Following the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which hastened the end of the Second World War, the world was thrust into what would be known as the atomic age. RadioActive Soldiers: The Oppenheimer Aftermath (also known as RadioActive Soldiers: Nuclear Nightmares at Ground Zero) powerfully captures the impact of this emerging era through interviews with soldiers who survived the first nuclear bomb tests as the US government raced to better understand nuclear weaponry amidst the emerging geopolitical tension between the US and the Soviet Union. These soldiers shed light on the harsh reality of nuclear bomb testing and how they were misled by military officials to believe that these tests would not cause them to experience lasting effects on their bodies and minds.
Chilling film footage from these nuclear bomb tests and firsthand accounts from witnesses makes this documentary a must-watch for audiences wishing to learn more about this period in history and the ugly truth that thousands of American soldiers were forced to learn when they became human guinea pigs testing out the next generation of weaponry. Even audiences who do not have a particular interest in this era’s history or weaponry would find this film as interesting as it is eye-opening. At the very least, it is a pointed and well-crafted reminder of the lengths people will go to when under a perceived or imminent threat. Considering the world we now find ourselves in as the war in Ukraine continues to rage, this reminder could not be more timely or critical.
RadioActive Soldiers: The Oppenheimer Aftermath would be a great addition to many classrooms and library collections. The firsthand accounts of the soldiers who survived the nuclear bomb testing enhances the potential for audiences to grasp the gravity of what happened and the importance of this time in history so that history does not repeat itself.
What kind of film series would this narrative film fit in?
This film could easily fit into any film series that focuses on military history, war history, the Cold War, etc. It would also be a great addition to a film series centered on life as a soldier and/or exposing the truths behind nuclear weapons testing.
What academic subjects would this film be suitable for?
This film would easily fit into the curriculums of history classes as well as sociology classes pertaining to military dynamics. I could also see this film being used in classes pertaining to the psychological impact of this time period on the soldiers and their health.
How would audiences react to this screening?
I think most audiences would have a profound reaction to this film. Unless they are someone who knows a lot about this time period and/or military history, it is unlikely that a viewer would know about the horrors faced by the soldiers subjected to nuclear bomb testing. This film has the ability to open the eyes of audiences to a little known truth in our nation’s history.
L. Douglas Keeney | Director
L. Douglas Keeney is an author, historian, commentator and speaker with twenty-two books in print from Simon & Schuster, St. Martins/Macmillan, HarperCollins and Lyons Press. Keeney’s passion is to unearth the lost stories in world history and in those stories find the fabric of the people we are today. To that end, Keeney has written about events as seminal as 9/11 and World War II, as entertaining as the fashionable roots of the French Riviera, as revealing as the profiles of such luminaries as Curtis LeMay John F. Kennedy, and Franklin Roosevelt, and as unusual as those who pioneered international aviation and travel into space. He is an engaging speaker who has entertained hundreds of audiences across the nation. Keeney’s books have been well reviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Naval Institute Press, slate, The New Yorker and more than one hundred other newspapers and magazines. He has a master’s degree in Economics, is a pilot and scuba diver, and was the co-founder of cable TV’s The Military Channel. He has appeared as a subject matter expert and commentator on Fox TV, CBS, PBS, The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, The Learning Channel, and on numerous radio shows.
Director's Statement
This entire production came about through a fortunate coincidence. Back in 2005 or so, the Department of Energy began releasing formerly classified documents and films related to our nation’s Cold War testing programs of atomic weapons. The documents and films were being released through a DOE archive located in North Las Vegas, Nevada. At the time, I happened to be writing and producing a series on cold war pilots and cold war weapons so the news of these releases naturally caught my eye. I flew out to Las Vegas planning to spend an hour or two in the archives and seeing what was there - well, five days later I had several thousand pages of formerly classified reports and formerly classified documents and photographs and films one of which described a “runway” thermonuclear bomb that trapped 9 men in a bunker in the South Pacific. That alone was a riveting story – a bomb gone wild and men trapped in deadly fallout -- and it appears in my book 15 Minutes, but more than that, it made me curious about the bigger picture which led to me meeting some of the soldiers who survived the government’s atomic weapons testing programs. I traveled to Oak Ridge, Tennessee to interview some of the soldiers exposed to atomic blasts, and then to several chapter meetings of the Association of Atomic Veterans to do many more interviews, many of which appear in this film. To say this became as much a cause as it was a labor of love is an understatement. These brave members of our armed forces were truly – and unforgivably so – human guinea pigs.
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Still from RadioActive Soldiers: The Oppenheimer Aftermath
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Still from RadioActive Soldiers: The Oppenheimer Aftermath
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Still from RadioActive Soldiers: The Oppenheimer Aftermath
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Still from RadioActive Soldiers: The Oppenheimer Aftermath
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Still from RadioActive Soldiers: The Oppenheimer Aftermath
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Still from RadioActive Soldiers: The Oppenheimer Aftermath
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Atomic bomb test, 1955
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Exercise at Desert Rock
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