Operation Plumbbob

Army Corporal Jerald Kendrick was 23 years old the first time he watched an atomic bomb explode. The light was so bright, he says, “you could see all the bones in your arms.” During the height of the Cold War, the United States conducted 210 atmospheric nuclear tests. What's often forgotten today are the thousands of soldiers and Marines who performed various duties during the blasts, including charging the mushroom cloud.