In One Ear: Speechless teenagers

Published 6:00 am Thursday, July 31, 2025

“In 1951, thousands of young men went through Basic Training in California, and later went on to Advanced Infantry Training at Camp Pendleton in California,” Bob Cook of Seaside wrote. 

“We were assigned to tent camps, even though some of the billups were actually Quonset huts. The huts held up to 75 people at a time. The particular unit I was assigned to … was located about 5 miles east of San Clemente, California.

“At about 2 o’clock in the morning, we were told to get dressed and form up, in formation, in front of our huts and face east. Not knowing why and, of course, being good Marines, we didn’t ask why. We just did it.

“All of a sudden the brightest light we’ve ever seen appeared in the east. We didn’t know how far away it was, and we were told “don’t look at it,” but a glance was enough to allow us to see a giant mushroom cloud when we realized what this was.”

They were looking at the first in a series of atomic bomb test explosions detonated out in the desert at the Nevada Proving Ground, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. 

“Needless to say, not a word was spoken,” Bob noted of their reaction to the spine-chilling sight, “but we all realized we had just witnessed an atomic bomb go off. P.S. Don’t try this at home.”