 --> 00:34:05,142
Uh, in part because it was
483
00:34:05,210 --> 00:34:10,947
the only missile
that had a heavy payload.
484
00:34:11,016 --> 00:34:12,983
SCHLOSSER:
The United States had a thousand
485
00:34:13,052 --> 00:34:18,155
land-based missiles,
and those 54 Titan IIs
486
00:34:18,223 --> 00:34:21,892
represented one third
of the mega-tonnage
487
00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:24,594
of our entire missile force.
488
00:34:24,663 --> 00:34:29,299
In September 1980, the Soviet
Union was in the midst
489
00:34:29,368 --> 00:34:32,002
of a huge nuclear arms build-up.
490
00:34:32,071 --> 00:34:36,973
By then, they had more
land-based missiles than we did.
491
00:34:37,042 --> 00:34:39,976
(applause)
492
00:34:40,045 --> 00:34:45,115
BROWN:
It also I think was part
of a negotiating strategy.
493
00:34:47,352 --> 00:34:53,924
We anticipated trading them off
against Soviet heavy missiles
494
00:34:53,992 --> 00:34:57,127
in strategic arms negotiations.
495
00:34:57,196 --> 00:34:59,129
SCHLOSSER:
It was a bargaining chip,
496
00:34:59,198 --> 00:35:02,265
something that we could give up
in order to persuade the Soviets
497
00:35:02,334 --> 00:35:04,668
to get rid of a class
of their missiles.
498
00:35:07,339 --> 00:35:09,606
BROWN:
So that was why we still had it,
499
00:35:09,675 --> 00:35:13,944
and it was therefore available
for an accident.
500
00:35:14,012 --> 00:35:16,213
REPORTER:
Of the 18 Titan missiles
stationed in Kansas,
501
00:35:16,281 --> 00:35:20,183
there were serious leaks in 17.
502
00:35:20,252 --> 00:35:22,052
REPORTER:
Nearly 14,000 gallons
503
00:35:22,121 --> 00:35:24,554
of poisonous liquid fuel
poured out,
504
00:35:24,623 --> 00:35:28,091
killing two persons and injuring
more than 20 others.
505
00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,228
The Titan II is potentially
an awesome weapon of war
506
00:35:31,296 --> 00:35:34,364
whose only victims so far
have been Americans.
507
00:35:36,268 --> 00:35:38,668
PRYOR:
There were stories
about accidents
508
00:35:38,737 --> 00:35:41,238
that might have happened
in Kansas,
509
00:35:41,306 --> 00:35:44,007
or maybe one or two smaller ones
in Arkansas.
510
00:35:44,076 --> 00:35:47,744
I think more and more,
it became a matter of concern.
511
00:35:49,915 --> 00:35:52,782
RUTHERFORD:
A year before the Damascus
accident,
512
00:35:52,851 --> 00:35:56,786
Senator David Pryor and I
toured a Titan missile site.
513
00:35:56,855 --> 00:35:59,089
We were concerned
about safety issues.
514
00:35:59,158 --> 00:36:00,857
(metal detector whirring)
515
00:36:00,926 --> 00:36:03,760
They were very helpful,
they answered questions...
516
00:36:06,798 --> 00:36:11,868
...and we had a very pleasant,
educational tour
517
00:36:11,937 --> 00:36:14,571
of a Titan missile site.
518
00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:16,873
We talked about
how helpful it was
519
00:36:16,942 --> 00:36:20,243
and quite frankly
had some reassurance
520
00:36:20,312 --> 00:36:22,979
that maybe things were okay,
521
00:36:23,048 --> 00:36:26,483
that maybe things weren't as bad
as we had been led to believe.
522
00:36:26,552 --> 00:36:28,485
What I was very,
very impressed with,
523
00:36:28,554 --> 00:36:31,121
it was of course
the Titan II.
524
00:36:31,190 --> 00:36:33,823
It's about 110 feet tall...
525
00:36:33,892 --> 00:36:38,161
RUTHERFORD:
We get back, and in a matter
of no time,
526
00:36:38,230 --> 00:36:42,832
a phone call comes
from some airmen
527
00:36:42,901 --> 00:36:45,435
who said they'd like
to meet with us.
528
00:36:48,674 --> 00:36:51,241
They wanted to come
to our office.
529
00:36:51,310 --> 00:36:56,012
They didn't want anybody to know
that we were meeting.
530
00:36:56,081 --> 00:36:59,349
We met there that night
scared to death.
531
00:36:59,418 --> 00:37:02,419
You know,
we were 20-something kids;
532
00:37:02,487 --> 00:37:05,088
we had no idea
what we were doing.
533
00:37:05,157 --> 00:37:08,091
We took the logbook
to their office and showed them.
534
00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:09,926
They put your life in danger,
535
00:37:09,995 --> 00:37:14,097
and they didn't tell you that
when they sent you out there.
536
00:37:14,166 --> 00:37:18,969
The day that they had walked
the senator through the site,
537
00:37:19,037 --> 00:37:22,205
their hazard sensing system
was off alert.
538
00:37:22,274 --> 00:37:26,209
If the system is down, you could
have vapors in the silo
539
00:37:26,278 --> 00:37:28,411
that could kill you,
540
00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,848
and so they should have provided
the senator with a gas mask.
541
00:37:31,917 --> 00:37:33,850
But they just walked him through
542
00:37:33,919 --> 00:37:36,319
like it was a normal day
and there was no problem.
543
00:37:36,388 --> 00:37:39,456
The Air Force
didn't want the senator
544
00:37:39,524 --> 00:37:41,291
to have any understanding
545
00:37:41,360 --> 00:37:44,995
of just how unreliable
the systems were.
546
00:37:49,334 --> 00:37:51,901
People inside
of our chain of command
547
00:37:51,970 --> 00:37:53,870
weren't listening to us,
548
00:37:53,939 --> 00:37:57,440
and that's why we went
to Senator Pryor.
549
00:37:57,509 --> 00:38:00,744
And we told him
about our absolute fear
550
00:38:00,812 --> 00:38:03,413
for the safety of Arkansas,
551
00:38:03,482 --> 00:38:07,117
the safety of everybody working
on those systems.
552
00:38:07,185 --> 00:38:10,754
They were telling me that
it wasn't a matter
553
00:38:10,822 --> 00:38:14,424
of if we were going to have
an explosion;
554
00:38:14,493 --> 00:38:16,359
it was a matter of when.
555
00:38:16,428 --> 00:38:21,598
After that meeting,
we proposed a warning siren
556
00:38:21,667 --> 00:38:26,336
at each of the silos, much like
a tornado-warning siren.
557
00:38:26,405 --> 00:38:28,838
On Tuesday,
I passed an amendment
558
00:38:28,907 --> 00:38:32,108
which is going to mandate
the Air Force
559
00:38:32,177 --> 00:38:33,777
to put early warning systems
560
00:38:33,845 --> 00:38:36,279
on all of the 54 missile sites
in this country.
561
00:38:36,348 --> 00:38:43,019
RUTHERFORD:
The passage of that amendment
was on September 17,
562
00:38:43,088 --> 00:38:46,856
two days before the tragedy
at Damascus.
563
00:39:05,777 --> 00:39:08,345
MAN:
September 18, 1980,
564
00:39:08,413 --> 00:39:09,679
I got a call
565
00:39:09,748 --> 00:39:12,816
from the command post,
said we had a serious problem.
566
00:39:16,221 --> 00:39:20,223
In June of 1980,
I had assumed command
567
00:39:20,292 --> 00:39:22,058
of the 308th Strategic
Missile Wing
568
00:39:22,127 --> 00:39:25,762
at Little Rock Air Force Base,
and that was a Titan wing.
569
00:39:25,831 --> 00:39:31,935
I had no previous experience
in Titan,
570
00:39:32,003 --> 00:39:38,308
I had no training in Titan,
so I was the new guy.
571
00:39:38,377 --> 00:39:41,010
I had about three months
under my belt
572
00:39:41,079 --> 00:39:45,281
before the accident occurred
on the night of September 18.
573
00:39:45,350 --> 00:39:48,284
I got to the command center,
574
00:39:48,353 --> 00:39:52,856
started to figure out
what was going on.
575
00:39:52,924 --> 00:39:55,592
Nobody knew too much
about what happened
576
00:39:55,660 --> 00:39:58,161
except that a socket dropped
in the silo.
577
00:40:00,499 --> 00:40:03,166
I had heard before that
tools had been dropped,
578
00:40:03,235 --> 00:40:08,238
but they always went straight
to the bottom.
579
00:40:08,306 --> 00:40:12,475
But in this case,
it penetrated the missile.
580
00:40:12,544 --> 00:40:17,580
I had no idea that
that could ever happen.
581
00:40:17,649 --> 00:40:20,250
I had never even given that
a thought at all.
582
00:40:20,318 --> 00:40:24,888
And then I activated the missile
potential hazard team.
583
00:40:24,956 --> 00:40:27,724
SCHLOSSER:
The missile potential
hazard team
584
00:40:27,793 --> 00:40:30,727
gathered together some of the
top figures in the Air Force
585
00:40:30,796 --> 00:40:31,995
to deal with the accident.
586
00:40:32,063 --> 00:40:35,965
At Barksdale Air Force Base
in Louisiana,
587
00:40:36,034 --> 00:40:38,067
there was Colonel Ben Scallorn,
588
00:40:38,136 --> 00:40:41,771
the Air Force's leading expert
on the Titan II missile.
589
00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:44,774
As we're dumping fuel,
590
00:40:44,843 --> 00:40:46,776
things are heating up
in that silo
591
00:40:46,845 --> 00:40:48,211
and the launch duct
all the time.
592
00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:54,184
If the temperature rises
the oxidizer expands,
593
00:40:54,252 --> 00:40:57,520
and there's a possibility
that it can rupture a tank.
594
00:40:57,589 --> 00:40:59,589
And with a silo full of fuel
595
00:40:59,658 --> 00:41:03,693
and you rupture an oxidizer tank
and the oxidizer hits the fuel,
596
00:41:03,762 --> 00:41:05,562
it's gone.
597
00:41:05,630 --> 00:41:10,300
SCHLOSSER:
In Denver, there were executives
from Martin Marietta,
598
00:41:10,368 --> 00:41:15,138
who designed and built
the Titan II missile.
599
00:41:15,207 --> 00:41:18,174
And in Omaha, Nebraska, there
was the underground headquarters
600
00:41:18,243 --> 00:41:23,513
of the Strategic Air Command,
known as SAC.
601
00:41:23,582 --> 00:41:25,715
That night,
all the major decisions
602
00:41:25,784 --> 00:41:29,052
would be made
at SAC headquarters.
603
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,321
MOSER:
The Strategic Air Command
604
00:41:31,389 --> 00:41:34,257
handled the nuclear weapons
for the Air Force.
605
00:41:34,326 --> 00:41:37,560
(men talking, phones ringing)
606
00:41:37,629 --> 00:41:43,366
SAC was a very, very
professional organization,
607
00:41:43,435 --> 00:41:48,404
and there were no errors
really tolerated.
608
00:41:48,473 --> 00:41:50,573
SCHLOSSER:
The night of the accident,
General Lloyd Leavitt
609
00:41:50,642 --> 00:41:55,278
assumed control of the Missile
Potential Hazard Team.
610
00:41:55,347 --> 00:41:58,815
MOSER:
General Leavitt was
a very dedicated pilot,
611
00:41:58,884 --> 00:42:03,019
a very courageous pilot
in Korea and Vietnam,
612
00:42:03,088 --> 00:42:08,458
but he had no missile background
at all that I'm aware of.
613
00:42:11,463 --> 00:42:13,596
As things progressed,
we were trying to do
614
00:42:13,665 --> 00:42:14,964
everything we could.
615
00:42:15,033 --> 00:42:16,633
We knew what was going to happen
616
00:42:16,701 --> 00:42:19,235
if we lost pressure
in the fuel tank.
617
00:42:19,304 --> 00:42:21,237
You know, of course, the missile
was going to collapse
618
00:42:21,306 --> 00:42:22,472
on top of itself.
619
00:42:26,678 --> 00:42:30,647
The pressures in the tanks
kept the missile erect.
620
00:42:34,185 --> 00:42:37,120
If we lost all the pressure
in that,
621
00:42:37,188 --> 00:42:39,756
the missile would collapse
upon itself.
622
00:42:42,761 --> 00:42:44,561
If the missile collapsed,
623
00:42:44,629 --> 00:42:47,730
the entire missile
would blow up,
624
00:42:47,799 --> 00:42:49,832
but what would happen
to the warhead
625
00:42:49,901 --> 00:42:52,201
was anybody's guess.
626
00:42:54,806 --> 00:42:58,841
There was no one
that we kept on alert
627
00:42:58,910 --> 00:43:01,744
that knew anything
about the warhead.
628
00:43:01,813 --> 00:43:03,313
There was no checklist,
629
00:43:03,381 --> 00:43:06,616
probably the only thing that
I ever was involved with
630
00:43:06,685 --> 00:43:08,318
with Strategic Air Command
631
00:43:08,386 --> 00:43:10,186
that there wasn't
a checklist for,
632
00:43:10,255 --> 00:43:12,589
and so it became
a seat-of-the-pants operation
633
00:43:12,657 --> 00:43:14,324
as things unfolded,
634
00:43:14,392 --> 00:43:17,927
and I used every resource
we had that night
635
00:43:17,996 --> 00:43:22,532
to try to face the problem
and solve the problem.
636
00:43:24,135 --> 00:43:26,235
One of the options was,
637
00:43:26,304 --> 00:43:28,805
if the silo closure door
was opened,
638
00:43:28,873 --> 00:43:34,177
there's a possibility that
the gas could have been vented.
639
00:43:34,245 --> 00:43:37,714
But there was also
a possibility,
640
00:43:37,782 --> 00:43:41,951
if the missile did explode
while that door was open,
641
00:43:42,020 --> 00:43:45,254
it would throw the warhead
out of the silo.
642
00:43:49,060 --> 00:43:51,194
We would not have known
where it went.
643
00:43:51,262 --> 00:43:53,563
It could go almost anywhere.
644
00:43:58,203 --> 00:44:00,169
(explosion)
645
00:44:14,386 --> 00:44:19,222
BROWN:
Very few people, almost none
646
00:44:19,290 --> 00:44:21,724
in a decision-making capacity,
647
00:44:21,793 --> 00:44:25,094
have ever seen
a nuclear explosion.
648
00:44:25,163 --> 00:44:30,500
I went out to the Pacific
in 1954.
649
00:44:30,568 --> 00:44:35,004
I would have been 26,
650
00:44:35,073 --> 00:44:39,208
having worked for a couple
of years before then
651
00:44:39,277 --> 00:44:41,344
on the development
of nuclear weapons.
652
00:44:46,985 --> 00:44:50,386
SCHLOSSER:
In 1954, the United States
653
00:44:50,455 --> 00:44:53,589
was testing a new design
for a hydrogen bomb.
654
00:44:53,658 --> 00:44:56,759
It was the same sort of weapon
655
00:44:56,828 --> 00:45:01,497
that would later be put on top
of the Titan II.
656
00:45:01,566 --> 00:45:04,000
It had been anticipated
657
00:45:04,069 --> 00:45:07,603
that the blast would be
about five megatons.
658
00:45:07,672 --> 00:45:11,808
That is the equivalent
of five million tons of TNT.
659
00:45:11,876 --> 00:45:14,143
(booming explosion)
660
00:45:14,212 --> 00:45:17,947
When the device detonated,
there was an enormous explosion
661
00:45:18,016 --> 00:45:22,618
that got bigger and bigger
and bigger.
662
00:45:22,687 --> 00:45:26,289
And soon, the observers
were terrified
663
00:45:26,357 --> 00:45:28,825
because they didn't know
when it was going to stop.
664
00:45:28,893 --> 00:45:33,463
(rumbling)
665
00:45:33,531 --> 00:45:37,066
The Bravo test wound up being
three times more powerful
666
00:45:37,135 --> 00:45:39,836
than they had estimated.
667
00:45:41,439 --> 00:45:44,574
(rumbling continues)
668
00:45:49,013 --> 00:45:50,880
BROWN:
I saw it go off
669
00:45:50,949 --> 00:45:56,552
from a distance of 200 miles.
670
00:45:56,621 --> 00:45:58,955
All you see is the light.
671
00:46:05,029 --> 00:46:09,165
The light stays on
for a long time,
672
00:46:09,234 --> 00:46:12,535
and if you see it
from total darkness,
673
00:46:12,604 --> 00:46:18,574
it gets bright enough to read
a newspaper by that light.
674
00:46:18,643 --> 00:46:21,377
That's enormously impressive.
675
00:46:21,446 --> 00:46:26,883
Everybody knew that there was
a great deal of radioactivity
676
00:46:26,951 --> 00:46:31,888
generated in a nuclear
explosion.
677
00:46:31,956 --> 00:46:35,391
The question always was
what would happen to it.
678
00:46:40,565 --> 00:46:45,134
REPORTER:
Radiation survey teams were
flown back to the exposed atoll.
679
00:46:47,238 --> 00:46:49,939
We were able to document
for the first time
680
00:46:50,008 --> 00:46:54,076
fallout data
from high-yield detonations.
681
00:46:55,814 --> 00:46:59,415
Fallout blanketed areas
of more than 5,000 square miles
682
00:46:59,484 --> 00:47:02,385
with radioactive material
that would have been lethal
683
00:47:02,453 --> 00:47:04,287
to unprotected personnel.
684
00:47:06,791 --> 00:47:08,424
Back in Washington,
685
00:47:08,493 --> 00:47:11,460
they took a map
of the fallout pattern
686
00:47:11,529 --> 00:47:13,362
from the Bravo test,
687
00:47:13,431 --> 00:47:16,699
and they superimposed it
on a map of the United States.
688
00:47:18,102 --> 00:47:24,874
A similar weapon
detonated over Washington, D.C.,
689
00:47:24,943 --> 00:47:27,743
could release
enough radioactive fallout
690
00:47:27,812 --> 00:47:30,379
to kill everyone
in Washington, D.C.,
691
00:47:30,448 --> 00:47:33,850
everyone in Baltimore,
everyone in Philadelphia,
692
00:47:33,918 --> 00:47:36,686
half the population
of New York City,
693
00:47:36,754 --> 00:47:40,723
with casualties and fatalities
as far north as Boston.
694
00:47:55,673 --> 00:48:00,076
HOLDER:
The fuel tank readings
started going negative,
695
00:48:00,144 --> 00:48:01,944
and at that point,
696
00:48:02,013 --> 00:48:06,215
I felt that it was potentially
going to collapse.
697
00:48:08,386 --> 00:48:14,123
And although there are safety
measures within the warhead,
698
00:48:14,192 --> 00:48:18,561
in the back of my mind,
you always wonder.
699
00:48:18,630 --> 00:48:20,796
I don't think anybody truly knew
700
00:48:20,865 --> 00:48:24,166
what was going to happen
with the warhead.
701
00:48:24,235 --> 00:48:27,904
(men speaking on radios)
702
00:48:27,972 --> 00:48:29,972
PLUMB:
As they were talking
about these tank pressures
703
00:48:30,041 --> 00:48:33,309
and all these different things,
704
00:48:33,378 --> 00:48:34,911
I'm getting
more and more anxious
705
00:48:34,979 --> 00:48:37,013
and more and more anxious,
706
00:48:37,081 --> 00:48:40,116
thinking, "I need,
we need to get out of here.
707
00:48:40,184 --> 00:48:43,019
"We need to get the hell out
of this complex,
708
00:48:43,087 --> 00:48:44,654
because this thing's going
to blow up."
709
00:48:47,725 --> 00:48:53,029
POWELL:
At this point, Mazzaro wanted
to evacuate the control center.
710
00:48:53,097 --> 00:48:58,100
He didn't really want to be
down there if it did explode.
711
00:48:58,169 --> 00:48:59,602
MOSER:
Some of the crewmembers
712
00:48:59,671 --> 00:49:02,338
were eager to make an exit,
713
00:49:02,407 --> 00:49:07,043
so with that in mind,
we started discussing,
714
00:49:07,111 --> 00:49:11,113
should we evacuate the people
in the launch control center
715
00:49:11,182 --> 00:49:13,716
or leave them in there?
716
00:49:13,785 --> 00:49:16,118
The reason to get them
out of the silo,
717
00:49:16,187 --> 00:49:18,120
we had no idea
what was going to happen
718
00:49:18,189 --> 00:49:21,557
to the launch control center
if the missile exploded.
719
00:49:21,626 --> 00:49:26,696
I still thought
we should be there.
720
00:49:26,764 --> 00:49:28,064
We needed to be there.
721
00:49:30,268 --> 00:49:33,469
If we evacuated
that launch control center,
722
00:49:33,538 --> 00:49:35,404
we would be giving up
any ability
723
00:49:35,473 --> 00:49:39,408
to control any of the equipment,
724
00:49:39,477 --> 00:49:41,377
we would be giving up
the capacity
725
00:49:41,446 --> 00:49:44,280
to try any of the ideas
726
00:49:44,349 --> 00:49:46,115
that people were trying
to come up with
727
00:49:46,184 --> 00:49:49,218
in order to save this system.
728
00:49:53,524 --> 00:49:55,825
Rodney and I told
the crew commander
729
00:49:55,893 --> 00:50:00,062
that we wanted to stay behind.
730
00:50:00,131 --> 00:50:01,897
I couldn't leave.
731
00:50:01,966 --> 00:50:03,933
You know, emotionally,
I couldn't go.
732
00:50:04,002 --> 00:50:06,002
From our standpoint,
we could stay
733
00:50:06,070 --> 00:50:09,805
because neither one of us had
children at that time, and...
734
00:50:09,874 --> 00:50:12,408
Not that we didn't care
about our lives,
735
00:50:12,477 --> 00:50:18,247
but, you know, it just seemed
that it made sense to us
736
00:50:18,316 --> 00:50:20,750
that we should stay
and let everybody else go.
737
00:50:39,370 --> 00:50:42,638
(people chatting)
738
00:50:42,707 --> 00:50:45,341
MAN:
On the evening of September 18,
739
00:50:45,410 --> 00:50:47,810
people were gathering
in Hot Springs.
740
00:50:47,879 --> 00:50:50,079
Vice President Mondale
was the keynote speaker.
741
00:50:50,148 --> 00:50:52,815
Senator Pryor
and Governor Clinton and others
742
00:50:52,884 --> 00:50:57,787
had already gone to Hot Springs.
743
00:50:57,855 --> 00:51:02,024
And I was scheduled to go over
the next day.
744
00:51:02,093 --> 00:51:05,327
That night we had invited
a friend over for dinner,
745
00:51:05,396 --> 00:51:07,063
and the phone rang.
746
00:51:07,131 --> 00:51:09,665
(phone ringing)
747
00:51:09,734 --> 00:51:15,871
And it was one of the airmen
whom I had talked with.
748
00:51:15,940 --> 00:51:18,374
But when I got off the phone
from this airman,
749
00:51:18,443 --> 00:51:22,645
I looked around and people
started asking me, saying,
750
00:51:22,713 --> 00:51:24,580
"What's happening?"
751
00:51:24,649 --> 00:51:31,020
And I said, "A Titan missile
is going to explode."
752
00:51:31,089 --> 00:51:33,923
And the question was,
"Well, what does that mean?"
753
00:51:33,991 --> 00:51:41,664
"What it means is, if
that nuclear warhead explodes,
754
00:51:41,732 --> 00:51:43,499
we're incinerated."
755
00:51:43,568 --> 00:51:46,836
You know, I said,
"Little Rock's gone."
756
00:51:46,904 --> 00:51:48,537
I said, "Little Rock is gone.
757
00:51:48,606 --> 00:51:54,477
We're 46 miles from this site,
we're gone."
758
00:51:57,415 --> 00:52:03,519
I walked into our living room
and looked out the front window,
759
00:52:03,588 --> 00:52:05,087
and it was still
daylight savings time,
760
00:52:05,156 --> 00:52:08,224
so it wasn't totally dark,
761
00:52:08,292 --> 00:52:10,426
and you could see children
in the front yard
762
00:52:10,495 --> 00:52:14,697
or people walking out
to their cars,
763
00:52:14,765 --> 00:52:16,532
carrying on
their normal everyday lives,
764
00:52:16,601 --> 00:52:22,872
and I thought,
"Do I run out on the street
765
00:52:22,940 --> 00:52:26,742
"and say we got
a potential nuclear explosion
766
00:52:26,811 --> 00:52:30,546
"46 miles from here?
767
00:52:30,615 --> 00:52:33,649
"Do I grab my friends
and neighbors
768
00:52:33,718 --> 00:52:36,285
"and get in the car
and start driving?
769
00:52:36,354 --> 00:52:39,955
"Do I call up Senator Pryor
and say,
770
00:52:40,024 --> 00:52:41,290
"'Let's call a press conference
771
00:52:41,359 --> 00:52:44,727
and tell them that the Air Force
is not telling the truth'"?
772
00:52:44,795 --> 00:52:46,795
What do you do?
773
00:52:48,299 --> 00:52:51,934
MAN:
I was there in Hot Springs
at night,
774
00:52:52,003 --> 00:52:56,805
and the phone rang
and it was Skip.
775
00:52:56,874 --> 00:52:59,241
And Skip says,
"We have a problem."
776
00:52:59,310 --> 00:53:00,943
He said, "What's the Air Force
saying?"
777
00:53:01,012 --> 00:53:03,112
I said, "The Air Force
is telling people
778
00:53:03,181 --> 00:53:04,847
"it's not happening,
779
00:53:04,916 --> 00:53:06,782
"That's what they've told
the people on the site.
780
00:53:06,851 --> 00:53:13,656
"They're going to tell you that
these things are under control.
781
00:53:13,724 --> 00:53:16,492
But I think you need to be
prepared for an explosion."
782
00:53:34,078 --> 00:53:37,313
MAN:
As the general manager of
the radio station in Clinton,
783
00:53:37,381 --> 00:53:38,981
we were doing
quite a bit of local news,
784
00:53:39,050 --> 00:53:41,250
and you realize in a small town
785
00:53:41,319 --> 00:53:42,985
that you need to have
a police scanner,
786
00:53:43,054 --> 00:53:44,620
because everything comes
off of it.
787
00:53:44,689 --> 00:53:48,224
And the person said,
"We've got a chemical leak
788
00:53:48,292 --> 00:53:50,459
at the Titan II missile silo."
789
00:53:50,528 --> 00:53:53,929
(sirens blaring)
790
00:53:53,998 --> 00:53:56,599
We get there about the same time
the sheriff is getting there,
791
00:53:56,667 --> 00:53:58,801
Gus Anglin.
792
00:53:58,869 --> 00:54:00,169
This is Gus Anglin.
793
00:54:00,238 --> 00:54:02,271
He was the sheriff
of Van Buren County,
794
00:54:02,340 --> 00:54:04,707
very popular sheriff,
by the way.
795
00:54:06,544 --> 00:54:09,778
And so we decide to walk down
the narrow road
796
00:54:09,847 --> 00:54:12,748
that goes down to the silo.
797
00:54:12,817 --> 00:54:14,416
And when you get down there,
798
00:54:14,485 --> 00:54:17,486
there's, like, this
ten-foot-tall chain link fencing
799
00:54:17,555 --> 00:54:21,857
with barbed wire
around the top of it.
800
00:54:21,926 --> 00:54:26,328
Out of nowhere, here comes
two guys with M-16 rifles.
801
00:54:28,266 --> 00:54:31,233
Gus says, "Do I need
to start evacuating?"
802
00:54:31,302 --> 00:54:32,568
"Oh, no, sir, no, sir,
803
00:54:32,637 --> 00:54:35,104
we've got it under control,
I assure you."
804
00:54:35,172 --> 00:54:36,939
You know, if they had come up
and said,
805
00:54:37,008 --> 00:54:38,607
"Man, we got a hell
of a situation,
806
00:54:38,676 --> 00:54:42,378
this thing may blow like hell,"
I'd have got out of there.
807
00:54:42,446 --> 00:54:45,881
CHILDERS:
You know, the attitude
that a lot
808
00:54:45,950 --> 00:54:48,717
of military commanders have
was to tell everybody,
809
00:54:48,786 --> 00:54:51,153
"Everything's okay,
we'll take care of it."
810
00:54:51,222 --> 00:54:52,988
And that's what we were doing
that night.
811
00:54:53,057 --> 00:54:54,356
That was the wrong answer.
812
00:54:54,425 --> 00:54:58,227
KING:
So we went back
to the edge of the road,
813
00:54:58,296 --> 00:55:00,529
which was just off Highway 65.
814
00:55:00,598 --> 00:55:04,300
There's homes real close
to the silo.
815
00:55:04,368 --> 00:55:05,968
WOMAN:
My mother said,
816
00:55:06,037 --> 00:55:08,404
"There's something wrong
at the missile base.
817
00:55:08,472 --> 00:55:10,406
There's cars,
there's a lot of cars going in."
818
00:55:10,474 --> 00:55:15,511
The missile site is probably
less than a quarter of a mile
819
00:55:15,579 --> 00:55:19,415
through the field
from the back door.
820
00:55:19,483 --> 00:55:23,585
They basically condemned
our land and took it.
821
00:55:23,654 --> 00:55:25,587
We didn't know the danger.
822
00:55:25,656 --> 00:55:28,324
We didn't know that that was
a nuclear missile there.
823
00:55:28,392 --> 00:55:30,392
I mean, it was a secret base.
824
00:55:30,461 --> 00:55:32,194
It had a chain link fence
825
00:55:32,263 --> 00:55:34,463
with barbed wire around the top
and guards.
826
00:55:34,532 --> 00:55:35,964
Big signs on the fence said,
827
00:55:36,033 --> 00:55:37,466
"We gonna shoot you
if you come in here."
828
00:55:39,470 --> 00:55:42,404
But you wasn't gonna change it
and we wasn't gonna move.
829
00:55:42,473 --> 00:55:45,007
It just didn't make much sense
to dwell on it,
830
00:55:45,076 --> 00:55:47,643
so you just put up with it,
831
00:55:47,712 --> 00:55:51,480
kind of like a bad neighbor
or an in-law or something.
832
00:55:51,549 --> 00:55:55,517
But the crowds were starting
to gather on 65.
833
00:55:55,586 --> 00:55:58,354
REPORTER:
This is as close as the military
will allow us to get.
834
00:55:58,422 --> 00:56:02,024
KING:
So here comes Channel 4,
here comes Channel 11.
835
00:56:02,093 --> 00:56:06,362
Before you know it, we've got
about 25 people out there.
836
00:56:06,430 --> 00:56:09,765
They ignored us.
837
00:56:09,834 --> 00:56:11,300
We'd yell at them
as they'd come by.
838
00:56:11,369 --> 00:56:13,369
We'd go, "Hey, is everything
under control?"
839
00:56:13,437 --> 00:56:15,270
You know,
"Have you fixed it yet?"
840
00:56:15,339 --> 00:56:16,939
And they'd just keep driving.
841
00:56:17,007 --> 00:56:19,007
They wouldn't even acknowledge
that you existed.
842
00:56:19,076 --> 00:56:21,477
HARPER:
My dad talked to a man
843
00:56:21,545 --> 00:56:24,780
that was in law enforcement
that he knew.
844
00:56:24,849 --> 00:56:26,815
This law enforcement man said,
845
00:56:26,884 --> 00:56:29,385
"Ralph, get your family
and get out of here,
846
00:56:29,453 --> 00:56:31,854
and if you tell this,
I'll get fired."
847
00:56:31,922 --> 00:56:33,889
And we all got together
848
00:56:33,958 --> 00:56:35,824
and drove to Choctaw
to spend the night.
849
00:56:35,893 --> 00:56:37,893
HUTTO:
Sheriff Gus Anglin,
850
00:56:37,962 --> 00:56:41,663
he didn't get the information
he thought he needed from them
851
00:56:41,732 --> 00:56:43,232
to make really good decisions,
852
00:56:43,300 --> 00:56:45,300
and finally he just went
to running everybody off.
853
00:56:45,369 --> 00:56:47,269
When they were evacuating,
he said, you know,
854
00:56:47,338 --> 00:56:48,871
"I don't know how bad it's going
to be or anything else,
855
00:56:48,939 --> 00:56:50,406
"get out of here right now
856
00:56:50,474 --> 00:56:52,274
and then we'll get you back in
quick as we can."
857
00:56:54,545 --> 00:56:57,513
They had roadblocks set up
back two miles from it
858
00:56:57,581 --> 00:57:00,082
diverting traffic
around the area.
859
00:57:02,386 --> 00:57:07,523
I had a problem that nine months
before that happened,
860
00:57:07,591 --> 00:57:10,759
I had synchronized
a bunch of heifers,
861
00:57:10,828 --> 00:57:12,294
which means you give them
a shot of Lutalyse
862
00:57:12,363 --> 00:57:14,263
and they all come into heat
at the same time.
863
00:57:14,331 --> 00:57:16,465
You breed them
all at the same time,
864
00:57:16,534 --> 00:57:20,169
which also means they're all
going to calve at the same time.
865
00:57:20,237 --> 00:57:23,005
Well, their due date
was that day.
866
00:57:24,909 --> 00:57:28,677
We would have lost the farm,
everything we had,
867
00:57:28,746 --> 00:57:31,447
you know, if them cows
got sick and died.
868
00:57:31,515 --> 00:57:34,783
So, well, we were going back in.
869
00:57:48,032 --> 00:57:55,938
MOSER:
We finally made the decision
to evacuate the crew,
870
00:57:56,006 --> 00:57:57,906
because when the missile
explodes,
871
00:57:57,975 --> 00:57:59,708
if it does explode,
872
00:57:59,777 --> 00:58:04,546
you're risking life of
the four crewmembers on site.
873
00:58:04,615 --> 00:58:07,182
So we thought the best avenue
874
00:58:07,251 --> 00:58:09,852
was to take the crew
out of the control center.
875
00:58:12,323 --> 00:58:14,356
Mike said, "We're going to have
to evacuate."
876
00:58:17,061 --> 00:58:20,829
Uh...
877
00:58:20,898 --> 00:58:23,765
It was one of the hardest things
I think anybody could do,
878
00:58:23,834 --> 00:58:25,934
because you were responsible
for a nuclear weapon
879
00:58:26,003 --> 00:58:28,670
that was capable of destroying
880
00:58:28,739 --> 00:58:31,406
an unbelievable amount
of territory
881
00:58:31,475 --> 00:58:35,444
and an unbelievable number
of people,
882
00:58:35,513 --> 00:58:37,246
and you were leaving it behind.
883
00:58:37,314 --> 00:58:38,614
And you owned it.
884
00:58:38,682 --> 00:58:41,283
For that alert, you owned it,
and you had to give it up,
885
00:58:41,352 --> 00:58:43,919
and there was nobody
to give it to.
886
00:58:48,659 --> 00:58:50,792
Nobody left it before.
887
00:58:50,861 --> 00:58:52,961
Nobody would leave
a nuclear warhead.
888
00:58:57,801 --> 00:58:59,668
The whole time I was leaving,
I kept thinking,
889
00:58:59,737 --> 00:59:01,670
"I need to stay,
I should have stayed."
890
00:59:01,739 --> 00:59:03,071
I look back on it now,
891
00:59:03,140 --> 00:59:05,140
I still can't believe
we left it empty.
892
00:59:06,744 --> 00:59:08,644
(alarm beeping, men talking)
893
00:59:12,483 --> 00:59:15,017
We had all these
classified checklists.
894
00:59:15,085 --> 00:59:16,818
Nobody had ever tried
to put them in a safe before--
895
00:59:16,887 --> 00:59:18,120
they wouldn't fit.
896
00:59:18,188 --> 00:59:21,590
So we left all of them
in the safe with the door open.
897
00:59:24,762 --> 00:59:26,762
HOLDER:
Fuel vapor can ignite,
898
00:59:26,830 --> 00:59:29,998
and so we need to cut
899
00:59:30,067 --> 00:59:34,069
as much electrical power
from the silo as we can.
900
00:59:34,138 --> 00:59:37,506
We don't want any electrical
spark or anything going on.
901
00:59:37,575 --> 00:59:39,341
CHILDERS:
We thought,
902
00:59:39,410 --> 00:59:40,676
"We're going to go out
the regular way,
903
00:59:40,744 --> 00:59:41,677
we'll open a door up."
904
00:59:47,484 --> 00:59:50,686
HOLDER:
As we started to open
the blast door,
905
00:59:50,754 --> 00:59:53,655
we immediately saw vapor.
906
00:59:57,494 --> 00:59:59,595
Once we closed that door,
907
00:59:59,663 --> 01:00:03,599
that cut off
our main escape route.
908
01:00:03,667 --> 01:00:06,602
We were instructed to evacuate
909
01:00:06,670 --> 01:00:09,104
through the emergency
escape hatch,
910
01:00:09,173 --> 01:00:12,774
which we had never actually
fully opened.
911
01:00:12,843 --> 01:00:16,445
CHILDERS:
It was just a metal tube
with a ladder in it,
912
01:00:16,513 --> 01:00:20,916
buried a good 40 feet
under the ground.
913
01:00:20,985 --> 01:00:22,684
There's a light at the top,
914
01:00:22,753 --> 01:00:26,254
and it's supposed to shine down
into the escape route,
915
01:00:26,323 --> 01:00:27,589
and it didn't come on.
916
01:00:27,658 --> 01:00:28,991
It wasn't working.
917
01:00:29,059 --> 01:00:31,326
Nothing was working.
918
01:00:31,395 --> 01:00:34,997
POWELL:
We had donned gas masks
because there was some concern
919
01:00:35,065 --> 01:00:39,434
about missile fuel vapors
blowing over the escape hatch.
920
01:00:43,874 --> 01:00:45,807
CHILDERS:
It was a hell of a thing
921
01:00:45,876 --> 01:00:48,910
to climb up five stories
in the dark with this mask on,
922
01:00:48,979 --> 01:00:50,512
and you couldn't breathe,
923
01:00:50,581 --> 01:00:52,981
and it filled up with vapors
and you couldn't see anything.
924
01:00:56,854 --> 01:00:58,820
We knew there was
very little wind that night,
925
01:00:58,889 --> 01:01:00,122
and all of the vapors
926
01:01:00,190 --> 01:01:03,759
that were being evacuated
out of the launch duct
927
01:01:03,827 --> 01:01:05,894
were settling over the site.
928
01:01:21,245 --> 01:01:24,179
JAMES SANDAKER:
I was at home
with my wife and kid,
929
01:01:24,248 --> 01:01:28,050
and I got a call
from job control,
930
01:01:28,118 --> 01:01:32,220
and they said they had a problem
out at 4-7.
931
01:01:32,289 --> 01:01:35,824
So I drove up to the barracks,
932
01:01:35,893 --> 01:01:41,329
and I was banging on doors,
getting PTS guys.
933
01:01:41,398 --> 01:01:42,931
They told everybody here,
934
01:01:43,000 --> 01:01:44,700
"This is a very dangerous
situation,
935
01:01:44,768 --> 01:01:46,568
"we don't know what's going
to happen,
936
01:01:46,637 --> 01:01:50,172
"this is a purely
voluntary mission only,
937
01:01:50,240 --> 01:01:53,141
and if you don't want to go,
you don't have to go."
938
01:01:53,210 --> 01:01:56,044
(engine roaring)
939
01:01:56,113 --> 01:02:00,449
The PTS group,
it was like a brotherhood.
940
01:02:00,517 --> 01:02:04,052
There's no question that
we weren't going to be the team
941
01:02:04,121 --> 01:02:05,954
that was going out there.
942
01:02:06,023 --> 01:02:08,156
Dave Livingston was
one of the guys,
943
01:02:08,225 --> 01:02:11,660
and he was sitting
in the back seat
944
01:02:11,729 --> 01:02:13,962
and he said to me,
945
01:02:14,031 --> 01:02:16,064
"Somebody's going to die
out here tonight.
946
01:02:16,133 --> 01:02:17,566
I just feel it."
947
01:02:17,634 --> 01:02:20,802
And I said, "Dave, don't say
something like that, man.
948
01:02:20,871 --> 01:02:22,370
Don't even say it."
949
01:02:22,439 --> 01:02:24,206
And he goes,
"No, I got a bad vibe, man,
950
01:02:24,274 --> 01:02:25,674
Somebody's going to die
out here, man."
951
01:02:27,478 --> 01:02:30,679
HOLDER:
We know at this point
that there's a helicopter
952
01:02:30,748 --> 01:02:34,182
on the way,
and Jeff Kennedy was on there.
953
01:02:34,251 --> 01:02:38,320
He was one of the best,
if not the best,
954
01:02:38,388 --> 01:02:41,556
team chief in the wing.
955
01:02:41,625 --> 01:02:43,125
DAVE POWELL:
Jeff Kennedy was
956
01:02:43,193 --> 01:02:47,362
the kind of guy that
he would never ask you
957
01:02:47,431 --> 01:02:49,998
to do anything
he wouldn't do himself.
958
01:02:50,067 --> 01:02:52,801
PLUMB:
He had an authoritative voice
959
01:02:52,870 --> 01:02:56,738
that would just, you know,
kind of rattle your cage.
960
01:02:56,807 --> 01:02:58,607
KENNEDY:
When I got out on site,
961
01:02:58,675 --> 01:03:01,543
Powell came running up to me
962
01:03:01,612 --> 01:03:05,413
and said, "Jeff, I ------ up
like you wouldn't believe."
963
01:03:05,482 --> 01:03:08,750
I know that I need
to get the tank readings
964
01:03:08,819 --> 01:03:11,887
to find out how serious
the leak is.
965
01:03:11,955 --> 01:03:15,490
POWELL:
Getting the tank
pressure readings
966
01:03:15,559 --> 01:03:17,425
was probably the most important
thing that we could do.
967
01:03:17,494 --> 01:03:22,697
Jeff thought the longer we wait,
the more dangerous it gets.
968
01:03:22,766 --> 01:03:26,768
What Jeff
didn't tell anybody was
969
01:03:26,837 --> 01:03:29,371
we're going to go down
into that silo
970
01:03:29,439 --> 01:03:32,073
and look at those pressures.
971
01:03:32,142 --> 01:03:38,580
So we run across the silo
to the escape hatch.
972
01:03:41,718 --> 01:03:43,952
Kennedy goes
into the tube first,
973
01:03:44,021 --> 01:03:45,854
I follow him in,
and all of a sudden,
974
01:03:45,923 --> 01:03:48,757
he looks up at me and he says,
"Stay here."
975
01:03:48,826 --> 01:03:53,495
We violated the most sacred rule
in SAC,
976
01:03:53,564 --> 01:03:55,697
which is the two-man rule.
977
01:03:55,766 --> 01:03:58,300
Nobody goes to certain parts
of the silo
978
01:03:58,368 --> 01:04:01,503
without being accompanied
by another person.
979
01:04:01,572 --> 01:04:05,607
He felt like that he could get
in and out quicker
980
01:04:05,676 --> 01:04:07,676
if he went by himself.
981
01:04:14,218 --> 01:04:19,721
KENNEDY:
Stage one fuel was now
at a negative imbalance.
982
01:04:19,790 --> 01:04:22,891
There's 14,000 gallons of fuel
983
01:04:22,960 --> 01:04:25,460
that have leaked out
of the tank.
984
01:04:25,529 --> 01:04:28,196
It sends out a tremendous amount
of heat.
985
01:04:28,265 --> 01:04:30,732
Oxidizer reacts to heat,
986
01:04:30,801 --> 01:04:34,569
so now we have less than
30 pounds of pressure
987
01:04:34,638 --> 01:04:38,707
before stage one oxidizer blows.
988
01:04:43,247 --> 01:04:48,016
POWELL:
Kennedy shows the readings
that he just got
989
01:04:48,085 --> 01:04:51,486
and says we still had time
to save it, but we had to move.
990
01:04:51,555 --> 01:04:52,687
We had to move now.
991
01:04:52,756 --> 01:04:56,258
CHILDERS:
The commander was furious
992
01:04:56,326 --> 01:04:58,727
that he had violated
the two-man policy
993
01:04:58,795 --> 01:05:00,128
by going down there
994
01:05:00,197 --> 01:05:02,030
and didn't even have
a crew member with him;
995
01:05:02,099 --> 01:05:03,298
he was just on his own.
996
01:05:03,367 --> 01:05:04,532
He violated everything.
997
01:05:04,601 --> 01:05:08,570
KENNEDY:
The colonel now calls
SAC headquarters.
998
01:05:08,639 --> 01:05:10,939
15 minutes later,
999
01:05:11,008 --> 01:05:15,577
SAC headquarters relieves us
of all command decision making.
1000
01:05:17,781 --> 01:05:20,315
Now, here's SAC headquarters
1001
01:05:20,384 --> 01:05:25,287
that has never stepped foot
on a complex,
1002
01:05:25,355 --> 01:05:31,393
and they're making decisions
on what's going to happen.
1003
01:05:31,461 --> 01:05:34,829
That just pissed me off.
1004
01:05:40,837 --> 01:05:42,003
(phones ringing)
1005
01:05:46,643 --> 01:05:48,310
BEN SCALLORN:
Time was of the essence
1006
01:05:48,378 --> 01:05:50,745
if we were going
to accomplish anything.
1007
01:05:50,814 --> 01:05:52,414
Every minute that passed by,
1008
01:05:52,482 --> 01:05:56,584
we were further, simply because
we're dumping more fuel
1009
01:05:56,653 --> 01:05:58,720
and everything is getting worse.
1010
01:05:58,789 --> 01:06:01,489
We all thought it was getting
to be more and more dangerous
1011
01:06:01,558 --> 01:06:02,624
to go in the site.
1012
01:06:04,394 --> 01:06:08,663
Martin Marietta,
the manufacturer of the missile,
1013
01:06:08,732 --> 01:06:13,101
told us to back out
and just wait and see.
1014
01:06:13,170 --> 01:06:15,203
Martin Marietta recommended
1015
01:06:15,272 --> 01:06:18,239
not to even go in
or go near the missile,
1016
01:06:18,308 --> 01:06:21,910
and if it blew,
there would be no injuries.
1017
01:06:21,979 --> 01:06:27,682
SAC made the decision to I guess
not listen to Martin Marietta.
1018
01:06:32,255 --> 01:06:35,123
HOLDER:
People started showing up
from base.
1019
01:06:37,260 --> 01:06:42,564
Communications,
portable vapor detectors,
1020
01:06:42,632 --> 01:06:46,301
they were bringing all kinds
of maintenance equipment.
1021
01:06:46,370 --> 01:06:48,536
KING:
You think all of these experts
1022
01:06:48,605 --> 01:06:50,672
must be coming in
to work on this thing.
1023
01:06:54,077 --> 01:06:56,511
Then I see this bus come in,
1024
01:06:56,580 --> 01:07:00,849
and here are these
about ten guys,
1025
01:07:00,917 --> 01:07:05,887
and they start putting on
what looks like space outfits.
1026
01:07:05,956 --> 01:07:08,990
And you're looking at these
and you're thinking,
1027
01:07:09,059 --> 01:07:14,496
"I'm 24 years old
and they're all younger than me,
1028
01:07:14,564 --> 01:07:16,564
"and these guys are the experts
1029
01:07:16,633 --> 01:07:18,933
that are going to go in there
and fix this?"
1030
01:07:21,104 --> 01:07:23,538
All I saw was just young guys
1031
01:07:23,607 --> 01:07:26,841
that were being thrown
to the lions.
1032
01:07:29,446 --> 01:07:31,446
DEVLIN:
One of the hard things
for us was
1033
01:07:31,515 --> 01:07:35,183
it seemed like we were waiting
and waiting and waiting
1034
01:07:35,252 --> 01:07:37,886
for some decision
to be made at SAC
1035
01:07:37,954 --> 01:07:40,221
as specifically what to do.
1036
01:07:40,290 --> 01:07:42,690
So the time frame of, like,
1037
01:07:42,759 --> 01:07:46,728
"Man, you know, whatever
we're going to do, let's do it."
1038
01:07:46,797 --> 01:07:47,962
(phone ringing)
1039
01:07:51,101 --> 01:07:54,069
MOSER:
The SAC command center
finally decided that
1040
01:07:54,137 --> 01:07:56,371
we had to know
what the status was
1041
01:07:56,440 --> 01:07:58,606
in the silo,
if we could get back in.
1042
01:08:00,610 --> 01:08:03,044
What they considered
the best alternative
1043
01:08:03,113 --> 01:08:05,814
was go back in
and check pressures.
1044
01:08:08,151 --> 01:08:10,285
DEVLIN:
When we find out
what the plan is,
1045
01:08:10,353 --> 01:08:12,987
we have to break
into a nuclear missile complex,
1046
01:08:13,056 --> 01:08:15,623
which has never been done before
in history.
1047
01:08:15,692 --> 01:08:18,760
CHILDERS:
If we had stayed
in the control center,
1048
01:08:18,829 --> 01:08:22,997
we could have opened every door
they had to break their way in.
1049
01:08:23,066 --> 01:08:27,969
HOLDER:
The plan was to go down
and go through the blast doors,
1050
01:08:28,038 --> 01:08:30,138
get into the control center,
1051
01:08:30,207 --> 01:08:34,609
and depending on the fuel
and oxidizer readings,
1052
01:08:34,678 --> 01:08:38,980
they wanted to get
to the missile itself.
1053
01:08:39,049 --> 01:08:43,718
The real grand scheme was
1054
01:08:43,787 --> 01:08:47,388
to go out to the silo
to level four,
1055
01:08:47,457 --> 01:08:51,526
open up a valve
to vent that tank
1056
01:08:51,595 --> 01:08:57,599
so it would stabilize
and not collapse.
1057
01:08:57,667 --> 01:09:00,268
The only way we could try
to save the thing
1058
01:09:00,337 --> 01:09:02,937
was to get in and connect
up to the missile
1059
01:09:03,006 --> 01:09:05,073
and have an emergency offload.
1060
01:09:08,311 --> 01:09:11,613
KENNEDY:
That was absolute,
total bull----.
1061
01:09:11,681 --> 01:09:13,615
You know, I said,
1062
01:09:13,683 --> 01:09:16,451
"Colonel, why don't we just
go down the escape hatch?"
1063
01:09:16,520 --> 01:09:18,553
"Kennedy, this plan
has come down,
1064
01:09:18,622 --> 01:09:24,392
it's the plan we're going
to go with, and that's it."
1065
01:09:24,461 --> 01:09:26,127
POWELL:
Jeff thought the plan
1066
01:09:26,196 --> 01:09:27,896
was nuts.
1067
01:09:27,964 --> 01:09:30,465
But on the other hand,
you're...
1068
01:09:30,534 --> 01:09:33,601
This is what you do;
you're a PTS guy.
1069
01:09:33,670 --> 01:09:36,404
This is the plan that came down
1070
01:09:36,473 --> 01:09:39,974
and you suck it up
and you do it.
1071
01:09:43,046 --> 01:09:48,349
MOSER:
We were directed to ask
for volunteers to go back in.
1072
01:09:48,418 --> 01:09:51,986
I personally wasn't in favor
of sending anybody else in
1073
01:09:52,055 --> 01:09:53,621
after all the time.
1074
01:09:53,690 --> 01:09:56,624
It was the wee hours
of the morning,
1075
01:09:56,693 --> 01:10:02,030
this has been going on
for many hours at this point,
1076
01:10:02,098 --> 01:10:03,932
probably eight hours.
1077
01:10:04,000 --> 01:10:08,203
But I guess you go back
and say, as a good soldier,
1078
01:10:08,271 --> 01:10:13,708
your boss says "Do this"
and you eventually do it.
1079
01:10:13,777 --> 01:10:16,311
And we had enough brave souls
1080
01:10:16,379 --> 01:10:21,015
to volunteer
to go back in the silo.
1081
01:10:21,084 --> 01:10:24,485
DEVLIN:
Rex Hukle and I
were the first guys to go in.
1082
01:10:24,554 --> 01:10:28,456
They said, "You only have
30 minutes of air.
1083
01:10:28,525 --> 01:10:31,726
There is no crew down there,
the crew is already evacuated,"
1084
01:10:31,795 --> 01:10:33,728
so they said,
"You're going to have to cut
1085
01:10:33,797 --> 01:10:35,964
and break your way
into this missile complex."
1086
01:10:45,542 --> 01:10:48,142
SCALLORN:
When they got
to the exhaust duct,
1087
01:10:48,211 --> 01:10:50,478
they took a reading
and the meter pegged out,
1088
01:10:50,547 --> 01:10:53,982
which is 250 parts per million.
1089
01:10:54,050 --> 01:10:57,785
I had made a recommendation that
1090
01:10:57,854 --> 01:11:01,756
if it was 250 parts per million
or higher, we backed off
1091
01:11:01,825 --> 01:11:05,960
because the protective clothing
wouldn't protect our guys.
1092
01:11:06,029 --> 01:11:09,998
HOLDER:
250 parts per million
is when the vapor
1093
01:11:10,066 --> 01:11:12,934
is in such a high concentration,
1094
01:11:13,003 --> 01:11:16,271
it could start to melt
the RFHCO suits.
1095
01:11:16,339 --> 01:11:20,975
Almost anything
could cause it to ignite.
1096
01:11:23,980 --> 01:11:29,917
SCALLORN:
General Leavitt directed them
to press on.
1097
01:11:29,986 --> 01:11:32,420
I knew it was
the wrong thing to do.
1098
01:11:32,489 --> 01:11:35,089
Whatever was going to happen
was not going to be good.
1099
01:11:39,596 --> 01:11:43,364
DEVLIN:
We got to the portal door.
1100
01:11:43,433 --> 01:11:46,467
We used bolt cutters
and a great big crowbar
1101
01:11:46,536 --> 01:11:49,003
to pry open the main lock
1102
01:11:49,072 --> 01:11:51,806
and then go down
three levels of steps
1103
01:11:51,875 --> 01:11:56,177
to get to your first
6,000-pound blast lock door
1104
01:11:56,246 --> 01:11:59,747
with great big hydraulic pins
that lock it in place.
1105
01:12:01,351 --> 01:12:03,818
We had to manually start
to pump it open.
1106
01:12:03,887 --> 01:12:07,088
We had never used
a hydraulic pump.
1107
01:12:07,157 --> 01:12:09,524
We were getting close
to the 30 minutes of air,
1108
01:12:09,592 --> 01:12:11,025
and then they had...
they sent us back.
1109
01:12:11,094 --> 01:12:13,461
So they said, "You guys
got it hooked up, come on back.
1110
01:12:13,530 --> 01:12:15,997
We're going to send Kennedy and
Livingston in to replace you."
1111
01:12:22,105 --> 01:12:24,605
MOSER:
Those guys were brave.
1112
01:12:24,674 --> 01:12:26,908
They knew what they were
getting into
1113
01:12:26,976 --> 01:12:28,910
when they went back in
on the underground--
1114
01:12:30,280 --> 01:12:33,815
what could happen to them.
HOLDER:
I was sitting
in a security police vehicle,
1115
01:12:33,883 --> 01:12:36,050
listening and hearing
what's going on.
1116
01:12:36,119 --> 01:12:38,786
The next team went in,
1117
01:12:38,855 --> 01:12:42,123
which was going to be Kennedy
and Livingston.
1118
01:12:42,192 --> 01:12:46,794
MAN (over radio):
AR to CC, stand by.
1119
01:12:49,032 --> 01:12:51,366
HOLDER:
They're relaying the information
1120
01:12:51,434 --> 01:12:53,368
that they've opened
the blast door.
1121
01:13:03,146 --> 01:13:05,913
KENNEDY:
When we went
into the blast lock area,
1122
01:13:05,982 --> 01:13:11,252
there's eight lights,
bright as hell.
1123
01:13:11,321 --> 01:13:16,691
I'm less than ten feet away
from it and I can't even see it.
1124
01:13:20,930 --> 01:13:25,266
HOLDER:
So they immediately evacuated
and started topside.
1125
01:13:29,139 --> 01:13:31,172
KENNEDY:
I had got topside,
1126
01:13:31,241 --> 01:13:34,242
and now we get a command
from the team chief
1127
01:13:34,310 --> 01:13:39,080
to go down
and turn on an exhaust fan.
1128
01:13:39,149 --> 01:13:43,251
Livingston taps himself
on the chest, and he went down.
1129
01:13:52,996 --> 01:14:01,402
HOLDER:
After that, within seconds,
I saw the explosion.
1130
01:14:02,972 --> 01:14:07,308
(booming explosion)
1131
01:14:15,351 --> 01:14:17,718
(radio static)
1132
01:14:19,823 --> 01:14:22,223
MOSER:
All of a sudden,
I lost all communications.
1133
01:14:23,960 --> 01:14:26,294
PTS-1, do you copy?
1134
01:14:26,362 --> 01:14:28,429
I repeat, PTS-1, do you copy?
1135
01:14:28,498 --> 01:14:31,098
MOSER:
Everything you ever read
or heard
1136
01:14:31,167 --> 01:14:33,568
about a nuclear explosion,
1137
01:14:33,636 --> 01:14:37,738
all communications were lost
until things settled out.
1138
01:14:37,807 --> 01:14:40,107
And that's the first thing
I, uh...
1139
01:14:40,176 --> 01:14:42,844
that's the first thing
that entered my mind,
1140
01:14:42,912 --> 01:14:47,315
that we had a nuclear explosion
out there
1141
01:14:47,383 --> 01:14:48,683
and we may have a shock wave
1142
01:14:48,751 --> 01:14:50,952
coming into Little Rock
Air Force Base
1143
01:14:51,020 --> 01:14:53,321
and all the surrounding
communities,
1144
01:14:53,389 --> 01:14:56,624
and that's the first thing
I thought about.
1145
01:14:56,693 --> 01:15:01,095
And all the people would be dead
out there on site, of course,
1146
01:15:01,164 --> 01:15:03,998
and I just...
1147
01:15:04,067 --> 01:15:07,935
it was unimaginable
what was going through my mind.
1148
01:15:08,004 --> 01:15:09,704
It was almost like
1149
01:15:09,772 --> 01:15:12,874
you wanted to get down
on your knees and, uh...
1150
01:15:12,942 --> 01:15:16,210
and, uh, pray
to the higher power...
1151
01:15:16,279 --> 01:15:18,446
(laughs)
1152
01:15:18,515 --> 01:15:21,782
...uh, to protect everybody.
1153
01:15:21,851 --> 01:15:27,421
It was a very traumatic moment
in my life.
1154
01:15:27,490 --> 01:15:31,359
It affects me to this day
when I think about that.
1155
01:15:34,163 --> 01:15:36,264
HUTTO:
About 3:00 in the morning,
1156
01:15:36,332 --> 01:15:39,000
I decided,
"Well, might as well go milk."
1157
01:15:42,071 --> 01:15:45,306
And just before I got
to the roadblock,
1158
01:15:45,375 --> 01:15:48,609
you drop off a hill
on Highway 65, there's a spot
1159
01:15:48,678 --> 01:15:51,445
that you can see the ground
at the missile base.
1160
01:15:51,514 --> 01:15:55,082
Just as I got to that spot,
it blew.
1161
01:15:57,520 --> 01:15:59,587
You felt it
more than you saw it.
1162
01:15:59,656 --> 01:16:02,223
I mean, I was
a mile and three quarters,
1163
01:16:02,292 --> 01:16:04,325
two miles away from it,
1164
01:16:04,394 --> 01:16:06,627
and it almost shook my truck
off the road.
1165
01:16:08,898 --> 01:16:12,733
HARPER:
The explosion woke us up
eight miles away in Choctaw.
1166
01:16:12,802 --> 01:16:15,536
It shook the home,
it shook the bed you were in,
1167
01:16:15,605 --> 01:16:19,307
and we immediately
all jumped up, and my dad said,
1168
01:16:19,375 --> 01:16:22,043
"Get everybody, get in the cars,
and we're heading north."
1169
01:16:25,715 --> 01:16:28,316
KING:
Gus was sitting
in his sheriff's car.
1170
01:16:28,384 --> 01:16:31,819
I was sitting on the hood
of Gus's car,
1171
01:16:31,888 --> 01:16:34,055
just kind of sitting there,
1172
01:16:34,123 --> 01:16:37,291
and had on slip-on shoes
and was kicking one off and on.
1173
01:16:37,360 --> 01:16:40,428
Then all of a sudden,
it was just, "Ka-whoom!"
1174
01:16:50,506 --> 01:16:51,806
KING:
Everybody was running
1175
01:16:51,874 --> 01:16:53,975
as hard as they could
to get out of there
1176
01:16:54,043 --> 01:16:55,543
because we may be living
our last few minutes.
1177
01:16:55,612 --> 01:16:58,479
MAN:
Go, go, go!
1178
01:16:58,548 --> 01:17:00,948
KING:
I thought,
when I jumped in my car
1179
01:17:01,017 --> 01:17:04,652
and drove as hard as I could,
1180
01:17:04,721 --> 01:17:08,089
that I was probably outrunning
a nuclear blast, you know?
1181
01:17:08,157 --> 01:17:11,325
I thought, "This Dodge Omni
is going to outrun this thing."
1182
01:17:14,063 --> 01:17:17,798
And I remember we had almost
made it to Choctaw,
1183
01:17:17,867 --> 01:17:19,567
and I turned to Tom and I said,
1184
01:17:19,636 --> 01:17:22,670
"We just left a bunch
of dead people back there, Tom."
1185
01:17:25,308 --> 01:17:27,241
CHILDERS:
The sky just lit up.
1186
01:17:27,310 --> 01:17:30,678
It really looked like the sun
was coming up,
1187
01:17:30,747 --> 01:17:33,881
which is why our initial
reaction was,
1188
01:17:33,950 --> 01:17:39,587
"The nuclear bomb went off,
the nuclear warhead exploded."
1189
01:17:39,656 --> 01:17:42,490
HOLDER:
I look up and I saw fire
1190
01:17:42,558 --> 01:17:45,159
just shooting straight up
out of the silo--
1191
01:17:45,228 --> 01:17:48,663
a thousand feet, maybe more--
and it's like a roman candle
1192
01:17:48,731 --> 01:17:51,732
just shooting straight up
in the air.
1193
01:17:51,801 --> 01:17:54,568
We ducked under the tailgate
of a truck.
1194
01:17:54,637 --> 01:17:59,273
(rumbling, glass shattering)
1195
01:18:01,577 --> 01:18:04,211
(people shouting)
1196
01:18:04,280 --> 01:18:08,015
(glass shattering)
1197
01:18:08,084 --> 01:18:11,218
CHILDERS:
So much gravel and rocks
were coming down.
1198
01:18:11,287 --> 01:18:14,422
It was smashing windshields
and putting holes in trucks.
1199
01:18:14,490 --> 01:18:17,425
I was literally trying
to crawl underneath a truck,
1200
01:18:17,493 --> 01:18:19,860
and it started to move
and I crawled out again
1201
01:18:19,929 --> 01:18:22,863
real fast,
and somebody drove it off.
1202
01:18:22,932 --> 01:18:25,866
(tires screeching)
1203
01:18:25,935 --> 01:18:26,867
(debris falling)
1204
01:18:26,936 --> 01:18:28,135
MAN:
Oh my God!
1205
01:18:28,204 --> 01:18:30,171
CHILDERS:
The stuff stopped falling,
1206
01:18:30,239 --> 01:18:35,509
but there was flames everywhere
and you could hear this roar.
1207
01:18:35,578 --> 01:18:38,279
And you looked down there,
you could see
1208
01:18:38,347 --> 01:18:40,614
this steam and fire
coming out of the complex.
1209
01:18:42,919 --> 01:18:44,085
DEVLIN:
All I know is
1210
01:18:44,153 --> 01:18:45,519
the first thing to hit me
was wind.
1211
01:18:45,588 --> 01:18:47,154
It was like a, "Boom!"
1212
01:18:47,223 --> 01:18:50,157
Just like a concussion, man,
it was like, "Bang!"
1213
01:18:50,226 --> 01:18:51,625
And you're blown backwards,
1214
01:18:51,694 --> 01:18:53,461
you have no control
over anything.
1215
01:18:53,529 --> 01:18:55,129
(booming explosion)
1216
01:18:55,198 --> 01:18:57,331
As I was sliding on my back,
1217
01:18:57,400 --> 01:19:00,301
burning, going up the street,
my left eye opened
1218
01:19:00,369 --> 01:19:02,970
and I could see glowing steel
blowing past me.
1219
01:19:03,039 --> 01:19:05,306
And in my heart, I said,
"It's over.
1220
01:19:05,374 --> 01:19:06,874
You're not going to live
through this."
1221
01:19:06,943 --> 01:19:08,609
You know, "I just hope
it's not painful."
1222
01:19:08,678 --> 01:19:10,111
That's the only thing
that went through my brain,
1223
01:19:10,179 --> 01:19:11,278
"I hope it's not painful."
1224
01:19:11,347 --> 01:19:16,650
And I heard two
blood-curdling screams
1225
01:19:16,719 --> 01:19:18,719
to "Run! Run!"
1226
01:19:18,788 --> 01:19:20,454
I got up and took off running.
1227
01:19:20,523 --> 01:19:22,423
I got five steps away,
1228
01:19:22,492 --> 01:19:25,626
and a chunk of concrete
bigger than a school bus
1229
01:19:25,695 --> 01:19:27,161
hits the ground right behind me,
1230
01:19:27,230 --> 01:19:30,765
and it's got steel rebar
hanging out of it.
1231
01:19:30,833 --> 01:19:32,266
As I'm running,
1232
01:19:32,335 --> 01:19:36,804
I feel this whack hit my ankle
and just shatters my ankle.
1233
01:19:36,873 --> 01:19:39,673
The next step I took,
I just buckled and went down.
1234
01:19:39,742 --> 01:19:41,242
That's when I started to realize
1235
01:19:41,310 --> 01:19:44,178
that my face and neck and back
were all on fire.
1236
01:19:47,049 --> 01:19:50,751
CHILDERS:
And I was picking people up
and carrying them up the road,
1237
01:19:50,820 --> 01:19:53,454
trying to get them away
from the debris.
1238
01:19:53,523 --> 01:19:56,690
I remember helping one of them
into the back of a truck,
1239
01:19:56,759 --> 01:19:58,959
and as we were carrying him,
1240
01:19:59,028 --> 01:20:01,829
the suit would snag
on rocks and rebar
1241
01:20:01,898 --> 01:20:03,898
and just wrench his broken leg,
1242
01:20:03,966 --> 01:20:05,599
and he was just screaming
in pain.
1243
01:20:07,904 --> 01:20:09,336
DEVLIN:
And they said,
1244
01:20:09,405 --> 01:20:12,106
"Devlin, you've got
to go to the hospital."
1245
01:20:12,175 --> 01:20:15,509
And I said,
"No, don't take me
1246
01:20:15,578 --> 01:20:17,545
"until you have Livingston,
until you have Kennedy.
1247
01:20:17,613 --> 01:20:20,014
I don't wanna leave
until you have everybody."
1248
01:20:20,082 --> 01:20:22,383
And he said, "No, man,
we're going to send you now,
1249
01:20:22,451 --> 01:20:23,918
we've got to get you
to the hospital."
1250
01:20:23,986 --> 01:20:25,719
(tires screeching)
1251
01:20:28,157 --> 01:20:29,657
MAN:
Evacuate, evacuate!
1252
01:20:29,725 --> 01:20:31,926
CHILDERS:
All you heard was,
"Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate!"
1253
01:20:31,994 --> 01:20:33,928
Air Force Colonel said,
1254
01:20:33,996 --> 01:20:35,062
"The other two
who are on the site,
1255
01:20:35,131 --> 01:20:36,230
they have to be dead."
1256
01:20:36,299 --> 01:20:37,565
And we looked down
at the site and said,
1257
01:20:37,633 --> 01:20:40,100
"I'm with you, Colonel,
they have to be dead."
1258
01:20:40,169 --> 01:20:43,838
I got into the last truck
that was there
1259
01:20:43,906 --> 01:20:47,808
with a bunch of hurt guys,
and I said, "Let's go."
1260
01:20:58,621 --> 01:21:01,388
(sirens blaring)
1261
01:21:23,980 --> 01:21:26,580
KENNEDY:
As soon as it blew,
1262
01:21:26,649 --> 01:21:30,017
I can remember being flipped
ass over tea kettle.
1263
01:21:37,360 --> 01:21:40,127
When I woke up,
I was laying on my back,
1264
01:21:40,196 --> 01:21:43,397
my legs were up
against the complex fence.
1265
01:21:43,466 --> 01:21:47,868
I was screaming and crying.
1266
01:21:51,607 --> 01:21:57,511
There was nobody there,
absolutely zero.
1267
01:21:57,580 --> 01:22:01,982
You only had yourself.
1268
01:22:02,051 --> 01:22:05,152
You know, the pain
I had to deal with
1269
01:22:05,221 --> 01:22:08,489
was trivial to the fact that
I wanted to live,
1270
01:22:08,557 --> 01:22:09,990
I wanted to survive.
1271
01:22:10,059 --> 01:22:11,926
I mean, I thought of my kids,
my wife.
1272
01:22:11,994 --> 01:22:15,396
I said, "I am not going to die
in this complex."
1273
01:22:17,700 --> 01:22:22,336
I went to stand up,
and I fell right down.
1274
01:22:22,405 --> 01:22:24,505
My leg was broken.
1275
01:22:24,573 --> 01:22:28,208
I fell down four, five times,
got back up.
1276
01:22:31,280 --> 01:22:37,184
All the time that I'm walking,
I can hear Livingston,
1277
01:22:37,253 --> 01:22:39,153
"Oh my God, help me.
1278
01:22:39,221 --> 01:22:42,122
Please, somebody help me."
1279
01:22:42,191 --> 01:22:45,526
Because of my leg being broken,
1280
01:22:45,594 --> 01:22:48,829
I determined that
I could not get him.
1281
01:22:50,933 --> 01:22:56,403
This is something that
I fought with for eons.
1282
01:22:56,472 --> 01:23:02,042
If Livingston had known
that I was there,
1283
01:23:02,111 --> 01:23:05,379
would that have been enough
of an adrenaline rush,
1284
01:23:05,448 --> 01:23:07,848
to know somebody's
got to get some help?
1285
01:23:12,989 --> 01:23:16,056
Off the complex was a truck.
1286
01:23:16,125 --> 01:23:18,225
I had to make it from one end
of the complex to the other.
1287
01:23:18,294 --> 01:23:21,095
You know, I fell down
a half dozen times.
1288
01:23:21,163 --> 01:23:23,497
Had to take me 45 minutes.
1289
01:23:26,035 --> 01:23:29,536
When I got to the truck
and I radioed for help,
1290
01:23:29,605 --> 01:23:31,538
the truck went dead.
1291
01:23:42,852 --> 01:23:46,053
SANDAKER:
On my way back
to the missile site,
1292
01:23:46,122 --> 01:23:49,223
I could hear Kennedy
on the radio in the truck.
1293
01:23:49,291 --> 01:23:51,925
(switching through
radio frequencies)
1294
01:23:51,994 --> 01:23:54,661
KENNEDY (on radio):
Help! Help me!
1295
01:23:54,730 --> 01:23:56,797
Help me!
1296
01:24:00,636 --> 01:24:02,836
Can anybody read me?
1297
01:24:05,674 --> 01:24:07,775
SANDAKER:
And I headed down the road
1298
01:24:07,843 --> 01:24:10,177
as fast as I could get
that truck to go.
1299
01:24:10,246 --> 01:24:12,713
I got partway there,
1300
01:24:12,782 --> 01:24:16,517
and two security policemen
were in the road
1301
01:24:16,585 --> 01:24:17,918
and they waved me down.
1302
01:24:17,987 --> 01:24:19,153
(knocking)
1303
01:24:21,791 --> 01:24:22,956
Who's bringing them?
1304
01:24:23,025 --> 01:24:23,957
What?
1305
01:24:24,026 --> 01:24:25,692
Who's bringing
people here?
1306
01:24:25,761 --> 01:24:27,628
They've got them
in trucks.
1307
01:24:27,696 --> 01:24:30,764
SANDAKER:
And he told us to evacuate
and not go down there.
1308
01:24:30,833 --> 01:24:33,333
And I said, "Screw you.
1309
01:24:33,402 --> 01:24:35,769
Our friends are down there,
we're going."
1310
01:24:37,406 --> 01:24:39,740
I'm not gonna wait here.
1311
01:24:39,809 --> 01:24:41,942
KENNEDY (on radio):
Please help me!
1312
01:24:42,011 --> 01:24:44,611
Where are you?
1313
01:24:44,680 --> 01:24:47,114
SANDAKER:
When I got back
to the missile site,
1314
01:24:47,183 --> 01:24:50,084
I saw Kennedy.
1315
01:24:50,152 --> 01:24:54,922
He was burnt, and...
1316
01:24:54,990 --> 01:25:00,928
...he had a hole in his leg
the size of your fist.
1317
01:25:00,996 --> 01:25:05,365
He was really hurt bad, and...
1318
01:25:08,904 --> 01:25:12,172
...he told me
to go find Livingston.
1319
01:25:14,477 --> 01:25:18,745
We put our helmets on
and we went onto the site.
1320
01:25:23,352 --> 01:25:27,187
It was like another world.
1321
01:25:27,256 --> 01:25:30,457
Ordnance guys had told us
that the warhead
1322
01:25:30,526 --> 01:25:32,359
was full of plastic explosives
1323
01:25:32,428 --> 01:25:34,528
that could be laying
all over the ground,
1324
01:25:34,597 --> 01:25:40,000
so somehow we were not supposed
to step on them.
1325
01:25:40,069 --> 01:25:44,071
There was giant chunks
of concrete blasted all over
1326
01:25:44,140 --> 01:25:49,109
that looked like the size
of semi trucks.
1327
01:25:52,314 --> 01:25:54,314
There's a strange glow
1328
01:25:54,383 --> 01:25:56,216
coming out of where the silo
used to be.
1329
01:26:03,959 --> 01:26:05,325
And when we got back
to the truck,
1330
01:26:05,394 --> 01:26:10,797
they had already found
Livingston,
1331
01:26:10,866 --> 01:26:17,004
and I was angry because
they didn't have an ambulance.
1332
01:26:17,072 --> 01:26:19,640
I put him in the back
of a pickup truck.
1333
01:26:22,978 --> 01:26:24,978
And we...
1334
01:26:25,047 --> 01:26:27,114
I held him.
1335
01:26:33,222 --> 01:26:38,091
He begged me
not to tell his mother,
1336
01:26:38,160 --> 01:26:41,028
like he had done
something wrong.
1337
01:26:43,199 --> 01:26:49,736
And I told him that
he didn't do anything wrong.
1338
01:26:52,641 --> 01:26:56,076
(sirens blaring)
1339
01:26:56,145 --> 01:26:59,613
DEVLIN:
When we arrived at the hospital,
I was hyperventilating,
1340
01:26:59,682 --> 01:27:03,450
breathing, because the burn pain
was so great.
1341
01:27:07,356 --> 01:27:09,289
I had a nurse tell me,
1342
01:27:09,358 --> 01:27:12,626
"If you don't calm down,
you're going to pass out."
1343
01:27:12,695 --> 01:27:14,461
And I couldn't calm down.
1344
01:27:14,530 --> 01:27:17,397
I was on fire,
I felt like I was on fire.
1345
01:27:17,466 --> 01:27:18,632
MAN:
Take it easy, Dev.
1346
01:27:22,538 --> 01:27:27,574
I went to the hospital that
Kennedy and Livingston went to.
1347
01:27:27,643 --> 01:27:31,578
And we were there
for a few hours, I think.
1348
01:27:31,647 --> 01:27:35,315
And then the doctor comes out
and informs us
1349
01:27:35,384 --> 01:27:38,518
that David Livingston
had passed away
1350
01:27:38,587 --> 01:27:42,189
and that Kennedy was, like,
hanging by a thread.
1351
01:27:46,829 --> 01:27:49,763
You just keep replaying things
in your head.
1352
01:27:49,832 --> 01:27:51,265
"What if I did this?
1353
01:27:51,333 --> 01:27:52,933
What if I did that?"
1354
01:27:53,002 --> 01:27:54,868
The ifs and buts.
1355
01:27:54,937 --> 01:27:58,005
You know, and you just keep
replaying it.
1356
01:28:00,943 --> 01:28:04,544
PLUMB:
Dave Powell was a lot closer
to David Livingston
1357
01:28:04,613 --> 01:28:09,349
than most people knew.
1358
01:28:09,418 --> 01:28:12,719
I remember looking over
when I was at the funeral,
1359
01:28:12,788 --> 01:28:17,457
and I remember Powell
just weeping.
1360
01:28:17,526 --> 01:28:19,793
He feels responsible
for the death of David,
1361
01:28:19,862 --> 01:28:21,128
he really does.
1362
01:28:21,196 --> 01:28:24,131
He felt responsible
for the death of his friend.
1363
01:28:25,868 --> 01:28:29,803
KENNEDY:
As soon as I found out
Livingston died,
1364
01:28:29,872 --> 01:28:33,540
I wanted nothing more to do
with the Air Force.
1365
01:28:33,609 --> 01:28:35,876
We were in the hospital two days
1366
01:28:35,944 --> 01:28:41,381
before a single, solitary
Air Force personnel
1367
01:28:41,450 --> 01:28:43,684
were out at that hospital.
1368
01:28:45,788 --> 01:28:49,089
DEVLIN:
They came in every eight hours
on my face, neck, and back,
1369
01:28:49,158 --> 01:28:51,591
and they used a scrub pad--
it was like a Brillo pad--
1370
01:28:51,660 --> 01:28:55,562
and they scrubbed all the skin,
the dead skin, off
1371
01:28:55,631 --> 01:28:57,664
so that the new skin
would grow back.
1372
01:28:57,733 --> 01:29:02,903
All the scrubbing was
immensely painful.
1373
01:29:04,840 --> 01:29:06,940
The Air Force was
in a really big hurry
1374
01:29:07,009 --> 01:29:12,913
to get me back to the base
so that no one could get to us,
1375
01:29:12,981 --> 01:29:14,414
there could be no interviews,
1376
01:29:14,483 --> 01:29:17,184
and you would not be speaking
to the press.
1377
01:29:19,755 --> 01:29:22,255
(phone ringing)
1378
01:29:22,324 --> 01:29:24,791
SKIP RUTHERFORD:
The phone rang about 3:30
1379
01:29:24,860 --> 01:29:27,761
with a call from one
of the airmen that said,
1380
01:29:27,830 --> 01:29:30,263
"It just blew."
1381
01:29:30,332 --> 01:29:32,132
The first thing I did was
look around and say,
1382
01:29:32,201 --> 01:29:36,236
"I'm alive, we're alive,
my family's alive,
1383
01:29:36,305 --> 01:29:39,106
my neighborhood's alive."
1384
01:29:39,174 --> 01:29:46,246
And my response was,
"Where's the warhead?"
1385
01:29:46,315 --> 01:29:51,084
And the person said,
"We don't know."
1386
01:29:54,156 --> 01:29:56,923
KING:
When the Titan II missile
exploded,
1387
01:29:56,992 --> 01:30:01,261
I drove as fast as I could
to the radio station
1388
01:30:01,330 --> 01:30:03,296
and turned it back on the air.
1389
01:30:03,365 --> 01:30:05,832
MAN (on radio):
...will once again, partly,
will be up
1390
01:30:05,901 --> 01:30:07,567
throughout the remainder
of the night
1391
01:30:07,636 --> 01:30:09,936
and into the morning...
1392
01:30:10,005 --> 01:30:13,707
When you were trying to talk
to the Air Force to find out,
1393
01:30:13,776 --> 01:30:15,709
is there a nuclear warhead?
1394
01:30:15,778 --> 01:30:17,377
Was one involved?
1395
01:30:17,446 --> 01:30:19,212
Did you find it?
1396
01:30:19,281 --> 01:30:22,883
Was it... you know,
what condition was it in?
1397
01:30:22,951 --> 01:30:24,217
Had it burst open?
1398
01:30:24,286 --> 01:30:27,254
Was there uranium spread
all over the area?
1399
01:30:27,322 --> 01:30:32,159
They would not admit that there
was even a nuclear warhead.
1400
01:30:32,227 --> 01:30:35,162
We could not tell
the local populace
1401
01:30:35,230 --> 01:30:39,499
or any of the political
or law enforcement people
1402
01:30:39,568 --> 01:30:41,501
that we had a warhead
on the missile.
1403
01:30:41,570 --> 01:30:46,006
That was, we could not
confirm nor deny that we had
1404
01:30:46,074 --> 01:30:49,342
a nuclear weapon on-site,
1405
01:30:49,411 --> 01:30:55,148
and that was SAC and national
policy at that time.
1406
01:31:00,355 --> 01:31:02,122
You know, I'm afraid that
1407
01:31:02,191 --> 01:31:05,225
you and I are reaching
an impasse on this question.
1408
01:31:05,294 --> 01:31:07,093
I believe that I have answered
the question
1409
01:31:07,162 --> 01:31:08,562
as fully as I intend to.
1410
01:31:08,630 --> 01:31:10,363
REPORTER:
Can you tell us where it is now?
1411
01:31:10,432 --> 01:31:12,866
May I have another question?
1412
01:31:12,935 --> 01:31:15,569
My personal feeling was that
it was a ridiculous policy,
1413
01:31:15,637 --> 01:31:18,205
but nevertheless,
we had to live with it.
1414
01:31:22,478 --> 01:31:24,277
Sheriff, has the Air Force
told you very much?
1415
01:31:24,346 --> 01:31:26,446
Haven't told me
a darned thing.
1416
01:31:26,515 --> 01:31:27,447
Does that
make you mad?
1417
01:31:27,516 --> 01:31:28,648
Yes, it does.
1418
01:31:28,717 --> 01:31:30,283
I need to know what's going on
1419
01:31:30,352 --> 01:31:32,686
so I'll know how to handle
the situation.
1420
01:31:32,754 --> 01:31:35,755
And if they wanna tell me
in confidence, that'd be great.
1421
01:31:35,824 --> 01:31:39,159
At least I'd know when and how
to evacuate the people,
1422
01:31:39,228 --> 01:31:42,429
tell them not to return
to their homes
1423
01:31:42,498 --> 01:31:45,165
or to return to their homes
or how serious it is.
1424
01:31:45,234 --> 01:31:47,868
But of course they don't...
they don't tell you that.
1425
01:31:50,706 --> 01:31:53,940
KING:
I heard the phrase
"We will not confirm nor deny"
1426
01:31:54,009 --> 01:31:57,077
probably 50 times
in that week's period.
1427
01:31:57,145 --> 01:31:59,679
KING (on radio):
Once again, our word
from the Air Force is,
1428
01:31:59,748 --> 01:32:01,615
"Will not confirm nor deny."
1429
01:32:01,683 --> 01:32:04,117
KING:
One of the local
merchants in town
1430
01:32:04,186 --> 01:32:05,652
found the Air Force frequencies.
1431
01:32:05,721 --> 01:32:09,756
So they wouldn't tell us
anything, but we could...
1432
01:32:09,825 --> 01:32:12,826
we started getting this
all relayed to us.
1433
01:32:12,895 --> 01:32:14,561
MAN:
Could you give us a status
1434
01:32:14,630 --> 01:32:16,897
on those EOD and disaster
preparedness people?
1435
01:32:16,965 --> 01:32:18,999
MAN (on Air Force radio):
Still walking up the hill.
1436
01:32:19,067 --> 01:32:21,735
KING:
They know that you're
listening to them,
1437
01:32:21,803 --> 01:32:24,204
so they're changing frequencies,
and they said,
1438
01:32:24,273 --> 01:32:28,208
"Be real evasive
about what you talk about."
1439
01:32:28,277 --> 01:32:30,043
They keep on talking about,
1440
01:32:30,112 --> 01:32:33,947
"We cannot find it,
we cannot find the unit."
1441
01:32:34,016 --> 01:32:37,250
And that's how we knew
they were trying to figure out
1442
01:32:37,319 --> 01:32:39,252
what happened to this
nuclear warhead.
1443
01:32:39,321 --> 01:32:40,854
Where did it go?
1444
01:32:45,127 --> 01:32:46,693
MAN (on radio):
Roger, on-scene commander.
1445
01:32:46,762 --> 01:32:49,362
The team went to the unit,
1446
01:32:49,431 --> 01:32:53,266
now they're on their way out
to give a full report.
1447
01:32:53,335 --> 01:32:54,901
MAN:
Team commander command post,
1448
01:32:54,970 --> 01:32:56,703
what unit are you
talking about, sir?
1449
01:32:56,772 --> 01:32:58,371
MAN (on radio):
Let's not talk about that.
1450
01:33:02,010 --> 01:33:04,244
KING:
We could tell there was
some activity on the road
1451
01:33:04,313 --> 01:33:07,948
going down to the silo,
that they were showing
1452
01:33:08,016 --> 01:33:10,116
a lot of interest right there
in that one area.
1453
01:33:10,185 --> 01:33:14,120
MAN (on radio):
I wish I had something secure.
1454
01:33:14,189 --> 01:33:16,957
They've located
what they want to locate,
1455
01:33:17,025 --> 01:33:20,460
and it's laying
in a ditch beside.
1456
01:33:20,529 --> 01:33:22,062
You know,
it's not even up close.
1457
01:33:22,130 --> 01:33:24,197
It blew it out
and it's laying in the ditch,
1458
01:33:24,266 --> 01:33:25,498
it's all exposed,
1459
01:33:25,567 --> 01:33:29,436
and so all they need to do
is go in and get it.
1460
01:33:31,340 --> 01:33:33,306
MOSER:
I went out there the next day.
1461
01:33:33,375 --> 01:33:36,309
Somebody said, "There it is."
1462
01:33:36,378 --> 01:33:39,079
And it was in the ditch
1463
01:33:39,147 --> 01:33:43,416
and somewhat, as I recall,
somewhat buried.
1464
01:33:43,485 --> 01:33:48,955
And then someone called
the nuclear people at Sandia
1465
01:33:49,024 --> 01:33:52,959
to assess whether or not we had
a hazardous situation.
1466
01:33:53,028 --> 01:33:54,628
BOB PEURIFOY:
The phone rang.
1467
01:33:54,696 --> 01:33:57,931
They said, "We had a problem."
1468
01:33:58,000 --> 01:34:01,267
I knew I had to get to Damascus.
1469
01:34:03,438 --> 01:34:07,173
We helicoptered into the silo.
1470
01:34:12,080 --> 01:34:14,848
I was apprehensive.
1471
01:34:14,916 --> 01:34:20,954
I knew that the warhead
could have been armed,
1472
01:34:21,023 --> 01:34:23,523
ready to fire.
1473
01:34:23,592 --> 01:34:29,195
It was only after we had landed
I learned
1474
01:34:29,264 --> 01:34:33,933
that because of the absence
of any power source,
1475
01:34:34,002 --> 01:34:41,241
the risk of a nuclear detonation
was approximately zero.
1476
01:34:43,879 --> 01:34:45,812
SCHLOSSER:
Luckily, the explosion
1477
01:34:45,881 --> 01:34:48,548
separated the warhead
from its power source.
1478
01:34:48,617 --> 01:34:52,318
That made a nuclear detonation
impossible.
1479
01:34:52,387 --> 01:34:54,320
But the luck could have gone
another way.
1480
01:34:57,259 --> 01:34:58,858
Is there a warhead
on this site?
1481
01:34:58,927 --> 01:35:00,093
I cannot confirm
or deny.
1482
01:35:00,162 --> 01:35:02,996
KING:
CNN, Channel 7,
1483
01:35:03,065 --> 01:35:07,100
all the TV stations
were on guard there.
1484
01:35:07,169 --> 01:35:10,003
They were trying to get a shot
of the warhead
1485
01:35:10,072 --> 01:35:14,307
as it came out of the complex
as they would leave.
1486
01:35:14,376 --> 01:35:17,210
REPORTER:
Now, public information officers
have promised us...
1487
01:35:17,279 --> 01:35:19,946
KING:
They made a couple
of dummy runs.
1488
01:35:20,015 --> 01:35:22,615
They brought a couple
of tractor trailer trucks
1489
01:35:22,684 --> 01:35:24,384
and they would have escorts
and lights,
1490
01:35:24,453 --> 01:35:26,986
and they would come out
of the compound real quick
1491
01:35:27,055 --> 01:35:28,354
and hit the highway.
1492
01:35:28,423 --> 01:35:29,923
Then they would speed off
out of there
1493
01:35:29,991 --> 01:35:33,026
with something under a tarp
on a trailer.
1494
01:35:33,095 --> 01:35:35,128
Well, everybody would jump
in their vehicles and head out.
1495
01:35:35,197 --> 01:35:38,398
Well, about 15 minutes later,
1496
01:35:38,467 --> 01:35:41,634
here would come another one
doing the same thing.
1497
01:35:41,703 --> 01:35:44,337
I made a decision that
we were gonna move it
1498
01:35:44,406 --> 01:35:47,440
at 5:00 the next morning
1499
01:35:47,509 --> 01:35:50,110
because I didn't want
that warhead
1500
01:35:50,178 --> 01:35:52,879
to be brought back
during peak traffic times.
1501
01:35:56,852 --> 01:35:58,651
(sirens wailing)
1502
01:36:02,257 --> 01:36:04,691
REPORTER:
The flatbed truck
carrying the two canisters
1503
01:36:04,760 --> 01:36:07,460
was preceded
and closely followed
1504
01:36:07,529 --> 01:36:09,062
by military security police.
1505
01:36:09,131 --> 01:36:11,765
One of the two canisters
was believed to be carrying
1506
01:36:11,833 --> 01:36:13,533
a five-megaton
thermonuclear warhead.
1507
01:36:15,637 --> 01:36:17,470
TOM BROKAW:
Officials do say the warhead
1508
01:36:17,539 --> 01:36:19,873
will be taken apart
at a plant near Amarillo, Texas.
1509
01:36:19,941 --> 01:36:21,441
We don't know where it is
right now.
1510
01:36:21,510 --> 01:36:25,378
On the containers, there was
the signature "do not drop."
1511
01:36:25,447 --> 01:36:30,150
SCHLOSSER:
The news reports all said
there was no possibility
1512
01:36:30,218 --> 01:36:32,852
that this warhead
could have detonated.
1513
01:36:32,921 --> 01:36:35,421
So it was a big news story
for a few days,
1514
01:36:35,490 --> 01:36:38,158
and then it was forgotten.
1515
01:36:38,226 --> 01:36:41,161
The governor of the state
of Arkansas is Bill Clinton.
1516
01:36:41,229 --> 01:36:43,630
As you can see, he's standing by
in Little Rock this morning
1517
01:36:43,698 --> 01:36:45,431
to talk with us
about the situation.
1518
01:36:45,500 --> 01:36:47,100
Do you think that
the people of Arkansas
1519
01:36:47,169 --> 01:36:48,701
who lived around the Titan II
missile site, Governor,
1520
01:36:48,770 --> 01:36:50,603
were in danger at the time
of the explosion?
1521
01:36:50,672 --> 01:36:53,706
Well, Tom, of course
as regards to nuclear explosion,
1522
01:36:53,775 --> 01:36:55,942
all we can do is to trust
the experts there.
1523
01:36:56,011 --> 01:36:58,044
They say there was never
a danger of a nuclear explosion.
1524
01:36:58,113 --> 01:37:00,547
REPORTER:
As far as the community
itself is concerned
1525
01:37:00,615 --> 01:37:02,816
and the danger from possible
radioactive leak,
1526
01:37:02,884 --> 01:37:04,851
if the warhead itself
has been...
1527
01:37:04,920 --> 01:37:07,020
if there is a warhead
and if it has been damaged,
1528
01:37:07,088 --> 01:37:09,189
have you heard anything
from Washington confirming
1529
01:37:09,257 --> 01:37:11,157
whether there is
one there or not?
1530
01:37:11,226 --> 01:37:12,559
I have not.
1531
01:37:12,627 --> 01:37:15,528
I've heard rumors,
I won't go into those right now.
1532
01:37:15,597 --> 01:37:18,531
I remember that
Vice President Mondale,
1533
01:37:18,600 --> 01:37:24,504
he was trying to find out,
"Did this have a real warhead?
1534
01:37:24,573 --> 01:37:29,209
Did this missile... was it armed
with a nuclear warhead?"
1535
01:37:29,277 --> 01:37:32,879
MOSER:
You know, when Vice Commander
Colonel Ryan
1536
01:37:32,948 --> 01:37:34,714
went to Hot Springs,
1537
01:37:34,783 --> 01:37:38,017
Vice President Mondale
asked that question,
1538
01:37:38,086 --> 01:37:40,086
whether a nuclear weapon
was involved,
1539
01:37:40,155 --> 01:37:43,857
and of course,
Colonel Ryan said,
1540
01:37:43,925 --> 01:37:46,025
"I can't confirm or deny,"
1541
01:37:46,094 --> 01:37:48,528
and that's
to the vice president.
1542
01:37:48,597 --> 01:37:52,765
That's when he got on the phone
with Secretary Brown.
1543
01:37:52,834 --> 01:37:56,703
BROWN:
The first thing
I wanted to know was
1544
01:37:56,771 --> 01:37:58,571
whether there had been
any scattering
1545
01:37:58,640 --> 01:38:01,241
of nuclear material,
1546
01:38:01,309 --> 01:38:04,577
or still worse,
a nuclear explosion.
1547
01:38:04,646 --> 01:38:08,781
And when I heard that
there had not been,
1548
01:38:08,850 --> 01:38:13,620
my level of attention went
way down.
1549
01:38:13,688 --> 01:38:20,226
Accidents were not unusual
in the Defense Department.
1550
01:38:20,295 --> 01:38:22,462
There was at least...
1551
01:38:22,530 --> 01:38:25,665
there must have been several
every day.
1552
01:38:25,734 --> 01:38:31,604
When the public affairs people
took over, the strategy was
1553
01:38:31,673 --> 01:38:35,808
to let the secretary
of the Air Force handle it.
1554
01:38:35,877 --> 01:38:37,810
I've spent many years
1555
01:38:37,879 --> 01:38:40,346
working on the design
of nuclear explosives,
1556
01:38:40,415 --> 01:38:41,814
and I can guarantee you
1557
01:38:41,883 --> 01:38:43,750
the one thing that we spend
most time on
1558
01:38:43,818 --> 01:38:46,419
is to make sure that
they can't go off
1559
01:38:46,488 --> 01:38:51,891
under any conceivable
accidental circumstances,
1560
01:38:51,960 --> 01:38:53,459
and that's as much as
I want to say.
1561
01:38:53,528 --> 01:38:54,861
INTERVIEWER:
Was there a chance
1562
01:38:54,930 --> 01:38:56,596
that that bomb
could have detonated?
1563
01:38:56,665 --> 01:38:59,699
Yes.
1564
01:38:59,768 --> 01:39:01,067
We can't know.
1565
01:39:01,136 --> 01:39:02,669
That's the thing
that terrifies.
1566
01:39:02,737 --> 01:39:06,272
We can't know what the risk is.
1567
01:39:06,341 --> 01:39:09,809
Uh, I can't tell you
it's gonna detonate
1568
01:39:09,878 --> 01:39:12,979
or not detonate,
because every accident
1569
01:39:13,048 --> 01:39:15,949
is this unpredictable set
of circumstances.
1570
01:39:23,458 --> 01:39:25,058
(sirens wailing)
1571
01:39:25,126 --> 01:39:28,461
SCHLOSSER:
There's a culture of secrecy
around nuclear weapons
1572
01:39:28,530 --> 01:39:31,864
that on the one hand
has been necessary,
1573
01:39:31,933 --> 01:39:34,867
on the other hand has made
the management of these weapons
1574
01:39:34,936 --> 01:39:36,703
even more dangerous.
1575
01:39:36,771 --> 01:39:40,039
According to the Department
of Defense,
1576
01:39:40,108 --> 01:39:43,176
there have been
32 broken arrows--
1577
01:39:43,244 --> 01:39:46,512
that is, serious
nuclear weapons accidents
1578
01:39:46,581 --> 01:39:48,815
that could have endangered
the public.
1579
01:39:48,883 --> 01:39:51,317
But a few years ago,
1580
01:39:51,386 --> 01:39:55,488
the Department of Energy
released a declassified document
1581
01:39:55,557 --> 01:39:58,658
that said there had been
more than a thousand accidents
1582
01:39:58,727 --> 01:40:01,160
and incidents involving
our nuclear weapons.
1583
01:40:04,933 --> 01:40:07,900
Not only had the public
not been told
1584
01:40:07,969 --> 01:40:11,371
about these hundreds
and hundreds of accidents,
1585
01:40:11,439 --> 01:40:12,939
but even the man responsible
1586
01:40:13,008 --> 01:40:16,409
for the safety
of our nuclear weapons
1587
01:40:16,478 --> 01:40:19,078
wasn't being told
about accidents
1588
01:40:19,147 --> 01:40:21,514
involving those weapons.
1589
01:40:21,583 --> 01:40:24,717
PEURIFOY:
When I was the director
of weapon development,
1590
01:40:24,786 --> 01:40:34,794
I was unaware of a large number
of accidents and incidents
1591
01:40:34,863 --> 01:40:38,731
because I had no access
to the information.
1592
01:40:42,804 --> 01:40:46,539
I was surprised when I read
about the number
1593
01:40:46,608 --> 01:40:51,077
of nuclear accidents that we had
in the Air Force.
1594
01:40:51,146 --> 01:40:53,046
I knew about some of those,
1595
01:40:53,114 --> 01:40:56,549
but I didn't know
there were so many.
1596
01:40:59,320 --> 01:41:01,921
SCHLOSSER:
Again and again,
in looking at these documents,
1597
01:41:01,990 --> 01:41:05,058
you find an effort
to blame the person
1598
01:41:05,126 --> 01:41:06,426
who dropped the wrench,
1599
01:41:06,494 --> 01:41:09,162
who used the wrong tool
at a Minuteman site,
1600
01:41:09,230 --> 01:41:10,963
blew the warhead
off the missile,
1601
01:41:11,032 --> 01:41:13,800
who brought the seat cushions
onto the plane
1602
01:41:13,868 --> 01:41:15,802
that caught on fire
and crashed the plane.
1603
01:41:15,870 --> 01:41:18,938
There's this instinct
to blame the operator,
1604
01:41:19,007 --> 01:41:20,606
to blame the little guy.
1605
01:41:20,675 --> 01:41:24,010
If the system worked properly,
somebody dropping a tool
1606
01:41:24,079 --> 01:41:30,349
couldn't send a nuclear warhead
into a field.
1607
01:41:30,418 --> 01:41:32,085
No special precautions
have been ordered
1608
01:41:32,153 --> 01:41:33,753
at other Titan missile bases
around the country
1609
01:41:33,822 --> 01:41:35,922
because of that explosion
in Arkansas.
1610
01:41:35,990 --> 01:41:39,292
NEWS ANNOUNCER:
In Arkansas, the system itself
apparently did not fail.
1611
01:41:39,360 --> 01:41:41,260
A mechanic's wrench
fell from a ledge
1612
01:41:41,329 --> 01:41:43,429
and struck the missile,
puncturing a fuel tank.
1613
01:41:43,498 --> 01:41:45,998
That is classified
as human error.
1614
01:41:46,067 --> 01:41:49,001
NEWS ANNOUNCER:
The Air Force says the Titan
is not to blame--
1615
01:41:49,070 --> 01:41:52,038
that it was human error
that caused the accident.
1616
01:41:52,107 --> 01:41:57,310
The accident
that I've described here
1617
01:41:57,378 --> 01:42:02,215
is unrelated to the state
or the age of this system.
1618
01:42:02,283 --> 01:42:07,653
I was served with an article 15
for dereliction of duty
1619
01:42:07,722 --> 01:42:09,655
because I chose
to use the ratchet
1620
01:42:09,724 --> 01:42:13,793
instead of the torque wrench.
1621
01:42:13,862 --> 01:42:16,529
Sergeant Kennedy got
a letter of reprimand
1622
01:42:16,598 --> 01:42:19,899
for violating the two-man rule.
1623
01:42:19,968 --> 01:42:23,035
I gave them my all.
1624
01:42:23,104 --> 01:42:26,072
And what did I get from them?
1625
01:42:26,141 --> 01:42:27,540
A letter of reprimand.
1626
01:42:28,977 --> 01:42:34,881
A letter of reprimand for doing
everything I thought was right.
1627
01:42:36,851 --> 01:42:42,388
SANDAKER:
After the accident, I thought
that Kennedy and Devlin
1628
01:42:42,457 --> 01:42:45,892
and the others that were hurt
would be treated like heroes,
1629
01:42:45,960 --> 01:42:47,994
because they were.
1630
01:42:48,062 --> 01:42:53,699
And they were treated like crap.
1631
01:42:53,768 --> 01:42:59,138
They told Devlin that
he couldn't do his job anymore
1632
01:42:59,207 --> 01:43:02,141
and they made him work
at the coffee bar,
1633
01:43:02,210 --> 01:43:04,410
selling hot dogs and coffee.
1634
01:43:04,479 --> 01:43:08,614
That was jobs that they gave
to guys that were caught
1635
01:43:08,683 --> 01:43:15,254
with drugs or getting DWIs
or disobeying orders.
1636
01:43:15,323 --> 01:43:17,290
Some of the officials here
at the air base
1637
01:43:17,358 --> 01:43:19,592
apparently have also
changed their attitude
1638
01:43:19,661 --> 01:43:22,428
towards some of the men who
risked their lives that morning.
1639
01:43:22,497 --> 01:43:26,332
DEVLIN:
Channel 4 News called and said,
"You want to tell us
1640
01:43:26,401 --> 01:43:28,334
"about how well the Air Force
is treating you
1641
01:43:28,403 --> 01:43:29,835
since the missile explosion?"
1642
01:43:29,904 --> 01:43:31,604
I said, "Yeah, I'll tell them."
1643
01:43:31,673 --> 01:43:33,439
I worked three-and-a-half years,
1644
01:43:33,508 --> 01:43:35,274
did a good job
for three-and-a-half years,
1645
01:43:35,343 --> 01:43:38,344
and then I wound up hurt
from this explosion,
1646
01:43:38,413 --> 01:43:41,581
and then all of a sudden,
they don't want you anymore.
1647
01:43:41,649 --> 01:43:44,884
You know, you're not
any good to them
1648
01:43:44,953 --> 01:43:47,920
because you're crippled
or injured for a while.
1649
01:43:47,989 --> 01:43:49,589
So I don't know, you know?
1650
01:43:49,657 --> 01:43:51,090
I don't know if...
1651
01:43:51,159 --> 01:43:53,659
I don't know about the system.
1652
01:43:53,728 --> 01:43:54,961
I don't know
if I'm going
1653
01:43:55,029 --> 01:43:56,395
to be railroaded out,
1654
01:43:56,464 --> 01:43:59,298
or you know, I don't know
where I stand, really.
1655
01:43:59,367 --> 01:44:02,802
Oh man, were they mad.
1656
01:44:02,870 --> 01:44:07,073
I think every brass on base
was mad at me.
1657
01:44:07,141 --> 01:44:10,910
When I wore my military uniform
with my boots on,
1658
01:44:10,979 --> 01:44:12,912
I almost couldn't walk.
1659
01:44:12,981 --> 01:44:15,781
I couldn't even move the boot
because my ankle was shattered,
1660
01:44:15,850 --> 01:44:17,917
there's no Achilles tendon.
1661
01:44:17,986 --> 01:44:20,152
So I just went in and said,
"Colonel, would it be possible
1662
01:44:20,221 --> 01:44:22,255
for me to wear a gym shoe
on my left foot?"
1663
01:44:22,323 --> 01:44:23,923
He looked at me and he said,
1664
01:44:23,992 --> 01:44:27,893
"Devlin, I wouldn't authorize
a ------- thing for you."
1665
01:44:27,962 --> 01:44:32,665
I planned on staying
in the Air Force for a career.
1666
01:44:32,734 --> 01:44:35,601
Within only a few months,
1667
01:44:35,670 --> 01:44:38,104
I knew I couldn't stay
in the Air Force.
1668
01:44:41,576 --> 01:44:46,145
I kind of lost it, um,
after that accident.
1669
01:44:46,214 --> 01:44:47,613
I just had a meltdown.
1670
01:44:47,682 --> 01:44:53,019
I went into the TV room where
we all played cards one evening,
1671
01:44:53,087 --> 01:44:55,688
and there was beer bottles
all over the place,
1672
01:44:55,757 --> 01:44:57,623
and I just started throwing
a bunch of beer bottles
1673
01:44:57,692 --> 01:44:58,958
all over the place
1674
01:44:59,027 --> 01:45:02,328
and took my frustrations out
on that.
1675
01:45:02,397 --> 01:45:05,298
The base commander, he gave me
an honorable discharge
1676
01:45:05,366 --> 01:45:08,301
which I was thankful for,
but that was not my goal,
1677
01:45:08,369 --> 01:45:10,670
was to leave the military
at that time.
1678
01:45:12,940 --> 01:45:15,641
There was an old motto
that went around
1679
01:45:15,710 --> 01:45:20,713
that to err was human,
to forgive wasn't SAC policy.
1680
01:45:22,617 --> 01:45:24,350
MOSER:
We have a checklist
1681
01:45:24,419 --> 01:45:26,018
in our command post
1682
01:45:26,087 --> 01:45:30,456
that calls for us
to notify the OES.
1683
01:45:30,525 --> 01:45:32,291
Now, I'm not saying
it broke down there.
1684
01:45:32,360 --> 01:45:34,126
Don't misconstrue
what I'm saying.
1685
01:45:34,195 --> 01:45:36,195
What I'm saying is
from there on down,
1686
01:45:36,264 --> 01:45:37,530
there was no plan.
1687
01:45:37,598 --> 01:45:38,831
This is the test bed,
1688
01:45:38,900 --> 01:45:41,500
4-7 was the test bed,
and we never...
1689
01:45:41,569 --> 01:45:43,602
nothing like this
has ever happened before.
1690
01:45:43,671 --> 01:45:49,075
RUTHERFORD:
I tried to contact Colonel Moser
not too long after the accident,
1691
01:45:49,143 --> 01:45:53,079
and I was told that he was
no longer there.
1692
01:45:53,147 --> 01:45:57,216
It almost appeared that
he was gone in the night.
1693
01:45:57,285 --> 01:46:03,189
MOSER:
Even though, you know,
I'd just had three months there,
1694
01:46:03,257 --> 01:46:04,857
I was in charge,
1695
01:46:04,926 --> 01:46:10,896
and a senior guy is responsible
for the whole operation.
1696
01:46:10,965 --> 01:46:13,399
I expected I was going
to lose my job,
1697
01:46:13,468 --> 01:46:15,668
let's put it that way,
after that happened.
1698
01:46:15,737 --> 01:46:17,770
I thought that was...
that would be the next step,
1699
01:46:17,839 --> 01:46:20,673
and that happened
on Thanksgiving.
1700
01:46:25,613 --> 01:46:32,451
My regret was that
I took orders from my boss,
1701
01:46:32,520 --> 01:46:35,287
I clicked my heels
like a good soldier
1702
01:46:35,356 --> 01:46:39,258
and tried to execute
those orders as best I could.
1703
01:46:39,327 --> 01:46:41,327
(rifles fire a salute)
1704
01:46:41,396 --> 01:46:44,363
And as a result of that,
we lost life.
1705
01:46:47,268 --> 01:46:50,102
POWELL:
I think about Livingston often--
1706
01:46:50,171 --> 01:46:54,373
what it'd be like
to still have him around
1707
01:46:54,442 --> 01:46:56,876
and call him up on the phone.
1708
01:47:00,848 --> 01:47:05,084
Jeff Kennedy passed away
a couple of years ago.
1709
01:47:05,153 --> 01:47:08,954
I have no doubt that Jeff died
from being involved at Damascus,
1710
01:47:09,023 --> 01:47:11,290
no doubt in my mind.
1711
01:47:13,961 --> 01:47:18,764
I hear a song on the radio,
I'll see something on TV,
1712
01:47:18,833 --> 01:47:22,735
and bam, there it is,
it's back, you know?
1713
01:47:24,739 --> 01:47:27,573
It's very hard to talk about,
even today.
1714
01:47:27,642 --> 01:47:33,312
I try to live
as normal a life as I can,
1715
01:47:33,381 --> 01:47:39,518
but there isn't a day goes by
that I don't think about it.
1716
01:47:39,587 --> 01:47:44,857
30, whatever, 35 years,
whatever it's been.
1717
01:47:44,926 --> 01:47:46,625
Every day.
1718
01:48:30,037 --> 01:48:32,438
NEWS ANNOUNCER:
It went like clockwork,
1719
01:48:32,507 --> 01:48:36,542
6,500 pounds of explosives
set to go at high noon.
1720
01:48:38,246 --> 01:48:39,178
(beeping)
1721
01:48:42,183 --> 01:48:44,283
It marked the beginning
of the end
1722
01:48:44,352 --> 01:48:46,051
for the 17 missile silos
in the state--
1723
01:48:46,120 --> 01:48:48,587
perhaps a cruel fate
for a facility
1724
01:48:48,656 --> 01:48:52,424
that has served Arkansas
and the country for 25 years.
1725
01:49:06,207 --> 01:49:08,374
(cow mooing)
1726
01:49:10,311 --> 01:49:11,911
HUTTO:
If you didn't know
they were there,
1727
01:49:11,979 --> 01:49:13,412
you wouldn't know
what it was now.
1728
01:49:13,481 --> 01:49:15,748
It just looks like a small hill.
1729
01:49:19,320 --> 01:49:22,254
SANDAKER:
I think nowadays,
people don't even think
1730
01:49:22,323 --> 01:49:26,926
about all the nuclear weapons
we have.
1731
01:49:26,994 --> 01:49:29,128
They think that's all
in the past
1732
01:49:29,196 --> 01:49:32,531
and that they're
not there anymore,
1733
01:49:32,600 --> 01:49:35,534
and the reality is
they're all over the place.
1734
01:49:38,439 --> 01:49:42,942
HOLDER:
If nothing goes wrong
for seven or eight years,
1735
01:49:43,010 --> 01:49:45,477
people don't think about it,
don't realize it.
1736
01:49:45,546 --> 01:49:49,481
Unless you're working
in that industry, people forget.
1737
01:49:51,652 --> 01:49:54,153
BROWN:
Nuclear accidents continue
to the present day,
1738
01:49:54,221 --> 01:49:58,524
although there have not been
nearly as many occasions
1739
01:49:58,593 --> 01:50:03,095
of things being dropped
or blown out of silos.
1740
01:50:03,164 --> 01:50:07,933
In part, that's because
there are fewer of them.
1741
01:50:08,002 --> 01:50:15,941
On the other hand, the degree
of oversight and attention has,
1742
01:50:16,010 --> 01:50:19,612
if anything, gotten worse,
1743
01:50:19,680 --> 01:50:23,782
because people don't worry
about nuclear war as much.
1744
01:50:26,654 --> 01:50:29,088
SCHLOSSER:
Since the beginning
of the atomic age,
1745
01:50:29,156 --> 01:50:35,394
the United States has built
about 70,000 nuclear weapons.
1746
01:50:35,463 --> 01:50:40,232
None of them have ever detonated
by accident.
1747
01:50:40,301 --> 01:50:42,668
That's due to the skills
of our weapons designers,
1748
01:50:42,737 --> 01:50:47,306
whose safety recommendations
were finally adopted,
1749
01:50:47,375 --> 01:50:50,075
and the bravery
of our military personnel.
1750
01:50:52,279 --> 01:50:55,648
But it's also due to luck.
1751
01:50:55,716 --> 01:50:57,650
Pure luck.
1752
01:50:57,718 --> 01:51:02,121
And the problem with luck is
eventually, it runs out.
1753
01:51:04,492 --> 01:51:07,326
Nuclear weapons are machines,
1754
01:51:07,395 --> 01:51:11,864
and every machine ever invented
eventually goes wrong.
1755
01:51:16,537 --> 01:51:19,438
CHILDERS:
It doesn't matter
how much you plan,
1756
01:51:19,507 --> 01:51:21,473
it doesn't matter
how many checklists you have,
1757
01:51:21,542 --> 01:51:23,275
somebody's got a ringer
somewhere
1758
01:51:23,344 --> 01:51:24,743
they're going to throw out there
at you.
1759
01:51:29,717 --> 01:51:34,319
PEURIFOY:
Nuclear weapons
will always have a chance
1760
01:51:34,388 --> 01:51:38,657
of an accidental detonation.
1761
01:51:38,726 --> 01:51:41,560
It will happen.
1762
01:51:41,629 --> 01:51:46,565
It may be tomorrow, or it may be
a million years from now,
1763
01:51:46,634 --> 01:51:48,233
but it will happen.
1764
01:52:02,516 --> 01:52:04,950
♪ ♪
1765
01:52:11,759 --> 01:52:14,159
♪ ♪
1766
01:52:14,261 --> 01:52:16,495
Coming to
American Experience...
1767
01:52:16,597 --> 01:52:18,363
RACHEL CARSON:
Children born today are exposed
1768
01:52:18,466 --> 01:52:20,032
to these chemicals from birth.
1769
01:52:20,134 --> 01:52:23,836
What is going to happen to them
as a result of that exposure?
1770
01:52:23,938 --> 01:52:26,972
She helped launch the modern
environmental movement.
1771
01:52:27,074 --> 01:52:29,842
WOMAN:
She was determined that
this message would get out.
1772
01:52:29,944 --> 01:52:32,044
She's willing to endure
almost everything
1773
01:52:32,146 --> 01:52:33,946
to get that message out.
1774
01:52:34,048 --> 01:52:37,916
"Rachel Carson," coming
to American Experience.
1775
01:52:38,018 --> 01:52:40,686
American Experience
"Command and Control"
1776
01:52:40,788 --> 01:52:42,688
is available on DVD.
1777
01:52:42,790 --> 01:52:47,559
To order, visit shopPBS.org
or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
1778
01:52:47,661 --> 01:52:49,328
American Experience
is also available
1779
01:52:49,430 --> 01:52:51,063
for download on iTunes.