Hello, and welcome back to This Week in History! Yes, this is the same column, although I’m dropping the column title from the headline. Today, I’d like to explore the forgetfulness of humanity and the time the United States accidentally misplaced a hydrogen bomb — oops.
I began investigating what happened between Feb. 2 through Feb. 8. The answer is usually some obscure historical odds-and-ends, like last week’s opening of the first-ever film studio. However, this week an event in recent history took place that hit me hard. I still can’t believe I had forgotten it.
Now, many may remember it, while others may not, but either way, let’s see if you can use the statistics to recall what it was: at least 56,000 dead in Turkey and northern Syria. But that number is a low estimate, as there were too many dead to keep track of and the authorities stopped official counts. An additional eight million people were impacted by the loss of 230,000 homes and buildings. This all happened following the early hours of Feb. 6, 2023.
We’ll return to all of that data, and the event which prompted it in a moment. I’ll give you some time to think of what recent history it’s from. In the meantime, let’s skip a day and a few decades earlier to Feb. 5, 1958.
It was all a low-stakes training exercise. Lieutenant Clarence Stewart is flying an F-86 Sabre jet; he checks the radar, he is clear to ascend and his jet rises.
Looking out his viewports and racing to confirm on the radar, Colonel Howard Richardson out of his Boeing B-47 Stratojet sees what appears to be the undercarriage of an F-86 coming from above. It’s closing in fast.
Before anyone can speak, Richardson’s Stratojet jerks to the side, catapulting off course as Stewart’s jet rips into the storage tanks of the B-47.
In the flames and imbalance, Stewart rapidly attempts to gain his bearings, likely on a course toward sure death. In only a few moments, Stewart had to decide if he should risk ejecting into the open air or regain control. Knowing that the plane was beyond saving, Stewart ejected. He managed to navigate himself toward a swamp and landed safely.
However, Richardson’s troubles were just beginning. Loaded on his plane was a 7,600-pound Mark 15 hydrogen thermonuclear bomb.
Of all the things to be carrying after a mid-air collision, that may just be the worst. Had it gone off or fallen out of the plane over the small region of Tybee Island, Ga., its detonation would’ve potentially released a fireball over a hundred times larger than “Fat Man,” the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
To avoid the risk of the bomb accidentally dropping while landing, Richardson decided to launch the bomb into the waters outside Wassaw Sound. At least a potential explosion there may not have been as deadly. Richardson had to have been partly relieved when the bomb dropped and there was no explosion. He landed safely, only to kindle a frenzied search for the now missing thermonuclear bomb.
In the incident’s aftermath, nobody was sure if the bomb had a trigger, meaning it wasn’t known if the bomb could fully detonate. To me, it seems too inept of the military to be using a live nuclear bomb during a training exercise. But ineptitude is the military’s middle name.
Despite reassurances from the Air Force that the bomb was harmless and unprimed, a 1966 testimony in Congress stated that it was a fully complete bomb. Holy mackerel.
Better yet, nobody has found it. And it’s doubtful that a Soviet submarine came and snatched it. So, be warned: do not misplace thermonuclear warheads, and never swim outside Tybee Island — although it’s apparently safe to do so.
Now, let’s return to the data I mentioned earlier. Exactly two years ago this week, those numbers describe just a fraction of the destruction that the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes brought to both of its namesake countries.
With all the events going on abroad and the media focused on the incoming presidential office, could you recall the earthquake from the raw data? For me, I was reading the news as the seismic activity came to the attention of the press, but the press has a short attention span. I have not heard anything since; no follow-ups, at least none that have been front page news, despite the obvious signs that it should be.
Now, you may have noticed that this event is known as the Turkey-Syria earthquakes — plural. As aid work started and efforts began to rescue those suffocating in the vast expanse of rubble in the wake of the initial 7.8 magnitude earthquake, a second 7.5 magnitude quake shattered roughly the same area.
The prolonged suffering was immense and simply indescribable. Concern USA gave voice to those impacted. One such interview with an individual named Mehmet Taar shed light on the lasting impact of the disaster. For Taar and his family members huddled outside around a tent in Adiyaman, Turkey: “We are trying to accept the reality. We anticipate that [rebuilding] will take several years to complete, and it is unclear if they will begin constructing the houses immediately.”
My earnest hope is that aid and time have healed some of the pains felt by millions in the region. Sadly, no major updates have followed on the status of the region’s reconstruction. There is, however, a philanthropy fund open to send aid to those affected by the disaster.
I can only hope that I am in the minority of those who had such a significant event slip from memory. If we want a solid and encompassing history to pass forward to future generations, we need to stay on top of things.
Well, with a bomb’s location and a major earthquake slipping out of public awareness, let’s begin this week with an effort to focus. Let’s focus on the world around us and latch on to the good things happening, while not forgetting the horrors that are going on too. See you next week.