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Help everyone
explore new
worlds and ideas.
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00:00:03,963 --> 00:00:05,965
Support your PBS Station.
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00:00:28,696 --> 00:00:33,325
[indistinct voices on radio]
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00:00:47,631 --> 00:00:49,675
[man on radio]
Contact DCA, you read?
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00:00:49,717 --> 00:00:51,092
[man 2]
Roger, loud and clear.
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00:00:57,057 --> 00:00:59,184
[man 2]
Roger, station 7,
prepare for pressurization
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00:00:59,226 --> 00:01:00,644
of stage 2 oxidizer.
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00:01:00,686 --> 00:01:01,603
[man 3]
Roger.
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00:01:10,362 --> 00:01:13,281
[hissing as suits
are pressurized]
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00:01:18,579 --> 00:01:21,790
[Plumb] I was fairly new
to working out
on the missile sites.
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00:01:26,294 --> 00:01:27,880
At the age of 19, you know,
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00:01:27,922 --> 00:01:30,340
you've got that
"no fear" mentality.
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00:01:30,382 --> 00:01:33,510
[man on radio] WCB, we got
a transient read on 54...
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00:01:38,473 --> 00:01:41,268
[hatch opening and hissing]
15
00:01:44,063 --> 00:01:45,230
[Plumb] Right above us
16
00:01:45,272 --> 00:01:47,775
was a nine-megaton
thermonuclear warhead.
17
00:01:51,111 --> 00:01:53,530
To see the magnitude
of that weapon
18
00:01:53,572 --> 00:01:56,700
within ten feet from you,
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00:01:56,742 --> 00:01:59,078
it was a monster
waiting to go off.
20
00:02:03,082 --> 00:02:08,128
When you think about
working on a weapon
of mass destruction,
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00:02:08,169 --> 00:02:11,381
you're counting on
everything to work
perfect all the time,
22
00:02:11,423 --> 00:02:13,801
and things just don't work
perfect all the time.
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00:02:20,975 --> 00:02:22,225
[piece hits floor]
24
00:02:22,267 --> 00:02:25,020
[alarms beeping]
25
00:02:25,062 --> 00:02:28,315
[urgent voices on radio]
26
00:02:28,356 --> 00:02:32,235
[Childers] The first thing
that my commander heard
are the words, "Uh-oh."
27
00:02:33,862 --> 00:02:35,447
[Powell] The fuel vapors
in the silo
28
00:02:35,489 --> 00:02:37,324
are just climbing
and climbing
and climbing.
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00:02:38,909 --> 00:02:40,828
[Plumb] We need
to get the hell out
of this complex
30
00:02:40,869 --> 00:02:42,621
because this thing's
going to blow up.
31
00:02:45,332 --> 00:02:48,127
[Rutherford] Do we let
the world know?
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00:02:48,167 --> 00:02:54,299
Do I run out and say,
"We got a potential
nuclear explosion"?
33
00:02:54,341 --> 00:02:55,968
What do you do?
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00:03:10,774 --> 00:03:14,569
[men chatting]
35
00:03:19,741 --> 00:03:23,578
Complex 3-1 has phase 14
missile age inspection.
36
00:03:23,620 --> 00:03:26,999
Complex 3-2,
instructor crew
scheduled for...
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00:03:27,041 --> 00:03:29,168
That day, September 18th,
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00:03:29,208 --> 00:03:32,295
it was basically five days
before my 24th birthday.
39
00:03:33,588 --> 00:03:35,883
So I was 23.
40
00:03:35,924 --> 00:03:39,344
Lieutenant Childers was 24,
was the deputy.
41
00:03:42,222 --> 00:03:45,350
When we went on alert
in a Titan system,
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00:03:45,392 --> 00:03:47,686
we were on alert for 24 hours.
43
00:03:47,728 --> 00:03:49,646
That's what a tour was,
24 hours.
44
00:03:53,608 --> 00:03:55,777
We had 18 silos spread
all the way out
45
00:03:55,819 --> 00:03:58,197
to the eastern corner
of Arkansas.
46
00:04:01,158 --> 00:04:03,744
We went up the main highway
to a certain point,
47
00:04:03,785 --> 00:04:07,081
and then you had to pull off
of the highway
onto much smaller roads.
48
00:04:10,584 --> 00:04:13,003
Until you came over
a particular rise,
49
00:04:13,045 --> 00:04:16,090
you wouldn't even know that
the missile complex was there.
50
00:04:22,012 --> 00:04:25,348
[Holder]
As we drove up
to missile complex 4-7,
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00:04:25,390 --> 00:04:26,725
it's very unassuming.
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00:04:28,852 --> 00:04:31,146
There's not a lot there.
53
00:04:31,188 --> 00:04:34,274
There's this huge door
and there are some antennas.
54
00:04:36,068 --> 00:04:41,364
However, underneath that door
was the most powerful warhead
55
00:04:41,406 --> 00:04:44,451
that the U.S.
has ever operated.
56
00:04:50,540 --> 00:04:53,376
[Childers]
Before you left the base,
they gave you some codes
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00:04:53,418 --> 00:04:55,336
that gave you access
to the complex.
58
00:04:56,964 --> 00:04:59,049
[man on intercom] MCC,
what is your ident code?
59
00:04:59,091 --> 00:05:01,843
[man] Ident code is
alpha-niner-victor...
60
00:05:01,885 --> 00:05:04,263
[Childers]
You would read the code
to the commander
61
00:05:04,304 --> 00:05:06,890
and then you would
take a lighter,
62
00:05:06,932 --> 00:05:09,350
set the codes on fire,
and drop them down into a box
63
00:05:09,392 --> 00:05:11,561
so they would burn up
and no one else
could use those codes.
64
00:05:14,481 --> 00:05:15,774
[door buzzes]
65
00:05:20,070 --> 00:05:24,491
All four of the crew
members went down
three flights of stairs.
66
00:05:27,661 --> 00:05:30,413
At the bottom of that,
you got to a blast door.
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00:05:32,332 --> 00:05:35,043
[hissing and unlatching]
68
00:05:35,085 --> 00:05:38,463
There were a series
of blast doors,
6, 7, 8, and 9.
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00:05:43,551 --> 00:05:46,847
So you'd walk through this,
and you'd step
into the middle level
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00:05:46,888 --> 00:05:49,724
of the launch control center,
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00:05:49,766 --> 00:05:53,020
with all of the equipment
that you needed
to maintain the missile.
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00:05:59,109 --> 00:06:02,154
When we took charge
of a complex,
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00:06:02,196 --> 00:06:06,533
that meant that we owned
that missile
until the next crew came out.
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00:06:07,868 --> 00:06:10,662
So if we went to war,
we were prepared
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00:06:10,704 --> 00:06:12,914
to launch
those weapons on command.
76
00:06:12,956 --> 00:06:15,583
[crew member]
Apps power, silo soft,
guidance go.
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00:06:15,625 --> 00:06:17,252
We're standing by
for fire engine.
78
00:06:19,338 --> 00:06:21,464
We never knew what
our specific targets were,
79
00:06:21,506 --> 00:06:24,759
because you didn't really
want to know
who you were going to destroy.
80
00:06:24,801 --> 00:06:26,594
[crew member]
Turning on my command,
everybody, turn keys.
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00:06:26,636 --> 00:06:27,804
On the word "keys",
we will turn.
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00:06:27,846 --> 00:06:29,764
Is the crew ready? Your B-Man?
83
00:06:29,806 --> 00:06:30,765
[crew member 2]
B-Man's Ready.
84
00:06:30,807 --> 00:06:31,683
[crew member]
MFT?
85
00:06:31,725 --> 00:06:32,600
[crew member 3]
MFT ready.
86
00:06:32,642 --> 00:06:33,560
[crew member]
Deputy?
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00:06:33,601 --> 00:06:34,644
[crew member 4]
Deputy ready.
88
00:06:34,686 --> 00:06:36,563
[crew member]
Crew is ready-- Ready?
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00:06:36,604 --> 00:06:38,857
[Childers] You had to be
prepared to destroy
an entire civilization,
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00:06:38,899 --> 00:06:41,360
and we were trained on that.
91
00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,446
As heartless as it sounds,
I never had a problem with it.
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00:06:45,488 --> 00:06:48,367
I was doing it for my country,
I was doing it
to protect my country.
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00:06:48,407 --> 00:06:50,535
The whole reason
I sat out there
94
00:06:50,577 --> 00:06:52,954
was to prevent that
kind of thing from happening.
95
00:06:52,996 --> 00:06:54,956
That's what deterrence
was about.
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00:06:54,998 --> 00:06:56,583
But deterrence is worthless
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00:06:56,624 --> 00:06:59,794
if you don't demonstrate
that you're willing
to do it, too,
98
00:06:59,836 --> 00:07:01,462
and we always
had to demonstrate
99
00:07:01,504 --> 00:07:04,716
that I would walk out there
and turn those keys
in a second
100
00:07:04,758 --> 00:07:08,011
and I would kill ten million
people and never hesitate.
101
00:07:08,053 --> 00:07:09,804
[rumbling]
102
00:07:26,154 --> 00:07:29,241
Every time I went
onto a complex,
103
00:07:29,283 --> 00:07:31,785
every time I saw
a Titan II missile,
104
00:07:31,826 --> 00:07:34,162
I had the same sense
of excitement.
105
00:07:45,882 --> 00:07:47,717
You couldn't see the warhead
from the bottom
106
00:07:47,759 --> 00:07:49,510
because you were
eight stories down,
107
00:07:49,552 --> 00:07:52,306
and the cone of the warhead
disappeared off
in the distance.
108
00:08:00,855 --> 00:08:02,482
The warhead on top
of the Titan II
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00:08:02,523 --> 00:08:05,360
was three times as powerful
as all the bombs
110
00:08:05,402 --> 00:08:08,238
used by all of the armies
in the Second World War,
111
00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:10,240
including both
the atomic bombs.
112
00:08:15,036 --> 00:08:18,165
When the crew members
successfully turned the keys,
113
00:08:18,206 --> 00:08:22,585
the 330,000 pound missile
would lift up out of the silo.
114
00:08:26,047 --> 00:08:30,302
[Holder] And it would
head out for about five
minutes of powered flight
115
00:08:30,344 --> 00:08:32,637
to the edge of space,
116
00:08:33,513 --> 00:08:36,808
fly for another 20 minutes,
117
00:08:36,850 --> 00:08:39,394
and hit its target
halfway around the world.
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00:08:49,863 --> 00:08:51,531
[Childers]
Before September 18,
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00:08:51,572 --> 00:08:53,492
the only warheads
that we thought
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00:08:53,533 --> 00:08:56,703
would go off
in the United States
would be Soviet warheads.
121
00:08:58,455 --> 00:09:01,500
We never considered
that our own warheads
122
00:09:01,541 --> 00:09:03,960
could detonate
on our own continent.
123
00:09:29,236 --> 00:09:32,531
[Schlosser]
From the very beginning
of the atomic age,
124
00:09:32,572 --> 00:09:36,535
there has been a sense
of this immense power
125
00:09:36,576 --> 00:09:40,121
just being on the verge
of slipping out
of our control.
126
00:09:44,084 --> 00:09:47,462
The world's first
nuclear device was
fully assembled
127
00:09:47,504 --> 00:09:50,298
in a small tent
in the middle of the desert.
128
00:09:54,677 --> 00:09:57,847
Nobody was sure
what would happen
129
00:09:57,889 --> 00:09:59,516
when this thing would detonate.
130
00:10:02,852 --> 00:10:04,979
They were even concerned
131
00:10:05,021 --> 00:10:07,815
that when the first
nuclear device detonated,
132
00:10:07,857 --> 00:10:11,694
the Earth's atmosphere
would catch on fire
133
00:10:11,736 --> 00:10:16,199
and every single
living thing on Earth
would die.
134
00:10:18,285 --> 00:10:20,661
And yet they
did the test anyway.
135
00:10:20,703 --> 00:10:23,831
[explosion roars and echoes]
136
00:10:35,718 --> 00:10:37,304
[Schlosser]
After the war ended,
137
00:10:37,345 --> 00:10:40,557
an engineering section
of the nuclear weapons program
138
00:10:40,599 --> 00:10:43,143
became known
as the Sandia Laboratory,
139
00:10:45,228 --> 00:10:49,899
and Sandia became America's
first atomic bomb factory.
140
00:10:53,111 --> 00:10:57,240
I realized if I joined Sandia,
I would be working
141
00:10:57,282 --> 00:11:03,037
on atomic bombs,
and that was okay with me.
142
00:11:04,414 --> 00:11:07,917
We were driven by the fear
of the Soviet Union.
143
00:11:09,336 --> 00:11:12,755
Anything we conceived of
the military wanted,
144
00:11:13,798 --> 00:11:15,342
and money was free.
145
00:11:17,218 --> 00:11:19,346
[Schlosser]
As the technology improved,
146
00:11:19,387 --> 00:11:23,224
as the number
of nuclear weapons in
our arsenal increased,
147
00:11:23,266 --> 00:11:27,020
there were soon assembly lines
for making nuclear weapons.
148
00:11:29,981 --> 00:11:33,234
We had bombers in the air
at all times
149
00:11:33,276 --> 00:11:35,778
loaded with nuclear weapons.
150
00:11:35,820 --> 00:11:38,823
We had submarines
that had missiles
151
00:11:38,865 --> 00:11:40,200
carrying nuclear warheads.
152
00:11:42,827 --> 00:11:47,081
It was feared that the Soviets
would have far more missiles
than the United States,
153
00:11:47,123 --> 00:11:50,210
so we went on a huge
missile-building binge.
154
00:11:57,258 --> 00:12:01,304
At one point, we only
thought we needed
50 to 200 nuclear weapons
155
00:12:01,346 --> 00:12:03,682
to completely annihilate
the Soviet Union,
156
00:12:05,933 --> 00:12:11,481
and by the mid-1960s,
we had 32,000
nuclear weapons.
157
00:12:14,859 --> 00:12:17,320
But every one of those
weapons you build
158
00:12:17,362 --> 00:12:21,658
not only threatens
your enemy, but poses
a threat to yourself.
159
00:12:41,511 --> 00:12:44,013
[man]
One more time, ready?
Launch verification...
160
00:12:44,055 --> 00:12:47,350
[men running launch drill]
161
00:12:54,482 --> 00:12:56,443
[Childers]
September 18
162
00:12:56,484 --> 00:13:00,321
was one of those days
where nothing was going
the way it was supposed to go.
163
00:13:02,198 --> 00:13:04,242
[Holder]
That day, September 18,
164
00:13:04,284 --> 00:13:10,206
we find out that they have
a problem with
the oxidizer tank,
165
00:13:10,248 --> 00:13:12,751
that the pressure
is a little bit low.
166
00:13:16,671 --> 00:13:20,634
[Childers]
Each stage of the missile
had two separate tanks.
167
00:13:20,675 --> 00:13:25,804
One was filled with fuel
and the other was filled
with oxidizer.
168
00:13:25,846 --> 00:13:28,099
[Holder]
All you got to do
is mix those two fuels
169
00:13:28,141 --> 00:13:29,726
and you're going
to have an explosion.
170
00:13:32,145 --> 00:13:35,231
We called back to base.
171
00:13:35,273 --> 00:13:38,777
They said, "We had
a maintenance team
coming out."
172
00:13:38,817 --> 00:13:42,739
A specialized unit,
they called them the PTS team.
173
00:13:52,457 --> 00:13:54,626
The difference
between PTS people
174
00:13:54,668 --> 00:13:57,754
and any other person
on a missile site is,
175
00:13:57,796 --> 00:14:02,467
we get to play with fuel
and oxidizer,
176
00:14:02,509 --> 00:14:04,843
uh, and they don't.
177
00:14:06,179 --> 00:14:10,642
I loved PTS.
I loved my job.
178
00:14:10,684 --> 00:14:14,688
My major goal at that time
was to be a PTS team chief,
179
00:14:14,729 --> 00:14:17,691
and be the best
PTS team chief ever.
180
00:14:20,151 --> 00:14:22,945
When I arrived
at Little Rock Air Force Base,
181
00:14:22,987 --> 00:14:25,406
I would have been 19, yeah.
182
00:14:25,448 --> 00:14:28,159
Ah, no, 18.
My birthday is in March,
183
00:14:28,201 --> 00:14:31,162
so I would have been
one month away from being 19.
184
00:14:34,708 --> 00:14:37,752
I think I was ready to take on
the world at that point.
185
00:14:37,794 --> 00:14:40,797
I wanted to go out to the field
and work
on that Titan II missile.
186
00:14:40,839 --> 00:14:44,300
You know, we called it a bird,
and I wanted to work
on the birds, you know?
187
00:14:45,635 --> 00:14:49,681
[gas hissing]
188
00:14:51,725 --> 00:14:56,437
[Powell]
Oxidizer, when you breathe it,
it turns to nitric acid.
189
00:14:58,939 --> 00:15:03,986
And you basically drown
in your lungs
if you breathe enough of it.
190
00:15:04,028 --> 00:15:07,741
[PTS member]
We would work 12, 14-hour,
up to 16-hour shifts,
191
00:15:08,949 --> 00:15:10,618
and then go to sleep,
192
00:15:10,660 --> 00:15:14,539
and then five hours
later or so, you get up
and head back in
193
00:15:14,581 --> 00:15:16,916
for another 12, 13,
or 14-hour day.
194
00:15:23,757 --> 00:15:26,885
[Powell]
On September 18,
we'd had a long week,
195
00:15:26,926 --> 00:15:28,845
we had the next day off,
196
00:15:28,887 --> 00:15:33,349
so when we finished
the maintenance task
at the site that we were at,
197
00:15:33,391 --> 00:15:35,518
you know,
we thought we were done.
198
00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:39,188
[men talking]
199
00:15:39,230 --> 00:15:42,149
[man]
Roger that, we'll send them
back your way.
200
00:15:42,191 --> 00:15:44,944
[Powell]
Our team chief called back
to the base
201
00:15:44,985 --> 00:15:46,738
to tell them
we were on our way back
202
00:15:48,030 --> 00:15:50,074
and they said,
"Well, before you come back,
203
00:15:50,116 --> 00:15:54,203
we want you to stop over
at 4-7 at Damascus."
204
00:16:02,796 --> 00:16:06,382
When we got there,
they didn't have
the right part.
205
00:16:06,424 --> 00:16:09,218
They had to bring the part out
on a helicopter.
206
00:16:11,220 --> 00:16:17,477
I would say we waited
from 3:30 to about 6:00
in the evening
207
00:16:17,518 --> 00:16:20,313
before we could
actually enter the silo.
208
00:16:22,398 --> 00:16:25,276
We'd been on duty
about eleven
and a half hours.
209
00:16:44,044 --> 00:16:47,131
[men talking on radio]
210
00:16:58,267 --> 00:17:02,229
[Powell] So we started down
the cableway to the silo,
211
00:17:04,732 --> 00:17:09,278
when all of a sudden,
I realized that I
had forgotten
212
00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:10,947
the torque wrench
up in the truck.
213
00:17:13,658 --> 00:17:16,035
There was a change
in the checklist
214
00:17:16,076 --> 00:17:20,414
that we were supposed
to use a torque wrench
from here on out,
215
00:17:20,456 --> 00:17:22,959
but that was a recent change.
216
00:17:23,001 --> 00:17:25,044
I had spent three years
217
00:17:25,085 --> 00:17:31,133
basically taking
the pressure cap off
with a ratchet.
218
00:17:31,175 --> 00:17:36,180
And so instead of sending
somebody back
to get the torque wrench,
219
00:17:36,222 --> 00:17:38,850
I grabbed the ratchet
to do that.
220
00:17:44,355 --> 00:17:47,066
The ratchet's
about three feet long
221
00:17:47,107 --> 00:17:49,318
and the socket's
about eight pounds.
222
00:17:55,115 --> 00:18:00,287
And I radioed to
the team chief that we're
ready to begin the checklist
223
00:18:00,329 --> 00:18:03,499
for pressurization
of stage 2 oxidizer tank.
224
00:18:06,961 --> 00:18:10,297
[hatch opens, air hisses]
225
00:18:20,725 --> 00:18:23,102
[Plumb]
We had a problem
with that ratchet.
226
00:18:23,143 --> 00:18:26,731
It wouldn't allow Dave
to actually get the socket
227
00:18:26,773 --> 00:18:31,027
to clip or snap into place
to be secure.
228
00:18:31,069 --> 00:18:33,988
He held the socket
up against the dust cap
229
00:18:34,030 --> 00:18:37,241
and he put the ratchet
up against it.
230
00:18:37,283 --> 00:18:40,870
[Powell] Basically you
hold it with one hand
on that ratchet handle,
231
00:18:40,912 --> 00:18:45,041
and one hand cradles
the head of the ratchet
232
00:18:45,083 --> 00:18:47,043
with the socket on it.
233
00:18:47,085 --> 00:18:48,502
[Plumb] And so I got
on the end of it
234
00:18:48,544 --> 00:18:49,921
and kind of gave it
a little force,
235
00:18:51,547 --> 00:18:54,216
and I remember saying to him,
"You got this?"
236
00:18:54,258 --> 00:18:56,260
"Yeah, I got it, I got it,
let go of it."
237
00:18:58,554 --> 00:18:59,931
[Powell]
And I go to pick it up,
238
00:18:59,973 --> 00:19:03,977
and the socket falls
off the end of the ratchet.
239
00:19:04,018 --> 00:19:06,479
[Plumb]
Just boompf,
right through the hole
240
00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:07,730
and just straight down.
241
00:19:10,274 --> 00:19:11,901
As it was falling,
I was thinking,
242
00:19:11,943 --> 00:19:14,278
"Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no."
243
00:19:15,696 --> 00:19:17,531
I wanted to jump
after that thing.
244
00:19:20,534 --> 00:19:21,661
[Powell]
Anytime I want,
245
00:19:21,702 --> 00:19:24,246
I can close my eyes
and see that socket.
246
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:31,378
I see the socket
bouncing off the platform.
247
00:19:32,839 --> 00:19:37,384
I see my RFHCO glove
reaching for it.
248
00:19:41,722 --> 00:19:44,558
And I see it falling
in slow motion.
249
00:19:48,354 --> 00:19:49,522
Seventy feet.
250
00:19:52,232 --> 00:19:55,277
Hitting the thrust mount
like it had eyeballs.
251
00:19:55,319 --> 00:19:56,403
[clangs]
252
00:19:57,947 --> 00:19:59,991
[hissing]
253
00:20:00,033 --> 00:20:03,202
And then a stream of fuel
coming out of the missile.
254
00:20:04,411 --> 00:20:06,539
[Plumb]
I was just in total shock.
255
00:20:06,580 --> 00:20:08,791
I think we both just looked
at each other for a second,
256
00:20:08,833 --> 00:20:12,252
and we're like,
"Oh, my God,
what are we going to do?"
257
00:20:15,173 --> 00:20:17,925
That missile was just
blowing fuel.
258
00:20:17,967 --> 00:20:21,888
Then the magnitude set in
as far as what could happen.
259
00:20:21,929 --> 00:20:25,516
The destructive force
if that thing exploded,
and we can't stop it.
260
00:20:51,876 --> 00:20:55,004
[Schlosser]
Nineteen years before
the Damascus accident,
261
00:20:55,046 --> 00:20:59,258
a B-52 bomber carrying
two powerful hydrogen bombs
262
00:20:59,299 --> 00:21:02,261
took off on a routine mission
over North Carolina.
263
00:21:05,223 --> 00:21:10,186
During the mission,
the plane experienced
a fuel leak,
264
00:21:10,228 --> 00:21:13,856
and suddenly, the B-52 began
to break apart mid-air.
265
00:21:16,943 --> 00:21:21,239
As the fuselage was
spinning and heading
back towards Earth,
266
00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:26,202
the centrifugal forces
pulled on a lanyard
in the cockpit,
267
00:21:26,244 --> 00:21:29,747
and that lanyard was pulled
exactly the way it would be
268
00:21:29,789 --> 00:21:33,626
if a crew member
wanted to release
its hydrogen bombs
269
00:21:33,667 --> 00:21:35,128
over enemy territory.
270
00:21:37,130 --> 00:21:41,092
Bombs are relatively dumb.
271
00:21:41,134 --> 00:21:46,180
They sort of think
that if you drop the bomb
out of the bomb bay,
272
00:21:46,222 --> 00:21:48,474
you must have intended
to do that.
273
00:21:50,101 --> 00:21:52,186
[Schlosser]
One of the weapons
in particular
274
00:21:52,228 --> 00:21:57,524
went through all of its
arming steps to detonate,
275
00:21:57,566 --> 00:22:00,527
and when that weapon
hit the ground,
276
00:22:00,569 --> 00:22:02,529
a firing signal was sent.
277
00:22:05,783 --> 00:22:07,367
And the only thing
that prevented
278
00:22:07,409 --> 00:22:10,579
a full-scale detonation
of a powerful hydrogen bomb
279
00:22:10,621 --> 00:22:14,500
in North Carolina
was a single safety switch.
280
00:22:16,836 --> 00:22:21,757
All it is,
is a two-position
on-off switch.
281
00:22:21,799 --> 00:22:24,468
That prevented
a four-megaton disaster.
282
00:22:25,552 --> 00:22:28,430
If the right two wires
had touched,
283
00:22:28,472 --> 00:22:29,807
the bomb would have detonated.
284
00:22:30,557 --> 00:22:31,391
Period.
285
00:22:35,188 --> 00:22:38,107
[Schlosser] The Goldsboro
accident occurred at a time
286
00:22:38,149 --> 00:22:42,360
when the number
of nuclear weapons
accidents was increasing.
287
00:22:53,122 --> 00:22:57,751
[Peurifoy] I read through
all of the known
accident reports.
288
00:23:01,881 --> 00:23:04,133
And it scared
the hell out of me.
289
00:23:22,693 --> 00:23:25,946
We were shocked
when we realized,
290
00:23:25,988 --> 00:23:28,908
all these years
we've been thinking
291
00:23:28,949 --> 00:23:31,409
along this nice, neat line.
292
00:23:32,245 --> 00:23:34,872
That's not reality.
293
00:23:34,914 --> 00:23:38,209
[Schlosser] There had been
all these statistical
assurances
294
00:23:38,251 --> 00:23:41,128
that weapons
wouldn't detonate
in an accident.
295
00:23:44,131 --> 00:23:45,465
And then there
was a realization
296
00:23:45,507 --> 00:23:48,510
that the weapons were
nowhere near as safe
297
00:23:48,552 --> 00:23:50,012
as everyone had assumed.
298
00:23:56,602 --> 00:24:00,064
[Stevens] We knew
that fire, for example,
could set off
299
00:24:00,106 --> 00:24:04,026
these electro-explosive
devices inside the warhead
300
00:24:05,111 --> 00:24:06,779
in a random way.
301
00:24:10,032 --> 00:24:14,620
[Schlosser]
During a fire, the solder
might melt on a circuit board.
302
00:24:16,247 --> 00:24:19,333
It created all kinds
of new electrical pathways
303
00:24:19,375 --> 00:24:24,380
that could completely
circumvent a safety device.
304
00:24:24,422 --> 00:24:29,843
[Peurifoy] Of the
20,000 or 25,000 weapons
that we had in stockpile,
305
00:24:29,885 --> 00:24:32,012
I could not,
in good conscience,
306
00:24:32,054 --> 00:24:35,641
swear that they were
adequately safe.
307
00:24:36,809 --> 00:24:38,978
[Schlosser]
What they were saying is,
308
00:24:39,019 --> 00:24:42,731
thousands of weapons
in the American nuclear arsenal
309
00:24:42,773 --> 00:24:45,276
were vulnerable
during an accident,
310
00:24:47,861 --> 00:24:53,451
including the most powerful
warhead on
an American missile,
311
00:24:53,491 --> 00:24:55,493
the warhead on top
of the Titan II.
312
00:25:15,848 --> 00:25:19,893
I was sitting down
in the kitchen,
eating a sandwich,
313
00:25:19,935 --> 00:25:22,480
when the klaxon went off.
314
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,899
[alarm beeping]
315
00:25:28,819 --> 00:25:30,321
So I didn't think
too much of it.
316
00:25:30,363 --> 00:25:33,324
I mean, it went off,
it's like,
"Okay, they just...
317
00:25:33,366 --> 00:25:35,075
They're doing
their procedures."
318
00:25:35,117 --> 00:25:38,704
But about ten seconds later,
we got another klaxon.
319
00:25:38,745 --> 00:25:41,040
[alarm beeping]
320
00:25:43,501 --> 00:25:46,295
I got up and I walked about
halfway down the stairs.
321
00:25:46,337 --> 00:25:50,799
And I looked down
and I can see the
commander's console.
322
00:25:50,841 --> 00:25:55,012
Then the commander's
console has lots
of red lights flashing,
323
00:25:55,054 --> 00:25:57,223
and so I know
something's wrong.
324
00:26:00,267 --> 00:26:03,312
[Childers]
Captain Mazzaro
was our crew commander.
325
00:26:03,354 --> 00:26:05,231
The first thing
that Mazzaro heard
326
00:26:05,272 --> 00:26:08,942
and that the other team
members heard
are the words, "Uh-oh."
327
00:26:08,984 --> 00:26:13,030
Mazzaro said,
"What do you mean, 'uh-oh'?
What's going on?"
328
00:26:13,072 --> 00:26:16,200
They said, "There's smoke
in the bottom
of the launch duct.
329
00:26:16,242 --> 00:26:17,951
Commander's trying
to clear up."
330
00:26:17,993 --> 00:26:19,870
"What do you mean,
smoke in the bottom
of the launch duct?
331
00:26:19,912 --> 00:26:20,913
Do you see a fire?"
332
00:26:25,667 --> 00:26:28,003
[Powell]
The fuel vapors in the silo
are just climbing
333
00:26:28,045 --> 00:26:29,255
and climbing and climbing.
334
00:26:35,052 --> 00:26:38,055
So I radioed back
that we had a cloud.
335
00:26:38,097 --> 00:26:39,765
A milky white cloud.
336
00:26:42,226 --> 00:26:44,395
I wasn't going
to say "fuel"
over the radio.
337
00:26:46,564 --> 00:26:49,525
The reason I didn't want
to say the word "fuel"
over the radio
338
00:26:49,567 --> 00:26:51,527
was because, uh,
339
00:26:51,569 --> 00:26:55,072
in case the missile
commander was listening,
340
00:26:55,114 --> 00:26:56,532
I didn't want him
to freak out.
341
00:27:01,870 --> 00:27:05,207
[Plumb]
I think David was just
scared to say anything
342
00:27:05,249 --> 00:27:06,792
about really
what was happening.
343
00:27:09,002 --> 00:27:12,714
Only being 21 years old.
344
00:27:12,756 --> 00:27:16,634
I guess it'd almost be like,
you know, you doing
something wrong as a kid
345
00:27:16,676 --> 00:27:20,013
and you got to
tell your parents
about it, you know?
346
00:27:21,390 --> 00:27:22,975
You know, how you
kind of just stand there
347
00:27:23,016 --> 00:27:24,684
and you don't want to say
what you just did.
348
00:27:37,281 --> 00:27:40,200
[Powell] I grabbed Plumb
and we walked back up
the cable way.
349
00:27:42,578 --> 00:27:46,248
I immediately started looking
at the fuel level reader.
350
00:27:47,833 --> 00:27:50,169
When it hits
that explosive level,
351
00:27:50,210 --> 00:27:52,921
any spark
can set off the fuel.
352
00:27:57,801 --> 00:28:00,762
You could
run through each of
the tanks on each stage
353
00:28:00,804 --> 00:28:02,598
and see what the pressure was,
354
00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:04,891
and we saw
that the pressure
was dropping.
355
00:28:04,933 --> 00:28:06,352
It was dropping fast.
356
00:28:08,854 --> 00:28:11,815
And then all of a sudden,
sprays came on
in the launch duct.
357
00:28:11,857 --> 00:28:14,151
We thought,
"Well, there must be a fire."
358
00:28:14,193 --> 00:28:17,112
It doesn't make any sense,
nothing made any sense.
359
00:28:18,572 --> 00:28:21,283
And I jumped into
my checklist.
360
00:28:21,325 --> 00:28:23,536
We did everything
according to checklists.
361
00:28:23,577 --> 00:28:25,454
[voice breaking]
You know, we ran
the oxidizer checklists,
362
00:28:25,496 --> 00:28:27,289
we ran the fuel checklists.
363
00:28:29,416 --> 00:28:32,169
You know,
you stay in the checklist,
it'll take care of you.
364
00:28:35,548 --> 00:28:39,218
[Holder] About that time,
the PTS team that
had been out working
365
00:28:39,259 --> 00:28:40,678
had gotten back,
366
00:28:40,719 --> 00:28:43,347
and they're standing over
in the short cableway,
367
00:28:43,389 --> 00:28:46,850
and the maintenance
team chief went over
and met them
368
00:28:46,892 --> 00:28:48,143
and they started talking.
369
00:28:50,812 --> 00:28:53,815
At that point, I said,
"Okay, guys, what happened?"
370
00:28:54,733 --> 00:28:56,860
And they came in
371
00:28:56,902 --> 00:29:01,114
and then they explained
to the crew at that point
exactly what happened.
372
00:29:03,825 --> 00:29:05,952
And that's when we finally
got him to admit
373
00:29:05,994 --> 00:29:08,038
that he had done something,
that he had dropped it,
374
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,666
and there was a hole,
and he saw vapors
coming out.
375
00:29:10,708 --> 00:29:13,460
It was more than "uh-oh."
And that was
the first time we knew.
376
00:29:13,502 --> 00:29:16,129
It was a good
half-hour into it.
377
00:29:16,171 --> 00:29:19,299
By then it was basically
out of control.
378
00:29:19,341 --> 00:29:22,928
[alarm beeping]
379
00:29:45,242 --> 00:29:47,369
[Brown]
When I became
secretary of defense,
380
00:29:47,411 --> 00:29:50,038
we had tens of thousands
of nuclear weapons.
381
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:53,875
The numbers
were a big problem,
382
00:29:53,917 --> 00:30:01,174
because it only takes
a few or one getting
out of hand
383
00:30:01,216 --> 00:30:06,054
to cause
a catastrophic problem.
384
00:30:06,096 --> 00:30:09,891
And we worried about that.
We probably didn't worry
about it enough.
385
00:30:12,436 --> 00:30:17,190
The Titan II missiles,
by 1980, were both old
386
00:30:17,232 --> 00:30:20,068
and much more prone
to accidents.
387
00:30:21,236 --> 00:30:23,155
Why was it still
in the arsenal?
388
00:30:23,196 --> 00:30:25,741
[applause]
389
00:30:25,783 --> 00:30:29,703
In part because it was part
of a negotiating strategy.
390
00:30:32,539 --> 00:30:38,420
We anticipated trading
them off against
Soviet heavy missiles
391
00:30:38,462 --> 00:30:40,880
in strategic
arms negotiations.
392
00:30:42,466 --> 00:30:44,176
[Schlosser]
It was a bargaining chip,
393
00:30:44,217 --> 00:30:47,846
something that we
could give up in order
to persuade the Soviets
394
00:30:47,887 --> 00:30:49,807
to get rid of a class
of their missiles.
395
00:30:52,518 --> 00:30:54,978
[Brown]
So that was why
we still had it,
396
00:30:55,020 --> 00:30:57,439
and it was therefore
available for an accident.
397
00:30:59,483 --> 00:31:01,610
[reporter]
Nearly 14,000 gallons
398
00:31:01,652 --> 00:31:04,321
of poisonous liquid fuel
poured out,
399
00:31:04,363 --> 00:31:07,449
killing two persons
and injuring more
than 20 others.
400
00:31:07,491 --> 00:31:11,286
[reporter 2] This would be
missile leak number ten
so far in Arkansas.
401
00:31:11,328 --> 00:31:15,332
The Titan II is potentially
an awesome weapon of war
402
00:31:15,374 --> 00:31:17,584
whose only victims so far
have been Americans.
403
00:31:39,481 --> 00:31:41,608
September 18, 1980,
404
00:31:41,650 --> 00:31:43,652
I got a call
from the command post,
405
00:31:43,694 --> 00:31:45,362
said we had
a serious problem.
406
00:31:47,113 --> 00:31:49,282
I was the new guy.
407
00:31:49,324 --> 00:31:53,620
I had no previous
experience in Titan,
408
00:31:53,662 --> 00:31:56,790
I had no training in Titan,
409
00:31:56,832 --> 00:31:59,835
I had about three months
under my belt
410
00:31:59,877 --> 00:32:04,130
before the accident
occurred on the night
of September 18.
411
00:32:05,841 --> 00:32:07,217
I got to the command center,
412
00:32:08,552 --> 00:32:10,970
started to figure out
what was going on.
413
00:32:12,639 --> 00:32:16,852
And then I activated
the missile potential
hazard team.
414
00:32:16,894 --> 00:32:18,854
[Schlosser]
The missile potential
hazard team
415
00:32:18,896 --> 00:32:22,482
gathered together some
of the top figures
in the Air Force
416
00:32:22,524 --> 00:32:24,860
to deal with the accident.
417
00:32:24,902 --> 00:32:27,780
At Barksdale Air Force Base
in Louisiana,
418
00:32:27,821 --> 00:32:29,698
there was
Colonel Ben Scallorn,
419
00:32:29,740 --> 00:32:33,744
the Air Force's leading expert
on the Titan II missile.
420
00:32:33,786 --> 00:32:37,289
As we're dumping fuel,
the oxidizer expands,
421
00:32:37,330 --> 00:32:41,126
and there's a possibility
that it can rupture a tank,
422
00:32:41,167 --> 00:32:42,961
and with a silo full of fuel
423
00:32:43,002 --> 00:32:45,547
and you rupture
an oxidizer tank
424
00:32:45,589 --> 00:32:48,634
and the oxidizer
hits the fuel,
it's gone.
425
00:32:50,552 --> 00:32:54,598
[Schlosser] In Denver,
there were executives
from Martin Marietta,
426
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:58,268
who designed and built
the Titan II missile.
427
00:32:58,310 --> 00:33:01,897
And in Omaha, Nebraska,
there was the
underground headquarters
428
00:33:01,939 --> 00:33:05,317
of the Strategic Air Command,
known as SAC.
429
00:33:06,944 --> 00:33:08,904
That night,
all the major decisions
430
00:33:08,946 --> 00:33:12,407
would be made
at SAC headquarters
by General Lloyd Leavitt.
431
00:33:15,034 --> 00:33:18,246
[Moser]
General Leavitt was
a very dedicated pilot,
432
00:33:18,288 --> 00:33:22,250
a very courageous pilot
in Korea and Vietnam,
433
00:33:22,292 --> 00:33:27,923
but he had no missile
background at all,
that I'm aware of.
434
00:33:30,592 --> 00:33:33,804
As things progressed,
we were trying to do
everything we could.
435
00:33:33,846 --> 00:33:35,889
We knew what
was going to happen
436
00:33:35,931 --> 00:33:38,934
if we lost pressure
in the fuel tank.
437
00:33:38,976 --> 00:33:40,686
You know, of course,
the missile was going
to collapse
438
00:33:40,727 --> 00:33:41,812
on top of itself.
439
00:33:45,315 --> 00:33:48,485
If the missile collapsed,
the entire missile
would blow up,
440
00:33:50,403 --> 00:33:54,407
but what would happen
to the warhead
was anybody's guess.
441
00:33:56,952 --> 00:34:00,747
There was no one
that we kept on alert
442
00:34:00,789 --> 00:34:02,332
that knew anything
about the warhead.
443
00:34:03,834 --> 00:34:05,544
There was no checklist,
444
00:34:05,585 --> 00:34:08,588
so it became a seat-of-
the-pants operation
as things unfolded,
445
00:34:08,630 --> 00:34:12,926
and I used every resource
we had that night
446
00:34:12,968 --> 00:34:17,305
to try to face the problem
and solve the problem.
447
00:34:19,140 --> 00:34:21,226
One of the options was,
448
00:34:21,267 --> 00:34:23,896
if the silo closure door
was opened,
449
00:34:23,937 --> 00:34:27,024
there's a possibility
that the gas could
have been vented.
450
00:34:29,067 --> 00:34:32,696
But there was also
a possibility,
451
00:34:32,738 --> 00:34:37,034
if the missile did explode
while that door was open,
452
00:34:37,075 --> 00:34:39,912
it would throw the warhead
out of the silo.
453
00:34:43,957 --> 00:34:45,792
We would not have known
where it went.
454
00:34:45,834 --> 00:34:47,627
It could go almost anywhere.
455
00:35:06,688 --> 00:35:08,815
[Schlosser]
Twenty-five years earlier,
456
00:35:08,857 --> 00:35:11,568
a weapon similar to the one
on the Titan II
457
00:35:11,610 --> 00:35:14,029
was tested
in the South Pacific.
458
00:35:14,071 --> 00:35:17,074
[bang echoing thunderously]
459
00:35:23,622 --> 00:35:25,832
The explosion wound up being
460
00:35:25,874 --> 00:35:29,461
three times more powerful
than they had estimated.
461
00:35:35,550 --> 00:35:37,094
And the test revealed
462
00:35:37,135 --> 00:35:40,388
that the radioactive fallout
from a hydrogen bomb
463
00:35:40,430 --> 00:35:43,600
could be even more deadly
than the blast itself.
464
00:35:49,940 --> 00:35:51,566
Back in Washington,
465
00:35:51,608 --> 00:35:56,780
they took a map
of the fallout pattern
from the Bravo Test,
466
00:35:56,822 --> 00:36:01,618
and they superimposed it
on a map of the United States.
467
00:36:01,660 --> 00:36:07,040
A similar weapon
detonated over
Washington, D.C.,
468
00:36:08,291 --> 00:36:11,210
could release
enough radioactive fallout
469
00:36:11,252 --> 00:36:13,755
to kill everyone
in Washington, D.C.,
470
00:36:13,797 --> 00:36:17,258
everyone in Baltimore,
everyone in Philadelphia,
471
00:36:17,300 --> 00:36:20,095
half the population
of New York City,
472
00:36:20,137 --> 00:36:24,265
with casualties and fatalities
as far north as Boston.
473
00:36:38,947 --> 00:36:42,200
[Holder]
The fuel tank readings
started going negative,
474
00:36:44,161 --> 00:36:49,749
and at that point,
I felt that it was
potentially going to collapse.
475
00:36:51,793 --> 00:36:57,507
And although there
are safety measures
within the warhead,
476
00:36:57,549 --> 00:37:00,593
in the back of my mind,
you always wonder.
477
00:37:02,012 --> 00:37:04,181
I don't think
anybody truly knew
478
00:37:04,222 --> 00:37:06,683
what was going to happen
with the warhead.
479
00:37:07,809 --> 00:37:11,270
[men speaking on radios]
480
00:37:11,312 --> 00:37:13,565
[Plumb]
As they were talking
about these tank pressures
481
00:37:13,606 --> 00:37:14,900
and all these
different things,
482
00:37:16,818 --> 00:37:20,655
I'm getting
more and more anxious
and more and more anxious,
483
00:37:20,697 --> 00:37:23,491
thinking, "I need...
We need to get out of here.
484
00:37:23,533 --> 00:37:26,411
We need to get the hell out
of this complex,
485
00:37:26,452 --> 00:37:28,205
because this thing's
going to blow up."
486
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:33,585
[Moser] Some of
the crew members were
eager to make an exit,
487
00:37:33,626 --> 00:37:37,296
so with that in mind,
we started discussing,
488
00:37:39,091 --> 00:37:42,301
should we evacuate the people
in the launch control center
489
00:37:42,343 --> 00:37:44,679
or leave them in there?
490
00:37:44,721 --> 00:37:47,224
The reason to get them
out of the silo,
491
00:37:47,265 --> 00:37:50,977
we had no idea
what was going to happen
to the launch control center
492
00:37:51,019 --> 00:37:52,562
if the missile exploded.
493
00:37:53,772 --> 00:37:57,650
I still thought
we should be there.
494
00:37:57,692 --> 00:37:59,194
We needed to be there.
495
00:38:01,196 --> 00:38:04,449
If we evacuated
that launch control center,
496
00:38:04,490 --> 00:38:08,578
we would be giving up
any ability to control any
of the equipment,
497
00:38:10,413 --> 00:38:15,252
we would be giving up
the capacity to try
any of the ideas
498
00:38:15,293 --> 00:38:18,797
that people were trying
to come up with in order
to save this system.
499
00:38:24,469 --> 00:38:26,763
Rodney and I told
the crew commander
500
00:38:27,847 --> 00:38:29,348
that we wanted to stay behind.
501
00:38:31,350 --> 00:38:35,313
I couldn't leave.
You know, emotionally,
I couldn't go.
502
00:38:35,354 --> 00:38:37,190
From our standpoint,
we could stay
503
00:38:37,232 --> 00:38:41,153
because neither one
of us had children
at that time, and...
504
00:38:41,194 --> 00:38:43,280
Not that we didn't care
about our lives,
505
00:38:43,321 --> 00:38:49,202
but, you know, it just
seemed that it made
sense to us
506
00:38:49,244 --> 00:38:51,830
that we should stay
and let everybody else go.
507
00:39:09,222 --> 00:39:12,058
[people chatting]
508
00:39:13,643 --> 00:39:16,354
[man] On the evening
of September 18,
509
00:39:16,395 --> 00:39:18,982
people were gathering
in Hot Springs.
510
00:39:19,024 --> 00:39:21,734
Vice President Mondale
was the keynote speaker.
511
00:39:21,776 --> 00:39:23,653
Senator Pryor
and Governor Clinton
and others
512
00:39:23,695 --> 00:39:25,989
had already
gone to Hot Springs.
513
00:39:28,992 --> 00:39:34,539
And I was scheduled
to go over the next day.
514
00:39:34,580 --> 00:39:38,168
That night we had invited
a friend over for dinner,
and the phone rang.
515
00:39:38,210 --> 00:39:41,420
[phone ringing]
516
00:39:41,462 --> 00:39:45,383
And it was this airman
who worked on
the Titan missiles.
517
00:39:47,468 --> 00:39:49,929
When I got off the phone
from this airman,
518
00:39:49,971 --> 00:39:54,100
I looked around and people
started asking me, saying,
519
00:39:54,142 --> 00:39:56,269
"What's happening?"
520
00:39:56,311 --> 00:40:00,481
And I said, "A Titan missile
is going to explode."
521
00:40:02,483 --> 00:40:05,362
And the question was,
"Well, what does
that mean?"
522
00:40:05,403 --> 00:40:06,445
"What it means...
523
00:40:08,156 --> 00:40:13,245
is if that nuclear
warhead explodes,
524
00:40:13,286 --> 00:40:15,372
we're incinerated."
525
00:40:15,413 --> 00:40:17,082
You know, I said,
"Little Rock's gone."
526
00:40:17,999 --> 00:40:19,500
I said,
"Little Rock is gone.
527
00:40:19,542 --> 00:40:25,090
We're 46 miles
from this site,
we're gone."
528
00:40:28,260 --> 00:40:32,931
I walked into our
living room and looked
out the front window,
529
00:40:34,557 --> 00:40:36,559
and it was still
daylight savings time,
530
00:40:37,852 --> 00:40:39,187
so it wasn't totally dark,
531
00:40:39,229 --> 00:40:43,400
and you could see children
in the front yard
532
00:40:43,441 --> 00:40:45,651
or people walking out
to their cars,
533
00:40:45,693 --> 00:40:47,737
carrying on
their normal everyday lives.
534
00:40:49,739 --> 00:40:53,826
And I thought,
"Do I run out on the street
535
00:40:53,868 --> 00:40:57,872
and say we got
a potential nuclear explosion
536
00:40:57,914 --> 00:40:59,498
46 miles from here?"
537
00:41:01,542 --> 00:41:04,837
"Do I grab my friends
and neighbors
538
00:41:04,879 --> 00:41:07,090
and get in the car
and start driving?"
539
00:41:08,174 --> 00:41:09,675
What do you do?
540
00:41:11,219 --> 00:41:14,847
I was there in Hot Springs
at night,
541
00:41:14,889 --> 00:41:18,310
and the phone rang
and it was Skip.
542
00:41:18,351 --> 00:41:22,355
And Skip says,
"We have a problem."
543
00:41:22,397 --> 00:41:24,065
He said, "What's
the Air Force saying?"
544
00:41:24,107 --> 00:41:27,526
I said, "The Air Force
is telling people
it's not happening.
545
00:41:27,568 --> 00:41:29,654
That's what they've told
the people on the site.
546
00:41:31,656 --> 00:41:34,700
They're going to tell you
that these things
are under control.
547
00:41:37,245 --> 00:41:39,372
But I think you need to be
prepared for an explosion."
548
00:41:39,414 --> 00:41:41,624
[cheering and applause]
549
00:41:56,764 --> 00:41:59,642
As the general manager of
the radio station in Clinton,
550
00:41:59,684 --> 00:42:01,811
we were doing
quite a bit of local news,
551
00:42:01,853 --> 00:42:04,189
and you realize
in a small town
552
00:42:04,230 --> 00:42:05,940
that you need to have
a police scanner,
553
00:42:05,982 --> 00:42:08,360
because everything
comes off of it.
554
00:42:08,401 --> 00:42:11,237
And the person said,
"We've got a chemical leak
555
00:42:11,279 --> 00:42:12,738
at the Titan II
missile silo."
556
00:42:16,534 --> 00:42:19,578
We get there about
the same time the
sheriff is getting there,
557
00:42:20,205 --> 00:42:21,580
Gus Anglin.
558
00:42:21,622 --> 00:42:22,957
This is Gus Anglin.
559
00:42:22,999 --> 00:42:24,959
He was the sheriff
of Van Buren County,
560
00:42:25,001 --> 00:42:26,503
very popular sheriff
by the way.
561
00:42:29,214 --> 00:42:32,675
And so we decide
to walk down the narrow road
562
00:42:32,717 --> 00:42:34,219
that goes down to the silo.
563
00:42:36,388 --> 00:42:38,014
And when you get down there,
564
00:42:38,056 --> 00:42:40,475
there's, like, this
ten-foot-tall
chain link fencing
565
00:42:40,517 --> 00:42:42,768
with barbed wire
around the top of it.
566
00:42:44,645 --> 00:42:49,025
Out of nowhere, here comes
two guys with M-16 rifles.
567
00:42:51,361 --> 00:42:53,863
Gus says, "Do I need
to start evacuating?"
568
00:42:53,905 --> 00:42:59,452
"Oh, no, sir, no, sir,
we've got it under control,
I assure you."
569
00:42:59,494 --> 00:43:04,541
So we went back
to the edge of the road,
which was just off Highway 65.
570
00:43:04,582 --> 00:43:07,335
[reporter] This is as close
as the military will
allow us to get...
571
00:43:07,377 --> 00:43:10,838
[King] So here comes
Channel 4, here comes
Channel 11.
572
00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:13,591
Before you know it,
we've got about
25 people out there.
573
00:43:16,219 --> 00:43:17,178
They ignored us.
574
00:43:18,430 --> 00:43:19,722
We'd yell at them
as they'd come by.
575
00:43:19,764 --> 00:43:22,058
We'd go, "Hey,
is everything under control?"
576
00:43:22,100 --> 00:43:24,185
You know,
"Have you fixed it yet?"
577
00:43:24,227 --> 00:43:25,603
And they'd just keep driving.
578
00:43:25,644 --> 00:43:28,856
They wouldn't even
acknowledge that
you existed.
579
00:43:28,898 --> 00:43:33,652
Sheriff Gus Anglin,
he didn't get the information
he thought he needed from them
580
00:43:33,694 --> 00:43:35,405
to make really
good decisions,
581
00:43:35,447 --> 00:43:37,490
and finally he just went
to running everybody off.
582
00:43:37,532 --> 00:43:39,200
When they were evacuating,
he said, you know,
583
00:43:39,242 --> 00:43:40,910
"I don't know how bad
it's going to be
or anything else,
584
00:43:40,952 --> 00:43:42,370
get out of here right now,
585
00:43:42,412 --> 00:43:44,205
and then we'll get you
back in quick as we can."
586
00:43:46,291 --> 00:43:49,294
They had roadblocks set up
back two miles from it
587
00:43:49,335 --> 00:43:50,836
diverting traffic
around the area.
588
00:43:54,090 --> 00:43:59,345
I had a problem,
that nine months
before that happened,
589
00:43:59,387 --> 00:44:02,557
I had synchronized
a bunch of heifers,
590
00:44:02,599 --> 00:44:04,350
which means you give them
a shot of Lutalyse
591
00:44:04,392 --> 00:44:06,269
and they all come into heat
at the same time.
592
00:44:06,311 --> 00:44:08,313
You breed them
all at the same time,
593
00:44:08,354 --> 00:44:10,940
which also means they're
all going to calve
at the same time.
594
00:44:12,066 --> 00:44:14,693
Well, their due date
was that day.
595
00:44:16,571 --> 00:44:20,158
We would have lost the farm,
everything we had,
596
00:44:20,199 --> 00:44:23,286
you know, if them cows
all got sick and died.
597
00:44:23,328 --> 00:44:25,330
So, well,
we were going back in.
598
00:44:41,179 --> 00:44:46,684
[Moser]
We finally made the decision
to evacuate the crew,
599
00:44:46,725 --> 00:44:49,854
because when
the missile explodes,
600
00:44:49,895 --> 00:44:51,564
if it does explode,
601
00:44:51,606 --> 00:44:57,236
you're risking life
of the four crew
members on site.
602
00:44:57,278 --> 00:45:01,782
So we thought the best avenue
was to take the crew
out of the control center.
603
00:45:03,451 --> 00:45:05,495
Mike said, "We're going
to have to evacuate."
604
00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:10,041
Uh...
605
00:45:12,544 --> 00:45:15,547
It was one
of the hardest things
I think anybody could do,
606
00:45:15,588 --> 00:45:17,882
because you were responsible
for a nuclear weapon
607
00:45:17,923 --> 00:45:20,510
that was capable
of destroying
608
00:45:20,552 --> 00:45:23,179
an unbelievable amount
of territory
609
00:45:23,221 --> 00:45:25,306
and an unbelievable
number of people,
610
00:45:27,266 --> 00:45:28,851
and you were
leaving it behind.
611
00:45:34,106 --> 00:45:38,152
Nobody left it before,
nobody would leave
a nuclear warhead.
612
00:45:43,115 --> 00:45:44,741
The whole time
I was leaving,
I kept thinking,
613
00:45:44,783 --> 00:45:46,911
"I need to stay,
I should have stayed."
614
00:45:46,952 --> 00:45:49,746
I look back on it now,
I still can't believe
we left it empty.
615
00:45:51,832 --> 00:45:53,792
[alarm beeping, men talking]
616
00:45:56,879 --> 00:46:00,258
We had all these
classified checklists.
617
00:46:00,299 --> 00:46:03,886
Nobody had ever tried to
put them in a safe before,
they wouldn't fit.
618
00:46:03,928 --> 00:46:06,889
So we left all of them
in the safe with
the door open.
619
00:46:10,101 --> 00:46:13,145
We thought, "We're going
to go out the regular way,
we'll open a door up."
620
00:46:19,068 --> 00:46:21,820
[Holder]
As we started to open
the blast door,
621
00:46:22,863 --> 00:46:25,408
we immediately saw vapor.
622
00:46:29,161 --> 00:46:31,497
Once we closed that door,
623
00:46:31,539 --> 00:46:34,125
that cut off
our main escape route.
624
00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:40,881
We were instructed to evacuate
through the emergency
escape hatch,
625
00:46:40,923 --> 00:46:45,177
which we had never
actually fully opened.
626
00:46:45,219 --> 00:46:47,930
[Childers]
It was just a metal tube
with a ladder in it,
627
00:46:47,972 --> 00:46:50,475
buried a good 40 feet
under the ground.
628
00:46:52,977 --> 00:46:54,729
There's a light at the top,
629
00:46:54,771 --> 00:46:58,608
and it's supposed
to shine down into
the escape route,
630
00:46:58,650 --> 00:47:01,402
and it didn't come on.
It wasn't working.
Nothing was working.
631
00:47:05,156 --> 00:47:09,744
It was a hell of a thing
to climb up five stories
in the dark with this mask on,
632
00:47:09,786 --> 00:47:11,454
and you couldn't breathe,
633
00:47:11,496 --> 00:47:13,790
and it filled up
with vapors and you
couldn't see anything.
634
00:47:18,919 --> 00:47:22,507
We knew there was
very little wind that night,
and all of the vapors
635
00:47:22,548 --> 00:47:25,802
that were being evacuated
out of the launch duct
636
00:47:25,842 --> 00:47:27,345
were settling over the site.
637
00:47:43,695 --> 00:47:46,405
[James Sandaker]
I was at home
with my wife and kid,
638
00:47:46,447 --> 00:47:49,241
and I got a call
from job control,
639
00:47:51,327 --> 00:47:54,497
and they said
they had a problem
out at 4-7.
640
00:47:54,539 --> 00:47:55,998
They told everybody here,
641
00:47:56,040 --> 00:47:58,334
"This is a very
dangerous situation,
642
00:47:58,376 --> 00:48:00,419
we don't know
what's going to happen,
643
00:48:00,461 --> 00:48:04,089
this is a purely
voluntary mission only,
644
00:48:04,131 --> 00:48:06,634
and if you don't want to go,
you don't have to go."
645
00:48:06,676 --> 00:48:10,388
[engine roaring]
646
00:48:10,429 --> 00:48:12,973
[Devlin]
The PTS group,
it was like a brotherhood.
647
00:48:15,100 --> 00:48:17,770
There's no question
that we weren't
going to be the team
648
00:48:17,812 --> 00:48:19,731
that was going out there.
649
00:48:19,772 --> 00:48:21,607
Dave Livingston was
one of the guys,
650
00:48:21,649 --> 00:48:23,942
and he was sitting
in the back seat
651
00:48:25,194 --> 00:48:27,946
and he said to me,
652
00:48:27,988 --> 00:48:31,158
"Somebody's going to die
out here tonight.
I just feel it."
653
00:48:31,200 --> 00:48:34,537
And I said, "Dave,
don't say something
like that, man.
654
00:48:34,579 --> 00:48:35,872
Don't even say it."
655
00:48:35,912 --> 00:48:37,790
And he goes,
"No, I got a bad vibe, man,
656
00:48:37,832 --> 00:48:39,166
Somebody's going to die
out here, man."
657
00:48:41,419 --> 00:48:44,171
[Holder]
We know, at this point,
that there's a helicopter
658
00:48:44,213 --> 00:48:47,633
on the way,
and Jeff Kennedy
was on there.
659
00:48:48,760 --> 00:48:52,096
He was one of the best,
if not the best,
660
00:48:52,137 --> 00:48:53,723
team chief in the wing.
661
00:48:55,474 --> 00:48:59,019
Jeff Kennedy was
the kind of guy that...
662
00:48:59,061 --> 00:49:04,734
Uh, he would never ask you
to do anything
he wouldn't do himself.
663
00:49:04,776 --> 00:49:09,280
[Kennedy]
When I got out on site,
Powell came running up to me
664
00:49:09,321 --> 00:49:12,324
and said, "Jeff, I fucked up
like you wouldn't believe."
665
00:49:14,201 --> 00:49:16,579
I know that I need
to get the tank readings
666
00:49:16,621 --> 00:49:20,499
to find out how serious
the leak is.
667
00:49:20,541 --> 00:49:24,545
[Powell] Jeff thought
the longer we wait,
the more dangerous it gets.
668
00:49:27,089 --> 00:49:30,008
What Jeff
didn't tell anybody was
669
00:49:30,050 --> 00:49:33,304
we're going to go down
into that silo
and look at those pressures.
670
00:49:35,807 --> 00:49:40,269
So we run across the silo
to the escape hatch.
671
00:49:44,440 --> 00:49:46,275
Kennedy goes
into the tube first,
672
00:49:46,317 --> 00:49:48,319
I follow him in,
and all of a sudden,
673
00:49:48,360 --> 00:49:52,197
he looks up at me
and he says,
"Stay here."
674
00:49:52,239 --> 00:49:56,076
We violated
the most sacred
rule in SAC,
675
00:49:56,118 --> 00:49:58,120
which is the two-man rule.
676
00:49:58,162 --> 00:50:01,039
Nobody goes to certain parts
of the silo
677
00:50:01,081 --> 00:50:05,210
without being accompanied
by another person.
678
00:50:05,252 --> 00:50:08,464
He felt like
that he could get
in and out quicker
679
00:50:08,506 --> 00:50:10,215
if he went by himself.
680
00:50:17,055 --> 00:50:21,435
[Kennedy]
Stage one fuel was now
at a negative imbalance.
681
00:50:22,603 --> 00:50:25,481
There's 14,000
gallons of fuel
682
00:50:25,523 --> 00:50:27,692
that have leaked out
of the tank.
683
00:50:27,733 --> 00:50:31,236
So now we have less
than 30 pounds of pressure
684
00:50:31,278 --> 00:50:34,490
before stage one
oxidizer blows.
685
00:50:40,872 --> 00:50:45,209
[Powell] Kennedy shows
the readings that he just got,
686
00:50:45,250 --> 00:50:48,420
and says we still
had time to save it,
but we had to move.
687
00:50:48,462 --> 00:50:50,339
We had to move now.
688
00:50:50,381 --> 00:50:52,717
[Childers]
The commander was furious
689
00:50:52,758 --> 00:50:55,970
that he had violated
the two-man policy
690
00:50:56,012 --> 00:50:58,931
by going down there
and didn't even have
a crew member with him,
691
00:50:58,973 --> 00:50:59,849
he was just on his own.
692
00:50:59,891 --> 00:51:01,475
He violated everything.
693
00:51:02,810 --> 00:51:04,896
[Kennedy]
Fifteen minutes later,
694
00:51:04,937 --> 00:51:09,358
SAC headquarters relieves us
of all command
decision making.
695
00:51:11,569 --> 00:51:14,446
Now, here's SAC
headquarters
696
00:51:14,488 --> 00:51:18,743
that has never stepped foot
on a complex.
697
00:51:22,329 --> 00:51:24,373
That just pissed me off.
698
00:51:30,421 --> 00:51:31,881
[phones ringing]
699
00:51:35,551 --> 00:51:36,969
[Scallorn]
Time was of the essence
700
00:51:37,011 --> 00:51:39,304
if we were going
to accomplish anything.
701
00:51:40,973 --> 00:51:42,516
Every minute that passed by,
702
00:51:42,558 --> 00:51:46,437
we were further,
simply because we're
dumping more fuel
703
00:51:46,478 --> 00:51:48,230
and everything
is getting worse.
704
00:51:51,901 --> 00:51:53,736
[Holder]
People started showing up
from base.
705
00:51:57,406 --> 00:52:00,492
Communications,
portable vapor detectors,
706
00:52:00,534 --> 00:52:03,537
they were bringing all kinds
of maintenance equipment.
707
00:52:05,998 --> 00:52:09,251
[King] You think all of these
experts must be coming in
to work on this thing.
708
00:52:12,254 --> 00:52:14,298
Then I see this bus come in,
709
00:52:15,507 --> 00:52:20,345
and here are these
about ten guys,
710
00:52:20,387 --> 00:52:25,559
and they start putting on
what looks like space outfits.
711
00:52:25,601 --> 00:52:27,645
And you're looking at these
and you're thinking,
712
00:52:27,686 --> 00:52:31,523
"I'm 24 years old
and they're all
younger than me,
713
00:52:33,692 --> 00:52:36,737
and these guys are the experts
that are going to go in there
and fix this?"
714
00:52:39,949 --> 00:52:44,202
All I saw was just young guys
that were being thrown
to the lions.
715
00:52:48,415 --> 00:52:50,918
[Devlin]
One of the hard things
for us was
716
00:52:50,960 --> 00:52:53,754
it seemed like we were
waiting and waiting
and waiting
717
00:52:53,796 --> 00:52:58,717
for some decision
to be made at SAC
as specifically what to do.
718
00:52:58,759 --> 00:53:02,138
So the time frame of, like,
719
00:53:02,178 --> 00:53:05,724
"Man, you know,
whatever we're going
to do, let's do it."
720
00:53:05,766 --> 00:53:08,769
[phone ringing]
721
00:53:08,811 --> 00:53:12,230
[Moser]
The SAC command center
finally decided that
722
00:53:12,272 --> 00:53:15,067
we had to know
what the status was
723
00:53:15,109 --> 00:53:17,153
in the silo,
if we could get back in.
724
00:53:19,655 --> 00:53:21,615
What they considered
the best alternative
725
00:53:21,657 --> 00:53:23,701
was go back in
and check pressures.
726
00:53:26,829 --> 00:53:29,123
[Devlin]
When we find out
what the plan is,
727
00:53:29,165 --> 00:53:31,625
we have to break into
a nuclear missile complex,
728
00:53:31,667 --> 00:53:33,711
which has never
been done before in history.
729
00:53:35,337 --> 00:53:37,923
[Childers]
If we had stayed
in the control center,
730
00:53:37,965 --> 00:53:42,970
we could have opened
every door they had
to break their way in.
731
00:53:43,012 --> 00:53:46,557
[Holder] The plan was
to go down and go
through the blast doors,
732
00:53:46,598 --> 00:53:48,142
get into the control center,
733
00:53:49,894 --> 00:53:53,772
and depending on the fuel
and oxidizer readings,
734
00:53:53,814 --> 00:53:56,274
they wanted to get
to the missile itself,
735
00:53:58,110 --> 00:54:02,280
open up a valve
to vent that tank
736
00:54:02,322 --> 00:54:06,284
so it would stabilize
and not collapse.
737
00:54:10,789 --> 00:54:13,542
[Kennedy]
It's absolute,
total bullshit.
738
00:54:15,586 --> 00:54:18,923
You know, I said,
"Colonel, why don't we just
go down the escape hatch?"
739
00:54:18,964 --> 00:54:21,092
"Kennedy, this plan
has come down,
740
00:54:21,133 --> 00:54:23,552
it's the plan we're going
to go with, and that's it."
741
00:54:27,098 --> 00:54:30,392
[Powell]
Jeff thought the plan
was nuts.
742
00:54:30,434 --> 00:54:33,229
But on the
other hand, you're...
743
00:54:33,269 --> 00:54:36,232
This is what you do,
you're a PTS guy.
744
00:54:36,272 --> 00:54:39,484
This is the plan
that came down
745
00:54:39,526 --> 00:54:42,404
and you suck it up
and you do it.
746
00:54:45,490 --> 00:54:51,329
[Moser] We were directed
to ask for volunteers
to go back in.
747
00:54:51,371 --> 00:54:55,876
I personally wasn't in favor
of sending anybody else in
after all the time.
748
00:54:55,918 --> 00:54:59,171
It was the wee hours
of the morning,
749
00:54:59,213 --> 00:55:04,551
this has been going on
for many hours at this point,
750
00:55:04,593 --> 00:55:06,929
probably eight hours.
751
00:55:06,971 --> 00:55:11,976
But I guess you go back
and say, as a good soldier,
752
00:55:12,017 --> 00:55:17,773
your boss says,
"Do this," and you
eventually do it.
753
00:55:17,815 --> 00:55:23,570
And we had enough
brave souls to volunteer
to go back in the silo.
754
00:55:23,612 --> 00:55:27,741
[Devlin] Rex Hukle and I
were the first guys
to go in.
755
00:55:27,783 --> 00:55:31,036
They said, "You only have
30 minutes of air.
756
00:55:31,078 --> 00:55:34,290
There is no crew
down there, the crew
is already evacuated,"
757
00:55:34,330 --> 00:55:36,292
so they said,
"You're going to have to cut
758
00:55:36,332 --> 00:55:38,376
and break your way
into this missile complex."
759
00:55:48,637 --> 00:55:50,931
[Scallorn]
When they got
to the exhaust duct,
760
00:55:50,973 --> 00:55:53,642
they took a reading
and the meter pegged out,
761
00:55:53,684 --> 00:55:55,853
which is 250 parts
per million.
762
00:55:57,562 --> 00:56:01,233
[Holder]
250 parts per million
is when the vapor
763
00:56:01,275 --> 00:56:04,028
is in such
a high concentration,
764
00:56:04,069 --> 00:56:06,280
it could start to melt
the RFHCO suits.
765
00:56:07,781 --> 00:56:10,617
Almost anything
could cause it to ignite.
766
00:56:15,039 --> 00:56:17,624
[Scallorn] General Leavitt
directed them to press on.
767
00:56:20,836 --> 00:56:23,339
I knew it was
the wrong thing to do.
768
00:56:23,379 --> 00:56:25,924
Whatever was going
to happen was not
going to be good.
769
00:56:31,638 --> 00:56:34,225
[Devlin]
We got to the portal door.
770
00:56:34,266 --> 00:56:37,644
We used bolt cutters
and a great big crowbar
771
00:56:37,686 --> 00:56:40,480
to pry open the main lock
772
00:56:40,522 --> 00:56:42,858
and then go down
three levels of steps
773
00:56:42,900 --> 00:56:46,987
to get to your first
6,000-pound blast lock door
774
00:56:47,029 --> 00:56:49,948
with great big hydraulic
pins that lock it in place.
775
00:56:53,327 --> 00:56:56,914
We were getting close
to the 30 minutes of air
776
00:56:56,955 --> 00:56:59,958
and then they said,
"You guys got it hooked up,
come on back.
777
00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:02,253
"We're going to send
Kennedy and Livingston
in to replace you."
778
00:57:08,550 --> 00:57:11,053
[Moser]
Those guys were brave.
779
00:57:11,095 --> 00:57:13,138
They knew what they were
getting into
780
00:57:13,180 --> 00:57:17,142
when they went back in
on the underground.
What could happen to them.
781
00:57:17,184 --> 00:57:19,978
[Holder] I was sitting
in a security
police vehicle,
782
00:57:20,020 --> 00:57:22,231
listening and hearing
what's going on.
783
00:57:23,607 --> 00:57:25,276
The next team went in,
784
00:57:25,317 --> 00:57:28,112
which was going to be
Kennedy and Livingston.
785
00:57:30,364 --> 00:57:32,283
[man over radio]
AR to CC, stand by.
786
00:57:35,452 --> 00:57:37,621
[Holder] They're relaying
the information
787
00:57:37,662 --> 00:57:39,581
that they've opened
the blast door.
788
00:57:49,800 --> 00:57:52,469
[Kennedy]
When we went
into the blast lock area,
789
00:57:52,510 --> 00:57:57,391
there's eight lights,
bright as hell.
790
00:57:57,433 --> 00:58:01,561
I'm less than ten feet
away from it and I
can't even see it.
791
00:58:07,359 --> 00:58:10,862
[Holder] So they
immediately evacuated
and started topside.
792
00:58:15,784 --> 00:58:17,828
[Kennedy]
I had got topside,
793
00:58:17,869 --> 00:58:21,081
and now we get a command
from the team chief
794
00:58:21,123 --> 00:58:23,292
to go down
and turn on an exhaust fan.
795
00:58:25,877 --> 00:58:29,465
Livingston taps himself
on the chest,
and he went down.
796
00:58:39,557 --> 00:58:43,187
[Holder]
After that, within seconds,
797
00:58:43,937 --> 00:58:47,607
I saw the explosion.
798
00:58:49,151 --> 00:58:53,530
[booming explosion]
799
00:59:01,372 --> 00:59:03,665
[radio static]
800
00:59:06,043 --> 00:59:08,420
[Moser]
All of a sudden,
I lost all communications.
801
00:59:10,464 --> 00:59:12,049
PTS-1, do you copy?
802
00:59:13,091 --> 00:59:16,011
I repeat, PTS-1, do you copy?
803
00:59:16,053 --> 00:59:19,973
[Moser] Everything you
ever read or heard about
a nuclear explosion,
804
00:59:20,015 --> 00:59:24,102
all communications were lost
until things settled out.
805
00:59:24,144 --> 00:59:26,522
And that's the first
thing I, uh...
806
00:59:26,563 --> 00:59:29,733
That's the first thing
that entered my mind,
807
00:59:29,774 --> 00:59:32,736
that we had
a nuclear explosion
out there
808
00:59:32,777 --> 00:59:34,738
and we may
have a shock wave
809
00:59:34,779 --> 00:59:37,282
coming into Little Rock
Air Force Base
810
00:59:37,324 --> 00:59:39,535
and all the
surrounding communities,
811
00:59:39,576 --> 00:59:42,996
and that's the first thing
I thought about.
812
00:59:43,038 --> 00:59:47,209
And all the people
would be dead out there
on site, of course,
813
00:59:47,918 --> 00:59:50,462
and I just...
814
00:59:50,504 --> 00:59:54,258
It was unimaginable
what was going
through my mind.
815
00:59:54,299 --> 00:59:56,009
It was almost like
816
00:59:56,051 --> 00:59:58,429
you wanted to get down
on your knees and, uh...
817
00:59:59,555 --> 01:00:02,307
And, uh, pray
to the higher power...
818
01:00:02,724 --> 01:00:04,726
[laughs]
819
01:00:04,768 --> 01:00:07,145
...uh, to protect everybody.
820
01:00:10,566 --> 01:00:12,025
[Hutto]
About 3:00 in the morning,
821
01:00:12,067 --> 01:00:14,778
I decided, "Well,
might as well go milk."
822
01:00:18,240 --> 01:00:20,909
And just before I got
to the roadblock,
823
01:00:20,951 --> 01:00:24,788
you drop off a hill
on Highway 65,
there's a spot
824
01:00:24,829 --> 01:00:27,458
that you can see the ground
at the missile base.
825
01:00:27,499 --> 01:00:30,835
Just as I got to that spot,
it blew.
826
01:00:30,877 --> 01:00:33,671
[booming explosion]
827
01:00:33,713 --> 01:00:35,549
You felt it
more than you saw it.
828
01:00:35,591 --> 01:00:40,053
I mean, I was
a mile and three quarters,
two miles away from it,
829
01:00:40,095 --> 01:00:42,556
and it almost shook
my truck off the road.
830
01:00:49,438 --> 01:00:52,899
[King]
I was sitting on the hood
of Gus' sheriff's car,
831
01:00:52,941 --> 01:00:54,651
just kind of sitting there,
832
01:00:54,692 --> 01:00:58,322
and had on slip-on shoes
and was kicking
one off and on.
833
01:00:58,363 --> 01:01:01,158
Then all of a sudden,
it was just, "Ka-whoom!"
834
01:01:11,668 --> 01:01:14,171
[King] Everybody was
running as hard as they
could to get out of there
835
01:01:14,212 --> 01:01:16,214
because we may be living
our last few minutes.
836
01:01:17,132 --> 01:01:18,300
[man]
Go, go, go!
837
01:01:20,218 --> 01:01:22,679
[King]
I thought,
when I jumped in my car
838
01:01:22,720 --> 01:01:25,182
and drove
as hard as I could,
839
01:01:25,223 --> 01:01:28,685
that I was probably
outrunning a nuclear blast,
you know?
840
01:01:28,726 --> 01:01:32,063
I thought, "This Dodge Omni
is going to outrun
this thing."
841
01:01:32,105 --> 01:01:34,608
[booming explosion]
842
01:01:34,650 --> 01:01:37,027
[Childers]
The sky just lit up.
843
01:01:37,068 --> 01:01:40,697
It really looked like the sun
was coming up,
844
01:01:40,738 --> 01:01:43,741
which is why our initial
reaction was,
845
01:01:43,783 --> 01:01:46,786
"The nuclear bomb went off,
the nuclear warhead exploded."
846
01:01:48,163 --> 01:01:50,290
[glass shattering]
847
01:01:56,338 --> 01:01:59,299
[Childers]
So much gravel and rocks
were coming down.
848
01:01:59,341 --> 01:02:02,760
It was smashing windshields
and putting holes in trucks.
849
01:02:02,802 --> 01:02:06,097
I was literally
trying to crawl
underneath a truck,
850
01:02:06,139 --> 01:02:08,725
and it started to move
and I crawled out again
851
01:02:08,766 --> 01:02:11,019
real fast,
and somebody drove it off.
852
01:02:11,061 --> 01:02:12,854
[tires screeching]
853
01:02:13,605 --> 01:02:14,481
[debris falling]
854
01:02:14,523 --> 01:02:16,441
[man]
Oh, my God!
855
01:02:16,483 --> 01:02:19,194
[Childers]
The stuff stopped falling,
856
01:02:19,236 --> 01:02:23,198
but there was flames
everywhere and you
could hear this roar.
857
01:02:24,408 --> 01:02:25,742
And you looked down there,
you could see
858
01:02:25,783 --> 01:02:28,412
this steam and fire
coming out of the complex.
859
01:02:31,748 --> 01:02:33,958
[Devlin] All I know is
the first thing to hit me
was wind.
860
01:02:34,000 --> 01:02:35,293
It was like, "Boom!"
861
01:02:35,335 --> 01:02:38,088
Just like a concussion, man,
it was like, "Bang!"
862
01:02:38,129 --> 01:02:41,550
And you're blown backwards,
you have no control
over anything.
863
01:02:41,592 --> 01:02:43,635
[booming explosion]
864
01:02:43,677 --> 01:02:45,345
As I was sliding on my back,
865
01:02:45,387 --> 01:02:48,265
burning, going up the street,
my left eye opened
866
01:02:48,306 --> 01:02:51,101
and I could see
glowing steel
blowing past me,
867
01:02:51,142 --> 01:02:53,770
And in my heart, I said,
"It's over.
868
01:02:53,811 --> 01:02:55,355
You're not going to live
through this."
869
01:02:55,397 --> 01:02:57,065
You know, "I just hope
it's not painful."
870
01:02:57,107 --> 01:02:58,858
[men screaming]
871
01:02:58,900 --> 01:03:00,360
I got up
and took off running.
872
01:03:00,402 --> 01:03:02,279
I got five steps away,
873
01:03:02,320 --> 01:03:04,740
and a chunk of concrete
bigger than a school bus
874
01:03:04,781 --> 01:03:07,534
hits the ground
right behind me,
875
01:03:07,576 --> 01:03:10,078
and it's got steel rebar
hanging out of it.
876
01:03:10,120 --> 01:03:11,705
As I'm running,
877
01:03:11,747 --> 01:03:16,460
I feel this whack hit
my ankle and just
shatters my ankle.
878
01:03:16,501 --> 01:03:18,878
The next step I took,
I just buckled
and went down.
879
01:03:18,920 --> 01:03:20,297
That's when I
started to realize
880
01:03:20,338 --> 01:03:23,300
that my face and neck
and back were all on fire.
881
01:03:26,886 --> 01:03:30,014
[Childers] And I was
picking people up and
carrying them up the road,
882
01:03:30,056 --> 01:03:31,933
trying to get them away
from the debris.
883
01:03:32,892 --> 01:03:34,394
[tires screeching]
884
01:03:36,730 --> 01:03:38,398
[man]
Evacuate, evacuate!
885
01:03:38,440 --> 01:03:41,025
[Childers] All you
heard was, "Evacuate,
evacuate, evacuate!"
886
01:03:41,067 --> 01:03:42,569
Air Force Colonel said,
887
01:03:42,611 --> 01:03:44,571
"The other two
who are on the site,
they have to be dead."
888
01:03:44,613 --> 01:03:46,740
And we looked down
at the site and said,
889
01:03:46,782 --> 01:03:48,700
"I'm with you, Colonel,
they have to be dead."
890
01:03:50,494 --> 01:03:52,746
I got into the last truck
that was there
891
01:03:52,788 --> 01:03:56,583
with a bunch of hurt guys,
and I said, "Let's go."
892
01:03:59,877 --> 01:04:01,838
[man over radio]
893
01:04:07,260 --> 01:04:10,013
[sirens blaring]
894
01:04:20,898 --> 01:04:22,567
[Kennedy]
As soon as it blew,
895
01:04:22,609 --> 01:04:25,987
I can remember
being flipped ass
over tea kettle.
896
01:04:33,620 --> 01:04:36,164
When I woke up,
I was laying on my back,
897
01:04:36,206 --> 01:04:39,334
my legs were up
against the complex fence.
898
01:04:40,418 --> 01:04:42,920
I was screaming and crying.
899
01:04:47,676 --> 01:04:49,803
There was nobody there.
900
01:04:50,679 --> 01:04:53,264
You only had yourself.
901
01:04:56,267 --> 01:04:58,228
You know, the pain
I had to deal with
902
01:04:58,269 --> 01:05:02,691
was trivial to the fact
that I wanted to live,
I wanted to survive.
903
01:05:02,733 --> 01:05:04,860
I mean, I thought
of my kids, my wife.
904
01:05:04,901 --> 01:05:08,029
I said, "I am not
going to die
in this complex."
905
01:05:10,031 --> 01:05:14,994
I went to stand up
and I fell right down.
906
01:05:15,036 --> 01:05:16,538
My leg was broken.
907
01:05:18,749 --> 01:05:21,376
I fell down four,
five times, got back up.
908
01:05:25,797 --> 01:05:30,510
All the time that
I'm walking,
I can hear Livingston,
909
01:05:30,552 --> 01:05:33,930
"Oh my God, help me.
Please, somebody help me."
910
01:05:36,182 --> 01:05:38,268
Because of my leg
being broken,
911
01:05:38,309 --> 01:05:41,438
I determined that
I could not get him.
912
01:05:43,857 --> 01:05:47,903
This is something that
I fought with for eons.
913
01:05:49,613 --> 01:05:55,326
If Livingston had known
that I was there,
914
01:05:55,368 --> 01:05:58,204
would that have been
enough of an
adrenaline rush,
915
01:05:58,246 --> 01:06:00,665
to know somebody's
got to get some help?
916
01:06:06,129 --> 01:06:08,298
Off the complex was a truck.
917
01:06:10,300 --> 01:06:12,886
I had to make it
from one end of
the complex to the other.
918
01:06:16,431 --> 01:06:19,684
When I got to the truck
and I radioed for help,
919
01:06:20,936 --> 01:06:22,228
the truck went dead.
920
01:06:34,574 --> 01:06:37,034
[Sandaker]
On my way back
to the missile site,
921
01:06:37,076 --> 01:06:40,705
I could hear Kennedy
on the radio in the truck.
922
01:06:40,747 --> 01:06:43,875
[switching through
radio frequencies]
923
01:06:43,917 --> 01:06:45,961
[Kennedy on radio]
Help! Help me!
924
01:06:47,545 --> 01:06:48,421
Help me!
925
01:06:52,717 --> 01:06:54,260
Can anybody read me?
926
01:06:57,597 --> 01:06:59,140
[Sandaker]
And I headed down the road
927
01:06:59,182 --> 01:07:01,685
as fast as I could get
that truck to go.
928
01:07:03,520 --> 01:07:08,316
I got partway there,
and two security policemen
were in the road
929
01:07:08,358 --> 01:07:09,400
and they waved me down.
930
01:07:09,442 --> 01:07:10,777
[knocking]
931
01:07:13,070 --> 01:07:14,447
Who's bringing them?
932
01:07:14,489 --> 01:07:15,365
What?
933
01:07:15,406 --> 01:07:16,992
Who's bringing
people here?
934
01:07:17,033 --> 01:07:18,660
They've got them
in trucks.
935
01:07:18,702 --> 01:07:22,163
[Sandaker]
And he told us to evacuate
and not go down there.
936
01:07:23,498 --> 01:07:25,208
And I said, "Screw you.
937
01:07:25,249 --> 01:07:27,251
Our friends are down there,
we're going."
938
01:07:29,295 --> 01:07:30,380
I'm not gonna wait here.
939
01:07:31,840 --> 01:07:33,675
[Kennedy on radio]
Please help me!
940
01:07:33,717 --> 01:07:34,843
Where are you?
941
01:07:36,636 --> 01:07:38,429
[Sandaker]
When I got back
to the missile site,
942
01:07:38,471 --> 01:07:39,764
I saw Kennedy.
943
01:07:41,349 --> 01:07:45,144
He was burnt, and...
944
01:07:46,563 --> 01:07:49,858
He had a hole in his leg
the size of your fist.
945
01:07:53,028 --> 01:07:56,865
He was really
hurt bad, and...
946
01:08:00,744 --> 01:08:02,871
He told me
to go find Livingston.
947
01:08:06,249 --> 01:08:10,461
We put our helmets on
and we went onto the site.
948
01:08:14,966 --> 01:08:16,593
It was like another world.
949
01:08:18,302 --> 01:08:21,056
Ordnance guys had told us
that the warhead
950
01:08:21,097 --> 01:08:23,391
was full of
plastic explosives
951
01:08:23,433 --> 01:08:26,185
that could be laying
all over the ground,
952
01:08:26,227 --> 01:08:29,522
so somehow we were
not supposed to step on them.
953
01:08:31,107 --> 01:08:36,279
There was giant
chunks of concrete
blasted all over
954
01:08:36,320 --> 01:08:39,240
that looked like
the size of semi trucks.
955
01:08:44,454 --> 01:08:48,332
There's a strange glow
coming out of where
the silo used to be.
956
01:08:55,757 --> 01:08:57,383
And when we got back
to the truck,
957
01:08:57,425 --> 01:09:00,428
they had already
found Livingston,
958
01:09:02,346 --> 01:09:08,770
and I was angry
because they didn't
have an ambulance.
959
01:09:08,812 --> 01:09:11,106
I put him in the back
of a pickup truck.
960
01:09:14,943 --> 01:09:15,860
And we...
961
01:09:17,194 --> 01:09:18,321
I held him.
962
01:09:25,120 --> 01:09:27,246
He begged me
not to tell his mother,
963
01:09:30,291 --> 01:09:32,251
like he had done
something wrong.
964
01:09:34,671 --> 01:09:37,465
[sirens blaring]
965
01:09:37,507 --> 01:09:42,929
[Devlin] When we
arrived at the hospital,
I was hyperventilating,
966
01:09:42,971 --> 01:09:45,515
breathing, because
the burn pain
was so great.
967
01:09:49,769 --> 01:09:51,270
I had a nurse tell me,
968
01:09:51,312 --> 01:09:54,732
"If you don't calm down,
you're going to pass out."
969
01:09:54,774 --> 01:09:56,359
And I couldn't calm down.
970
01:09:56,400 --> 01:09:57,986
I was on fire,
I felt like I was on fire.
971
01:09:59,696 --> 01:10:00,697
[man]
Take it easy, Dev.
972
01:10:03,950 --> 01:10:09,539
I went to the hospital
that Kennedy and
Livingston went to.
973
01:10:11,248 --> 01:10:13,543
And we were there
for a few hours, I think.
974
01:10:15,378 --> 01:10:17,505
And then the doctor
comes out and informs us
975
01:10:17,547 --> 01:10:19,883
that David Livingston
had passed away
976
01:10:21,467 --> 01:10:24,220
and that Kennedy was,
like, hanging by a thread.
977
01:10:29,225 --> 01:10:32,436
You just keep replaying
things in your head.
978
01:10:32,478 --> 01:10:34,480
"What if I did this?
What if I did that?"
979
01:10:34,522 --> 01:10:35,982
The ifs and buts.
980
01:10:37,274 --> 01:10:39,569
You know, and you just
keep replaying it.
981
01:10:43,364 --> 01:10:46,701
[Plumb] Dave Powell was
a lot closer to
David Livingston
982
01:10:47,493 --> 01:10:49,370
than most people knew.
983
01:10:51,998 --> 01:10:55,418
I remember looking over
when I was at the funeral,
984
01:10:55,459 --> 01:10:57,795
and I remember Powell
just weeping.
985
01:10:59,505 --> 01:11:02,800
He feels responsible
for the death of David,
he really does.
986
01:11:02,842 --> 01:11:06,137
He felt responsible
for the death
of his friend.
987
01:11:07,847 --> 01:11:10,934
[Kennedy]
As soon as I found out
Livingston died,
988
01:11:12,685 --> 01:11:14,687
I wanted nothing more to do
with the Air Force.
989
01:11:16,313 --> 01:11:18,066
We were in the hospital
two days
990
01:11:18,108 --> 01:11:23,571
before a single, solitary
Air Force personnel
991
01:11:23,613 --> 01:11:24,989
were out at that hospital.
992
01:11:27,951 --> 01:11:31,370
[Devlin] They came in
every eight hours
on my face, neck, and back,
993
01:11:31,412 --> 01:11:33,790
and they used a scrub pad,
it was like a Brillo pad,
994
01:11:33,831 --> 01:11:37,877
and they scrubbed
all the skin,
the dead skin, off
995
01:11:37,919 --> 01:11:39,670
so that the new skin
would grow back.
996
01:11:40,880 --> 01:11:44,259
All the scrubbing was
immensely painful.
997
01:11:46,970 --> 01:11:48,846
The Air Force was
in a really big hurry
998
01:11:48,888 --> 01:11:54,852
to get me back to
the base so that no one
could get to us,
999
01:11:54,894 --> 01:11:58,106
there could be no interviews,
and you would not
be speaking to the press.
1000
01:12:01,943 --> 01:12:04,070
[phone ringing]
1001
01:12:05,196 --> 01:12:07,323
[Rutherford]
The phone rang about 3:30
1002
01:12:07,364 --> 01:12:10,367
with a call from one
of the airmen that said,
1003
01:12:10,409 --> 01:12:12,036
"It just blew."
1004
01:12:12,078 --> 01:12:13,997
The first thing I did was
look around and say,
1005
01:12:14,038 --> 01:12:18,584
"I'm alive, we're alive,
my family's alive,
1006
01:12:18,626 --> 01:12:19,836
my neighborhood's alive."
1007
01:12:21,671 --> 01:12:25,633
And my response was,
"Where's the warhead?"
1008
01:12:29,053 --> 01:12:31,973
And the person said,
"We don't know."
1009
01:12:36,769 --> 01:12:39,396
[man on radio]
...will once again,
partly, will be up
1010
01:12:39,438 --> 01:12:42,192
throughout the remainder
of the night
and into the morning...
1011
01:12:42,233 --> 01:12:45,486
When you were trying
to talk to the Air Force
to find out,
1012
01:12:46,737 --> 01:12:48,198
is there a nuclear warhead?
1013
01:12:48,906 --> 01:12:49,949
Was one involved?
1014
01:12:50,783 --> 01:12:51,909
Did you find it?
1015
01:12:53,244 --> 01:12:56,039
Was it, you know...
what condition was it in?
1016
01:12:56,080 --> 01:12:57,165
Had it burst open?
1017
01:12:57,207 --> 01:13:01,211
Was there uranium spread
all over the area?
1018
01:13:01,252 --> 01:13:05,256
They would not admit
that there was even
a nuclear warhead.
1019
01:13:05,298 --> 01:13:08,885
We could not tell
the local populace
1020
01:13:08,926 --> 01:13:12,638
or any of the political
or law enforcement people
1021
01:13:12,680 --> 01:13:14,557
that we had a warhead
on the missile.
1022
01:13:14,598 --> 01:13:19,687
That was, we could not
confirm nor deny
that we had
1023
01:13:19,729 --> 01:13:22,857
a nuclear weapon on-site,
1024
01:13:22,899 --> 01:13:28,612
and that was SAC
and national policy
at that time.
1025
01:13:28,654 --> 01:13:32,116
My personal feeling
was that it was
a ridiculous policy,
1026
01:13:32,158 --> 01:13:34,994
but nevertheless,
we had to live with it.
1027
01:13:37,454 --> 01:13:39,916
Sheriff, has the Air Force
told you very much?
1028
01:13:39,957 --> 01:13:42,168
Haven't told me
a darned thing.
1029
01:13:42,210 --> 01:13:43,211
Does that
make you mad?
1030
01:13:43,253 --> 01:13:44,254
Yes, it does.
1031
01:13:46,589 --> 01:13:48,507
[King]
So they wouldn't
tell us anything,
1032
01:13:48,549 --> 01:13:51,386
but one of the local
merchants in town
1033
01:13:51,427 --> 01:13:53,221
found the Air Force
frequencies.
1034
01:13:53,263 --> 01:13:54,597
[man]
Could you give us a status
1035
01:13:54,638 --> 01:13:56,933
on those EOD and disaster
preparedness people?
1036
01:13:56,974 --> 01:13:59,852
[man on Air Force radio]
Still walking up the hill.
1037
01:13:59,894 --> 01:14:01,604
[King]
They know that you're
listening to them,
1038
01:14:01,645 --> 01:14:04,440
and they said, "Be real
evasive about what
you talk about."
1039
01:14:06,234 --> 01:14:07,735
They keep on talking about,
1040
01:14:07,777 --> 01:14:10,654
"We cannot find it,
we cannot find the unit."
1041
01:14:12,198 --> 01:14:15,159
And that's how we knew
they were trying
to figure out
1042
01:14:15,201 --> 01:14:17,036
what happened to this
nuclear warhead.
1043
01:14:17,078 --> 01:14:18,204
Where did it go?
1044
01:14:20,373 --> 01:14:21,791
[man on radio]
Roger, on-scene commander.
1045
01:14:21,832 --> 01:14:24,001
The team went to the unit,
1046
01:14:24,043 --> 01:14:27,838
now they're on their way out
to give a full report.
1047
01:14:27,880 --> 01:14:29,048
[man] Team commander,
command post,
1048
01:14:29,090 --> 01:14:30,841
what unit are you
talking about, sir?
1049
01:14:32,176 --> 01:14:33,636
[man on radio]
Let's not talk about that.
1050
01:14:34,595 --> 01:14:35,972
It's laying in a ditch.
1051
01:14:36,013 --> 01:14:38,015
Besides, it's not
even up close.
1052
01:14:38,057 --> 01:14:41,060
It blew it out and it's
laying in the ditch,
it's all exposed.
1053
01:14:43,313 --> 01:14:44,939
[Moser] I went out there
the next day.
1054
01:14:46,565 --> 01:14:47,984
Somebody said, "There it is."
1055
01:14:48,025 --> 01:14:50,611
And it was in the ditch
1056
01:14:50,653 --> 01:14:55,032
and somewhat,
as I recall,
somewhat buried.
1057
01:14:56,993 --> 01:15:00,830
And then someone
called the nuclear
people at Sandia
1058
01:15:00,871 --> 01:15:05,084
to assess whether or not
we had a hazardous situation.
1059
01:15:05,126 --> 01:15:06,710
[Peurifoy]
The phone rang.
1060
01:15:06,752 --> 01:15:09,464
They said,
"We had a problem."
1061
01:15:09,505 --> 01:15:12,633
I knew I had
to get to Damascus.
1062
01:15:15,219 --> 01:15:18,555
We helicoptered into the silo.
1063
01:15:24,228 --> 01:15:26,772
I was apprehensive.
1064
01:15:26,814 --> 01:15:31,110
I knew that the warhead
could have been armed,
1065
01:15:33,154 --> 01:15:35,156
ready to fire.
1066
01:15:35,198 --> 01:15:38,159
[Kenner] Was there
a chance that that bomb
could have detonated?
1067
01:15:38,201 --> 01:15:39,369
Yes.
1068
01:15:42,372 --> 01:15:47,084
It was only after
we had landed
I learned that
1069
01:15:47,126 --> 01:15:50,963
because of the absence
of any power source,
1070
01:15:51,005 --> 01:15:57,678
the risk of a nuclear
detonation was
approximately zero.
1071
01:16:08,356 --> 01:16:11,275
[Brokaw]
The governor of the state
of Arkansas is Bill Clinton.
1072
01:16:11,317 --> 01:16:13,444
As you can see,
he's standing by
in Little Rock this morning
1073
01:16:13,486 --> 01:16:15,238
to talk with us
about the situation.
1074
01:16:15,279 --> 01:16:16,739
Do you think that
the people of Arkansas
1075
01:16:16,780 --> 01:16:18,366
who lived around
the Titan II missile site,
Governor,
1076
01:16:18,408 --> 01:16:21,244
were in danger at the time
of the explosion?
1077
01:16:21,285 --> 01:16:23,787
Well, Tom, of course,
as regards
to nuclear explosion,
1078
01:16:23,829 --> 01:16:26,040
all we can do is to trust
the experts there.
1079
01:16:26,082 --> 01:16:28,042
They say there was
never a danger of
a nuclear explosion.
1080
01:16:28,084 --> 01:16:30,586
[reporter]
As far as the community
itself is concerned
1081
01:16:30,627 --> 01:16:32,796
and the danger
from possible
radioactive leak,
1082
01:16:32,838 --> 01:16:34,673
if the warhead itself
has been...
1083
01:16:34,715 --> 01:16:37,260
If there is a warhead
and if it has been damaged,
1084
01:16:37,301 --> 01:16:39,762
have you heard anything
from Washington confirming
1085
01:16:39,803 --> 01:16:41,138
whether there is
one there or not?
1086
01:16:41,180 --> 01:16:42,681
I have not.
1087
01:16:42,723 --> 01:16:45,560
I've heard rumors,
I won't go into those
right now.
1088
01:16:45,601 --> 01:16:49,688
I remember that
Vice President Mondale,
1089
01:16:49,730 --> 01:16:55,027
he was trying to find out,
"Did this have
a real warhead?
1090
01:16:55,069 --> 01:16:58,864
Did this missile...
Was it armed with
a nuclear warhead?"
1091
01:17:00,491 --> 01:17:03,202
[Moser] You know, when
Vice Commander Colonel Ryan
1092
01:17:03,244 --> 01:17:05,371
went to Hot Springs,
1093
01:17:05,413 --> 01:17:07,457
Vice President Mondale
asked that question,
1094
01:17:07,498 --> 01:17:09,625
whether a nuclear weapon
was involved,
1095
01:17:09,666 --> 01:17:13,921
and, of course,
Colonel Ryan said,
1096
01:17:13,963 --> 01:17:15,506
"I can't confirm or deny,"
1097
01:17:16,799 --> 01:17:18,509
and that's
to the vice president.
1098
01:17:18,551 --> 01:17:22,305
That's when he got
on the phone
with Secretary Brown.
1099
01:17:24,056 --> 01:17:26,642
[Brown]
The first thing
I wanted to know was
1100
01:17:26,683 --> 01:17:31,439
whether there had been
any scattering
of nuclear material,
1101
01:17:31,481 --> 01:17:35,192
or still worse,
a nuclear explosion.
1102
01:17:35,234 --> 01:17:39,280
And when I heard that
there had not been,
1103
01:17:39,322 --> 01:17:44,034
my level of attention
went way down.
1104
01:17:44,076 --> 01:17:50,874
Accidents were not unusual
in the Defense Department.
1105
01:17:50,916 --> 01:17:52,960
There was at least...
1106
01:17:53,002 --> 01:17:55,630
There must have been
several every day.
1107
01:17:58,299 --> 01:18:00,593
[Schlosser]
According to the Department
of Defense,
1108
01:18:00,635 --> 01:18:03,346
there have been
32 broken arrows...
1109
01:18:03,387 --> 01:18:06,723
That is, serious
nuclear weapons accidents
1110
01:18:06,765 --> 01:18:08,392
that could have
endangered the public.
1111
01:18:10,769 --> 01:18:12,438
But a few years ago,
1112
01:18:12,480 --> 01:18:16,275
the Department of Energy
released a declassified
document
1113
01:18:16,317 --> 01:18:19,278
that said there had been
more than
a thousand accidents
1114
01:18:19,320 --> 01:18:21,738
and incidents involving
our nuclear weapons.
1115
01:18:25,159 --> 01:18:28,454
Not only had the public
not been told
1116
01:18:28,496 --> 01:18:32,041
about these hundreds
and hundreds of accidents,
1117
01:18:32,082 --> 01:18:34,585
but even the man responsible
1118
01:18:34,627 --> 01:18:37,213
for the safety
of our nuclear weapons
1119
01:18:37,254 --> 01:18:40,007
wasn't being told
about accidents
1120
01:18:40,049 --> 01:18:42,176
involving those weapons.
1121
01:18:42,218 --> 01:18:45,262
[Peurifoy]
When I was the director
of weapon development,
1122
01:18:47,014 --> 01:18:50,226
I was unaware of
1123
01:18:52,019 --> 01:18:55,356
a large number
of accidents and incidents
1124
01:18:56,607 --> 01:18:59,485
because I had no access
to the information.
1125
01:19:02,946 --> 01:19:06,992
I was surprised
when I read
about the number
1126
01:19:07,034 --> 01:19:11,706
of nuclear accidents
that we had
in the Air Force.
1127
01:19:11,747 --> 01:19:14,500
I knew about some of those,
1128
01:19:14,542 --> 01:19:17,253
but I didn't know
there were so many.
1129
01:19:19,922 --> 01:19:22,299
[Schlosser] Again and again,
in looking at these
documents,
1130
01:19:22,341 --> 01:19:27,221
you find an effort
to blame the person
who dropped the wrench,
1131
01:19:27,263 --> 01:19:30,057
who used the wrong tool
at a Minuteman site,
1132
01:19:30,099 --> 01:19:31,975
blew the warhead
off the missile,
1133
01:19:32,017 --> 01:19:34,311
who brought the seat
cushions onto the plane
1134
01:19:34,353 --> 01:19:36,522
that caught on fire
and crashed the plane.
1135
01:19:36,564 --> 01:19:39,567
There's this instinct
to blame the operator,
1136
01:19:39,609 --> 01:19:41,902
to blame the little guy.
1137
01:19:41,944 --> 01:19:45,531
If the system worked properly,
somebody dropping a tool
1138
01:19:45,573 --> 01:19:48,409
couldn't send
a nuclear warhead
into a field.
1139
01:19:50,494 --> 01:19:52,246
No special precautions
have been ordered
1140
01:19:52,288 --> 01:19:54,290
at other Titan missile bases
around the country
1141
01:19:54,331 --> 01:19:56,792
because of that explosion
in Arkansas.
1142
01:19:56,833 --> 01:19:59,712
[news announcer]
In Arkansas, the system itself
apparently did not fail.
1143
01:19:59,754 --> 01:20:01,672
A mechanic's wrench
fell from a ledge
1144
01:20:01,714 --> 01:20:04,467
and struck the missile,
puncturing a fuel tank.
1145
01:20:04,508 --> 01:20:06,802
That is classified
as human error.
1146
01:20:06,843 --> 01:20:09,888
The Air Force says
the Titan is not to blame...
1147
01:20:09,930 --> 01:20:13,016
that it was human error
that caused the accident.
1148
01:20:13,058 --> 01:20:16,812
The accident
that I've described here
1149
01:20:16,853 --> 01:20:22,943
is unrelated to the state
or the age of this system.
1150
01:20:22,985 --> 01:20:27,990
I was served with
an article 15 for
dereliction of duty
1151
01:20:28,031 --> 01:20:31,034
because I chose
to use the ratchet
1152
01:20:31,076 --> 01:20:34,413
instead of the torque wrench.
1153
01:20:34,455 --> 01:20:37,207
Sergeant Kennedy got
a letter of reprimand
1154
01:20:37,249 --> 01:20:39,251
for violating
the two-man rule.
1155
01:20:40,544 --> 01:20:41,920
I gave them my all.
1156
01:20:44,173 --> 01:20:45,675
And what did I get from them?
1157
01:20:46,842 --> 01:20:51,096
A letter of reprimand.
1158
01:20:53,015 --> 01:20:58,646
[Sandaker]
After the accident, I thought
that Kennedy and Devlin
1159
01:20:58,688 --> 01:21:01,440
and the others that
were hurt would be
treated like heroes,
1160
01:21:02,525 --> 01:21:04,234
because they were.
1161
01:21:04,276 --> 01:21:09,948
And they were
treated like crap.
1162
01:21:09,990 --> 01:21:12,117
Some of the officials here
at the air base
1163
01:21:12,159 --> 01:21:14,411
apparently have also
changed their attitude
1164
01:21:14,453 --> 01:21:17,748
towards some of the men
who risked their lives
that morning.
1165
01:21:17,790 --> 01:21:20,793
[Devlin] Channel 4 News
called and said,
"You want to tell us
1166
01:21:20,835 --> 01:21:23,253
about how well
the Air Force
is treating you
1167
01:21:23,295 --> 01:21:24,380
since the missile explosion?"
1168
01:21:24,421 --> 01:21:26,382
I said,
"Yeah, I'll tell them."
1169
01:21:26,423 --> 01:21:28,133
I worked
three-and-a-half years,
1170
01:21:28,175 --> 01:21:30,260
did a good job
for three-and-a-half years,
1171
01:21:30,302 --> 01:21:33,055
and then I wound up hurt
from this explosion,
1172
01:21:33,096 --> 01:21:36,475
and then all of a sudden,
they don't want you anymore.
1173
01:21:36,517 --> 01:21:38,060
You know,
1174
01:21:38,101 --> 01:21:40,145
I don't know
if I'm going
to be railroaded out,
1175
01:21:40,187 --> 01:21:43,982
or you know, I don't know
where I stand, really.
1176
01:21:44,024 --> 01:21:47,444
Oh, man, were they mad.
1177
01:21:47,486 --> 01:21:52,366
I think every brass on base
was mad at me.
1178
01:21:52,408 --> 01:21:55,202
When I wore my military uniform
with my boots on,
1179
01:21:55,244 --> 01:21:57,079
I almost couldn't walk.
1180
01:21:57,120 --> 01:22:00,040
I couldn't even move
the boot because my
ankle was shattered,
1181
01:22:00,082 --> 01:22:02,167
there's no Achilles tendon.
1182
01:22:02,209 --> 01:22:04,294
So I just went in
and said, "Colonel,
would it be possible
1183
01:22:04,336 --> 01:22:06,589
for me to wear a gym shoe
on my left foot?"
1184
01:22:06,630 --> 01:22:08,215
He looked at me and he said,
1185
01:22:08,257 --> 01:22:13,178
"Devlin, I wouldn't
authorize a fucking
thing for you."
1186
01:22:13,220 --> 01:22:17,307
I planned on staying
in the Air Force
for a career.
1187
01:22:17,349 --> 01:22:19,852
Within only a few months,
1188
01:22:19,894 --> 01:22:22,104
I knew I couldn't stay
in the Air Force.
1189
01:22:25,858 --> 01:22:30,320
I kind of lost it, um,
after that accident.
1190
01:22:30,362 --> 01:22:32,030
I just had a meltdown.
1191
01:22:32,072 --> 01:22:37,453
I went into the TV room
where we all played
cards one evening,
1192
01:22:37,494 --> 01:22:39,329
and there was beer bottles
all over the place,
1193
01:22:39,371 --> 01:22:43,417
and I just started throwing
a bunch of beer bottles
all over the place
1194
01:22:43,459 --> 01:22:45,502
and took my
frustrations out
on that.
1195
01:22:47,212 --> 01:22:49,715
The base commander,
he gave me an
honorable discharge
1196
01:22:49,757 --> 01:22:52,760
which I was thankful for,
but that was not my goal,
1197
01:22:52,802 --> 01:22:54,720
was to leave the military
at that time.
1198
01:22:56,680 --> 01:22:59,516
There was an old motto
that went around
1199
01:22:59,558 --> 01:23:04,980
that to err was human,
to forgive
wasn't SAC policy.
1200
01:23:07,274 --> 01:23:10,026
[Moser]
We have a checklist
in our command post
1201
01:23:10,068 --> 01:23:13,029
that calls for us
to notify the OES.
1202
01:23:14,907 --> 01:23:16,575
Now, I'm not saying
it broke down there.
1203
01:23:16,617 --> 01:23:18,285
Don't misconstrue
what I'm saying.
1204
01:23:18,327 --> 01:23:22,247
What I'm saying is
from there on down,
there was no plan.
1205
01:23:22,289 --> 01:23:25,876
This is the test bed,
4-7 was the test bed,
and we never...
1206
01:23:25,918 --> 01:23:28,587
Nothing like this
has ever happened before.
1207
01:23:28,629 --> 01:23:31,966
[Moser] Even though,
you know, I'd just had
three months there,
1208
01:23:33,342 --> 01:23:36,470
I was in charge,
and a senior guy
1209
01:23:38,681 --> 01:23:41,266
is responsible
for the whole operation.
1210
01:23:41,308 --> 01:23:43,560
I expected I was going
to lose my job,
1211
01:23:43,602 --> 01:23:45,437
let's put it that way,
after that happened.
1212
01:23:45,479 --> 01:23:47,690
I thought that was...
That would be
the next step,
1213
01:23:47,731 --> 01:23:50,734
and that happened
on Thanksgiving.
1214
01:23:56,072 --> 01:23:59,368
My regret was that...
1215
01:24:00,327 --> 01:24:02,287
I took orders from my boss,
1216
01:24:03,747 --> 01:24:06,124
I clicked my heels
like a good soldier
1217
01:24:06,166 --> 01:24:09,795
and tried to execute
those orders as best I could.
1218
01:24:09,837 --> 01:24:11,254
[rifles fire a salute]
1219
01:24:11,296 --> 01:24:13,549
And as a result of that,
we lost life.
1220
01:24:17,678 --> 01:24:19,471
[Powell] I think
about Livingston often...
1221
01:24:20,848 --> 01:24:24,059
What it'd be like
to still have him around
1222
01:24:24,977 --> 01:24:26,603
and call him up on the phone.
1223
01:24:31,025 --> 01:24:35,237
Jeff Kennedy passed away
a couple of years ago.
1224
01:24:35,278 --> 01:24:39,033
I have no doubt that Jeff
died from being
involved at Damascus,
1225
01:24:39,074 --> 01:24:40,242
no doubt in my mind.
1226
01:24:44,038 --> 01:24:49,001
I hear a song on the radio,
I'll see something on TV,
1227
01:24:49,043 --> 01:24:51,795
and bam, there it is,
it's back, you know?
1228
01:24:54,840 --> 01:24:58,093
It's very hard to talk about,
even today.
1229
01:24:58,134 --> 01:25:02,890
I tried to live
as normal a life as I can,
1230
01:25:05,100 --> 01:25:10,022
but there isn't a day goes by
that I don't think about it.
1231
01:25:10,064 --> 01:25:13,316
Thirty-whatever, 35 years,
whatever it's been.
1232
01:25:15,444 --> 01:25:16,445
Every day.
1233
01:26:00,405 --> 01:26:01,949
[news announcer]
It went like clockwork,
1234
01:26:01,991 --> 01:26:06,286
6,500 pounds of explosives
set to go at high noon.
1235
01:26:08,330 --> 01:26:09,331
[beeping]
1236
01:26:09,372 --> 01:26:12,167
[booming explosions]
1237
01:26:14,086 --> 01:26:16,630
[Schlosser]
Seven years
after the Damascus accident,
1238
01:26:18,048 --> 01:26:20,843
the last Titan II
was deactivated.
1239
01:26:37,275 --> 01:26:38,986
[cow mooing]
1240
01:26:40,654 --> 01:26:42,031
[Hutto]
If you didn't know
they were there,
1241
01:26:42,072 --> 01:26:43,323
you wouldn't know
what it was now.
1242
01:26:43,365 --> 01:26:45,909
It just looks like
a small hill.
1243
01:26:49,538 --> 01:26:52,374
[Sandaker]
I think nowadays,
people don't realize that
1244
01:26:52,415 --> 01:26:55,293
we still have 7,000
nuclear weapons.
1245
01:26:56,586 --> 01:26:59,131
They think that's all
in the past
1246
01:26:59,173 --> 01:27:01,424
and that they're
not there anymore,
1247
01:27:01,466 --> 01:27:05,637
and the reality is
they're all over the place.
1248
01:27:07,681 --> 01:27:11,101
[Brown]
Nuclear accidents continue
to the present day,
1249
01:27:11,143 --> 01:27:14,938
although there have not been
nearly as many occasions
1250
01:27:14,980 --> 01:27:19,442
of things being dropped
or blown out of silos.
1251
01:27:19,484 --> 01:27:21,945
In part, that's because
there are fewer of them.
1252
01:27:24,114 --> 01:27:26,241
On the other hand, the...
1253
01:27:27,868 --> 01:27:31,872
degree of oversight
and attention
1254
01:27:31,914 --> 01:27:36,292
has, if anything,
gotten worse,
1255
01:27:36,334 --> 01:27:39,171
because people don't worry
about nuclear war as much.
1256
01:27:43,217 --> 01:27:45,135
[Schlosser]
Since the beginning
of the atomic age,
1257
01:27:45,177 --> 01:27:49,181
the United States has
built about 70,000
nuclear weapons.
1258
01:27:51,516 --> 01:27:56,772
None of them
have ever
detonated by accident.
1259
01:27:56,813 --> 01:27:59,733
That's due to the skills
of our weapons designers,
1260
01:27:59,775 --> 01:28:03,153
whose safety recommendations
were finally adopted,
1261
01:28:03,195 --> 01:28:06,156
and the bravery
of our military personnel.
1262
01:28:08,366 --> 01:28:10,869
But it's also due to luck.
1263
01:28:11,954 --> 01:28:13,789
Pure luck.
1264
01:28:13,830 --> 01:28:18,210
And the problem with luck is
eventually, it runs out.
1265
01:28:20,462 --> 01:28:23,715
Nuclear weapons are machines,
1266
01:28:23,757 --> 01:28:27,719
and every machine
ever invented eventually
goes wrong.
1267
01:28:32,641 --> 01:28:35,144
[Childers]
It doesn't matter
how much you plan,
1268
01:28:35,185 --> 01:28:37,395
it doesn't matter
how many checklists
you have,
1269
01:28:37,437 --> 01:28:39,064
somebody's got
a ringer somewhere
1270
01:28:39,106 --> 01:28:40,774
they're going to throw
out there at you.
1271
01:28:45,946 --> 01:28:50,659
[Peurifoy]
Nuclear weapons
will always have a chance
1272
01:28:50,700 --> 01:28:54,037
of an accidental detonation.
1273
01:28:55,413 --> 01:28:56,581
It will happen.
1274
01:28:58,333 --> 01:29:03,005
It may be tomorrow,
or it may be a million
years from now,
1275
01:29:03,046 --> 01:29:04,339
but it will happen.
1276
01:29:18,687 --> 01:29:20,814
["4 Minute Warning" playing]
1277
01:29:32,201 --> 01:29:35,495
♪ This is just a nightmare ♪
1278
01:29:37,831 --> 01:29:41,375
♪ Soon I'm gonna wake up ♪
1279
01:29:43,628 --> 01:29:47,257
♪ Someone's gonna
bring me round ♪
1280
01:29:49,551 --> 01:29:52,888
♪ Just like everybody ♪
1281
01:29:55,098 --> 01:29:59,019
♪ Stepping over heads ♪
1282
01:30:01,104 --> 01:30:04,858
♪ Running from
the underground ♪
1283
01:30:06,818 --> 01:30:13,075
♪ This is your warning ♪
1284
01:30:14,534 --> 01:30:20,790
♪ Four minute warning ♪
1285
01:30:35,013 --> 01:30:38,141
♪ I don't wanna hear it ♪
1286
01:30:40,936 --> 01:30:44,064
♪ I don't wanna know ♪
1287
01:30:46,649 --> 01:30:49,903
♪ I just wanna run and hide ♪
1288
01:30:52,406 --> 01:30:56,159
♪ This is just a nightmare ♪
1289
01:30:58,078 --> 01:31:01,748
♪ Soon I'm gonna wake up ♪
1290
01:31:04,000 --> 01:31:07,461
♪ Someone's gonna
bring me round ♪
1291
01:31:09,881 --> 01:31:15,720
♪ This is our warning ♪
1292
01:31:17,513 --> 01:31:24,354
♪ Four minute warning ♪
101297
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