It’s somewhat unusual for a historical biopic to be seen as one of the biggest summer blockbusters, but the recent Christopher Nolan film “Oppenheimer” has certainly become that in 2023.  Although not quite making the box office take of “Barbie,” the film, a recounting of the scientific pursuit of the nuclear fission bomb designed to create surrender conditions for Japan during World War II has been making the kind of showing usually reserved for superhero movies.

This is likely due in part to director Christopher Nolan, who has a track record of crafting well-performing summer films such as “The Dark Knight” and “Inception.”  However, while Nolan’s popular films are generally action-oriented, “Oppenheimer” is essentially a three-hour discussion between scientists and politicians.  It is more likely that the centrality of the film’s subject—the advent of a nuclear world—is the compelling key to its success and the desire of so many to spend time with it.  

Reviews of the film vary, though most critics and audiences seem to agree that it avoids presenting an overly simplified take on the question of the bomb’s role in peacekeeping.  In fact, the mixture of feelings that those involved in the project experienced can be said to be the core subject matter of the film.

The test detonation on July 16, 1945 in the New Mexico desert was kept massively top secret, and only revealed to the public after the two nuclear bombs had been deployed over Japan.  There are no indications of any awareness of said tests in papers throughout July.  Our readers might find it interesting, however, to read the first piece published in the Enterprise after the reality of the bomb was made known to the world on August 6, 1945.  The paper, dated August 9, 1945 discusses the hope for Japanese surrender following the bombings and the entrance of Russia into the Pacific theatre.

Atomic Bomb: Earth Shaking. August 9, 1945

Best kept secret of the war the sensational atomic bomb electrified the Allied world with its possibilities for bringing the Japanese soon to their knees and revolutionizing postwar life, while staggering the enemy with its terrible destructive potentialities.

Armed with the new weapon, which promises to outmode all existing forms of armament on land and sea and air, the U.S. was in a position to deliver another unconditional surrender ultimatum to the Japanese, this time threatening to wreak even greater ruin than that being wrought by the swarms of Flying Forts now bombarding the empire.

In a war already noted for the remotely-controlled buzz bomb and rocket developed by the Germans, the atomic bomb remains the outstanding scientific product, embodying, as it does, the magic substance uranium, known as U-235, the 235 representing its weight in atoms, the smallest particles of matter.  First isolated in 1789, uranium is a metallic element found along with radium in pitchblende and carnotite ore, and possessing great powers of energy through its explosive atomic contents.

With Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves in overall charge of production of the atomic bomb, and Dr. R. J. Oppenheimer of the University of California responsible for the technical development of it, special pains were taken to preserve the secrecy of the explosive, packing a force greater than 20,000 tons of TNT.

At Richland, Wash., the huge plant, sprawling over 400,000 acres, was divided into three parts, one for the production of material; another for its refinement, and the third for storing raw materials.

Some idea of the terrific explosive effect of the new atomic bomb on the harassed Japanese cities can be gleaned from the results of the test of the charge in the desert lands of New Mexico.

With U-235 giving off heat, light, and power, the explosion lit the countryside for miles around with a brightness even greater than the day, with the flash seen 520 miles away at Needles, Calif., and a blind girl near Albuquerque, N.M., noting the presence of the flash shortly before the detonation.

The explosion itself set off a heavy pressure wave, which knocked down two men at a control center 10,000 yards away, and completely vaporized the steel tower upon which the atomic bomb rested.  A huge, multi-colored cloud surged upward to over 40,000 feet, commanding the sky.

In dropping the single 400-pound charge on the rail and industrial center of Hiroshima, on B-29 wiped out 60 per cent of the once thriving Honshu municipality, army air force reconnaissance reported.  Fires swept extensively over the stricken area and only a few concrete structures remained standing in the heart of the city, with the interior of these even scorched.

In the welter of excitement over the atomic bomb, the tremendous possibilities of harnessing U-235 to peacetime uses commanded popular attention.  Any hopes that the material might be immediately available, however, were spiked by war department reports that much additional research was needed for designing machinery for producing peacetime energy.

Realization of the terrific destructive potentialities of the atomic bomb sobered jubilation over President Truman’s announcement of its usage to bring the enemy to his knees.

Comment ranged from the statement of Senator Capper (Ret. Kans.) that “I hope we can control it” to the declaration of Representative Lea (Dem., Cali.) that “This emphasizes the necessity of nations providing some method of settling disputes without recourse to war.  Otherwise, it might mean the end of civilization.”

As the end of film “Oppenheimer” suggests, the long term effects of the bombing were more than just the end of the war.  As one of the characters states, “this isn’t the last act of the war, it’s the beginning of a new one.”  The Cold War, which generally defines the period between WWII and the fall of the Eastern bloc at the end of the 1980s, was characterized by uncertainty and suspicion on both sides of the ocean between the nuclear armed U.S. and the equally armed U.S.S.R.  This resulted in a number of proxy wars such as Korea and Vietnam in which many Oneida County service members were active.  One event, often considered the peak of Cold War tension, is now referred to as The Cuban Missile Crisis, and occurred during the month of October in 1962.  

The Soviet Union planned to station nuclear capable missiles in its satellite Cuba, within easy reach of the U.S. mainland.  This led to an immediate escalation of tensions as a U.S. blockade was announced to prevent the placement of the weapons.  

The image which accompanies this story was recently brought into the office by Welton Ward, and is of the 89th Quartermaster Corps, which was mobilized out of Logan in 1962 in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis.  If you recognize anyone in the picture, let us know and we’ll run the image with full attributions when we are able.

The article below was written as the Crisis was ending, but it conveys a vivid sense of how real and present threats from the nuclear-armed Soviets were perceived to be at the time.  

Readiness Against Attack Stressed at Boise Meeting.  November 1, 1962

Need for re-evaluation of preparedness plans in case of atomic attack was stressed at a state-wide conference of county, city, and Civil Defense leaders called in Boise Monday by Governor Robert E. Smylie after the Cuban crisis brought a renewed interest in CD [Civil Defense] plans throughout the U.S.

Present at the conference from here were A.G. Willie, chairman of the Oneida County Commissioners; Mayor John V. Evans and Charles J. Nielsen, Oneida Civil Defense director.

State CD leaders stressed at the meeting that communities will have to rely pretty much upon themselves during the early stages of attack and one of the most important things to sustaining life will be an adequate supply of food and water—enough to last two weeks at least.

It was urged again that each family make complete preparations as soon as possible to insure its safety in the event of an attack and complete information on how this may best be done is available from Civil Defense organizations in every county of the state.

Following the conference, Mr. Nielsen reported here that Oneida County is quite well prepared to meet an emergency situation with an adequate supply of foods, fuel, and medicines available and law enforcement agencies alerted to help solve problems that arise during a crisis.  

He said that Mrs. Wanda Jones and Mrs. Edith Archibald have been named co-chairmen of the women’s division of the Civil Defense unity in Oneida County.

A CD survey shows that there is an estimated $90,000 worth of foodstuffs in Oneida County at the present and this amount would supply 2,000 people for a five week period  without rationing.  It is also estimated that there are 71,800 gallons of gasoline and 120,000 gallons of diesel fuels available in the county.

Mr. Nielsen stated that practice alerts have shown that it is possible to have all school children returned to their homes throughout the county within 45 minutes after an alarm is sounded and groups of citizens will be formed to pick up city children in school who are not assigned to ride busses.