The Nevada National Security Site Then and Now

By Monique Gaudin

One would think that living with “Bombs in the Back Yard” and “Area 51” the population would be a skittish one, but not Las Vegas — a truly unique place with a history that reads like a great Wild West meets the Psi-Phi novel.  Over the next month, I will be exploring the history and the people of the Nevada Test Site, now the Nevada National Security Site.  I honestly must admit that in this day of declassified footage, social media, and online searches, it is like a cryptic treasure hunt piecing the back story together.  A few weeks ago, while creating a  visual timeline of Ernest Williams’ extraordinary life as an eyewitness to the era, it became evident that the tools now at our disposal for research and assimilation are far more entertaining and visually simpler to organize than note cards and reference lists.

As I venture down this road of exploration, I hope you join me here as my journey unfolds. Feel free to also follow the “sources” in this investigation through collected images and media on My Atomic Board, and articles on Atomic Then & Now.