EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The 80th anniversary of the Trinity Site test of the world’s first atomic bomb was marked this past week.
The test at Trinity Site — now in the northern part of White Sands Missile Range — took place on July 16, 1945 at 5:29 a.m. Mountain War Time.
When the test was done back in 1945, a brilliant flash of light was seen in El Paso, as reported by newspapers back in the day. Windows rattled as far away as 120 miles.
Photos from Trinity Site open house in April 2019. Photos by Dave Burge/KTSM
White Sands Missile Range actually marked the anniversary on July 9.
“The Trinity Test was the first of its kind in human history. It was the culmination of work
by hundreds of Americans and allied scientists working at sites across the country. Named
the Manhattan Project and led by Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves and Dr. J. Robert
Oppenheimer, this was a scientific and engineering effort on a scale never seen before. The
project’s headquarters was at Los Alamos, N.M., but had other facilities to include Oak
Ridge, Tenn., and Hanford, Wash.,” White Sands Missile Range stated in a news release marking the anniversary.
The 51,500-acre Trinity Site area was declared a national historic landmark in 1975. The
landmark includes base camp, where the scientists and support group lived; ground zero,
site of the tower; and the Schmidt/McDonald ranch house.
When the movie “Oppenheimer” came out in 2023, that brought renewed attention to the race in World War II to see which side would develop the first atomic bomb and tip the balance of power.
Years after the test at Trinity, Oppenheimer said the following in an interview: “We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that one way or another.”
At the time, the Army said that a munitions storage area had accidently exploded at what was then called the Alamogordo Bombing Range.
The Trinity Site is about 35 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, on the northern part of the sprawling White Sands Missile Range.
The New Mexico Department of Transporation marked the 80th anniversary of the Trinity Test by dedicating a new roadside sign honoring the Trinity Downwinders affected by the blast.
A public dedication was held July 16 at the intersection of U.S. Highway 380 and New Mexico 525 to unveil the sign and mark the anniversary of the first atomic blast.
“The sign is intended to recognize the residents of the Tularosa Basin who were affected. These individuals, sometimes referred to as ‘Downwinders,’ lived near the blast site and experienced health and environmental impacts that continue to resonate today,” NMDOT said.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., released the following statement on the 80th anniversary of the Trinity Test:
“For far too many New Mexicans, including Navajo uranium miners and families, today’s anniversary of the Trinity Test is a day marked by suffering, pain, and injustice. It serves as a solemn reminder of our government’s failure, for eight long decades, to recognize and support the families who lived downwind of that first nuclear explosion and who have borne its devastating consequences every day since.
“For my entire time in Congress, I’ve been honored to fight alongside Trinity Downwinders and uranium workers to finally include all the New Mexicans exposed to radiation from the bomb’s detonation in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. This year, we delivered long-overdue justice by expanding this legislation to cover downwinders across the entire state of New Mexico, increase benefits, and finally expand eligibility for uranium workers to include core drillers.”
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