A mushroom cloud from Operation Tumbler–Snapper is seen in a magazine photo Tuesday as Mac McCormack looks through photos and clippings at his Coeur d'Alene home. In March 1955, McCormack, a Marine, was one of the first to witness the power of the atomic bomb. He has been recognized for his service with an Atomic Veterans Commemorative Service Medal and the Atomic Veteran’s Service Certificate.
June 7, 2023
Stories this photo appears in:
Honoring our atomic veterans
"That's why I got cancer," Noelan “Mac” McCormack said as he set a copy of Leatherneck magazine on his kitchen table. A mushroom cloud rose into the air in the black and white photograph on the page, an image from Operation Tumbler–Snapper, where a teenage McCormack and his fellow Marines in March 1955 were instructed to be as close as possible to the nuclear testing site as the military conducted experiments with this new and powerful force. "We were 3,000 yards away from ground zero on that one," he said.