Nuclear History Mysteries – Sandstone Scientists

It occurred to me recently that the readers of this blog often know more about specific Cold War topics that I could ever learn. That expertise is something deserving both recognition and respect. The result  of this thinking was a planned series of  recurring series of posts dubbed Nuclear History Mysteries in which I post about questions that I've come across in my research for which I do not yet have answers. 

The first of these comes from Operation Sandstone at Enewetak Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Taken in April or May of 1948, the photo below shows four Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory scientists/ engineers checking instruments before a nuclear weapons test. The photo was published without a caption in Clarence H. White’s book Operation Sandstone; the Story of Joint Task Force Seven. Washington: Infantry Journal Press, 1949 and released to the news media that same year by the Atomic Energy Commission. As such, is in the public domain.

I am trying to discover the identities of the four men shown in the photo, what island the photo was taken on, and what they are doing? If you know anything about this image, please feel free to leave your comments in the section below. Together, perhaps we can solve one of nuclear history’s minor mysteries.

The Nuclear History Mysteries series will continue to explore the arcane and frequently secret work of American Cold War nuclear weapons testing.

It's Almost Here!

And you can get it at a big discount if you pre-order using the code below!

The news from the University Press of Florida is that my book, The Archaeology of the Cold War, will hit the shelves on July 19th. It's been a long time coming, but it has been well worth the effort and wait.

More great news is that folks at UPF have also provided me with a discount code for family and friends (that's you guys) that will save you almost 60 percent off the book's retail price. Yup, that's right, the book is going to retail for $74.95, but using the code AU616 at the UPF checkout you can buy it from the publisher for just $30. You can't get that deal on Amazon.

Besides presenting information on the development of the North American Cold War built landscape and case studies of investigations conducted at some famous--and some not so famous--historic sites pivotal to the conflict (including Bikini Atoll, the Nevada Test Site, and the Cuban sites of the Soviet Missile Crisis) the book examines the preservation of atomic heritage sites, the phenomenon of atomic tourism, and the role (and plight) of America's atomic veterans in the archaeological study of the Cold War. 

For more information on the book, the great things that reviewers are saying about it, and how to get the discount, go here. But you'd better hurry since the discount code is only valid until June 30, 2016.

Also timed with the book's pending July release is a special column I've written for the UPF Florida Bookshelf blog about some investigations I've done on fallout shelters. That should be posting soon. More news about that and other stuff to come.