Study Document
American History -- Journal in the September Term Paper
Pages:2 (649 words)
Subject:Arts
Topic:Mr Smith Goes To Washington
Document Type:Term Paper
Document:#97007881
American History -- journal
In the September 2000 issue of the highly-prestigious history journal American Heritage, the main topic of discussion has to do with "Tales From the Cold War," a period in American history following World War II when the U.S. And the Soviet Union were engaged in detente and threats related to the use of nuclear weapons.
The first article, "The Day We Shot Down the U-2" by Sergei Khrushchev, the son of Premier Nikita Khrushchev, makes it clear that the U-2 incident of May 1, 1960 involving U.S. pilot Gary Powers was far more complicated than has previously been realized. Khrushchev states that "In the 1950's, years of deep freeze in the Cold War caused politician and ordinary people on both sides to be gripped by the same fear," being "whether Moscow or Washington would seize the opportunity to deal the first, and possibly the last, nuclear strike" (37-38). The U-2 spy plane, flown by Gary Powers, was America's response to the buildup of nuclear weapons in the Soviet Union and the mission was primarily aimed at flying over the Soviet Union to search for "probable adversaries in order to monitor their nuclear arms" (38).
The second article, "Aircraft 53-1876A Has Lost a Device" By Clark Rumrill, focuses on how the U.S. Air Force came to drop by mistake an A-bomb on the state of South Carolina in March of 1958 which fortunately did not detonate. Rumrill points out that an Air Force medium bomber accidentally dropped its nuclear weapon "in the woods behind the home of the Gregg family" and that the "high explosive trigger in the bomb blew up on contact with the ground, leaving a crater 50 feet across and 35 feet deep and injuring three girls" (50). This accident came about when a Captain Kulka noticed that the bomb was lodged in the wrong place in the plain and when he tried to fix the problem the…
Sample Source(s) Used
The second article, "Aircraft 53-1876A Has Lost a Device" By Clark Rumrill, focuses on how the U.S. Air Force came to drop by mistake an A-bomb on the state of South Carolina in March of 1958 which fortunately did not detonate. Rumrill points out that an Air Force medium bomber accidentally dropped its nuclear weapon "in the woods behind the home of the Gregg family" and that the "high explosive trigger in the bomb blew up on contact with the ground, leaving a crater 50 feet across and 35 feet deep and injuring three girls" (50). This accident came about when a Captain Kulka noticed that the bomb was lodged in the wrong place in the plain and when he tried to fix the problem the bomb-bay doors opened up and the bomb fell from the plane. Moments later, "the plane was rocked by the shock wave of the blast when the bomb hit the ground" (53).
The third article, "Mr. Smith Goes Underground" by Thomas Mallon, concerns a specially-designed bunker, meant to house the President of the United States and his closest confidants, during a nuclear strike by the Soviet Union. Mallon reminds the reader that this bunker, located in West Virginia and now open to the public for tours, was "the strangest of all Cold War relics and offers a clue to why (the U.S.) won the Cold War" (60). The current tour guide, Marvin Weikle, who helped maintain the facility for many years, always warns the visitors that what they are about to see can be quite startling, due to costing $14 million to construct in the late 1940's. Once the visitors enter the bunker, they "find themselves standing at the end of a 144 yard-long concrete corridor leading into the 112, 544 square-foot former standby capital of the United States" (63).
The last article, "Visiting the Cold War Today" By Phil Patton, describes various landmarks from Berlin, Germany to Washington, D.C. To Area 51 which as of 2000 were being opened to the public. According to Patton, "these days, there are more and more visitors to the monuments of the Cold War" and tours as often overcrowded at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station and the Nevada Test Sites. Some of the most conspicuous sites include the Titan Missile Museum in Sahaurita, Arizona, the house on Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin (the dividing line between East and West Germany during the Cold War, a.k.a. The "Iron Curtain), the Allied Museum in Berlin and the Cold War Museum which Gary Powers, the U-2 spy plane pilot, created "to honor his father and all Cold War veterans" (72). As of 2000, this museum included "a U-2, a section of the Berlin Wall, a spy satellite, a fallout shelter and other artifacts" (72).