■51 .
The NEW BERN
't'' ^
5P»rw^'
%
VOLUME 8
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, JULY 16, 1965
NUMBER 16
Twenty years ago today,
while most New Bernians were
still getting their last hour
or so of morning sleep, some
thing happened on a New Mex
ico desert that would change
life for all of us for all time
to come.
From that moment on, al
though we wouldn’t fully com
prehend It for awhile, the world
was going to be different. Fear,
In varying degrees, would grip
the hearts of mortals every
where.
Nothing has happened since
to remove the awesome terror
that hangs like a ttreatenlng
cloud above the face of the
earth. Only God’s lower ani
mals have been spared aware
ness of what might happen In
the twinkling of an eye.
On the bombing range at Ala
mogordo Air Force Base, In
the darkness just before dawn,
a mighty fireball rose into the
heavens and burst Into bii^t-
ness the like of which no hu
man had ever seen before.
Such was the first atomic
explosion, a dress rehearsal
cloaked In military secrecy for
the unbelleveable devastation
that would make a flaming in
ferno of Hiroshima and Naga
saki and cremate thousands of
unsuspecting men, women and
children In an instant.
The bombs that fell on these
two Japanese cities undoubted
ly shortened World War n,
and saved the lives of count
less American soldiers, sailors
and Marines who had been
plunged into desperate combat
with an Asiatic enemy by the
sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.
As General Sherman said,
when he beat a path of des
truction through the South dur
ing the War Between The
States, war Is hell. And cer
tainly the wildest human mind
can’t envision anything closer
from this first atomic test.
Actually, the lid was pried
from Pandora’s box on Dec
ember 2, 1942, at the Univer
sity of Chicago. Physicists,
supervised by a scientist named
Enrico Fermi, managed to pro
duce a controlled nuclear chain
reaction and the die was cast.
Then a team of engineers,
chemists and mathematicians
went about the grim and dan
gerous business of perfecting a
weapon incorporating this
power at Los Alamos, New
Mexico. No one on the team,
imtll the bomb exploded, real
ized the terrific potency of the
thing that had been created.
Perhaps you’ve forgotten, or
never heard, how the achieve
ment was kept secret. The truth
was hidden In news release from
tiie commander of the Alamo
gordo Air Base that Indicated
a numltlons dump had exploded,
with no Injuries.
Dr. Dcmald F. Hornig, who
helped ccmstruct the Hrst
atomic bomb, has been quoted
as saying, “Despite the costs,
neclear weapons have wrou^t
a kind of restraint that is con
tributing to worldwide stabil
ity.’’
Incidentally, Dr. Hornig
hasn’t fUded from the picture.
At the present time he Is serv
ing as director of the Presi
dent’s Office of Science and
Technology, and Is chief science
adviser to toe President.
Anotoer scientist who played
a part In the atomic bomb’s
birth. Dr. George Klstlakow-
(Contlnued on page tf)
rjA';' '■ ij
WE’VE FOUND IT—^Happiness is a littte girl namedj
Jenifer. She’s the adorable daughter of Harvey and
Adelaide Miller of Brevard, and the granddaughter
of Mr. and Mrs. John F. Rhodes, Jr., of 221 Pollock
Street. Eunice Wray, who works magic ivith her cam
era when she portrays a child, captured in this Mirror
portrait the boundless ecstacy of a joyful tot on a
summer day. Jenifer’s world is a wonderland of things
that adults never bother to see, or taste or listen to.
Complain if you must, about hot weather, too much
rain, weeds in your flower garden, and the price of
groceries at the nearest supermarket. Jenifer w much
more concerned with discovering a butterfly, coloring
a picture book, or teaching manners to her favorite
doll. What a pity aU of us can’t appreciate life to the
fullest, like a little girl with dreams in her eyes on a
summer day.