1958 Mars Bluff Nuclear Bomb Incident

In 2003 Walter Gregg, then 82, said "Not too many people can say they've had a nuclear bomb dropped on them. Not too many would want to." The 1958 Mars Bluff nuclear weapon incident deserves to be remembered.

This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.

You can purchase the bow tie worn in this episode at The Tie Bar:

All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.

Find The History Guy at:

The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered is the place to find short snippets of forgotten history from five to fifteen minutes long. If you like history too, this is the channel for you.

Awesome The History Guy merchandise is available at:

Script by THG

#ushistory #thehistoryguy #nuclearaccident

[christopherbrochu]

"unscheduled bomb drop" is a textbook example of military understatement.

[gadams]

My father was a career Marine, two tours in Vietnam, decorated. A really good man and an archetypal combat veteran. He retired as a Lt. Col after 26 years in the Corps and went on to a second career in academia and public service. He taught university courses in history, mainly about WWII and Vietnam. He imparted a love for history in me, but I remember he often lamented how hard it was to get his students interested and engaged in things of the past. It is bittersweet for me to watch the History Guy because I think of my dad, every time, and how much he would have loved this couple's body of work. The segments are consistently visually appropriate and fascinating, and the scripts are always efficient and interesting, no matter the subject. If he were here today I would tell him a joke that he would have loved, and then straight to the computer for a History Guy or two to get him rolling. Thanks so much and keep up the stellar work!

[jerrymartinii]

When that bomb went off, my grandfather was surveying land in NC nearly 40 miles away. He heard the explosion. As a captain in an army artillery unit, he recognized the sound as an explosion.

[Curator]

I was part of the ground crew that prepared the aircraft for flight. The Crew Chief and I were picked up in separate staff cars and kept separated for hours until the flight were questioned about our movements and if we had been in or looked in the bomb bay at any time. I never talked about the indecent until I read about it in a book about 10 years later. (Americas Necular Accidents)

[tugginalong]

I knew Mr. Gregg and I used to work with his son Walter. He was a fine man that was always smiling and happy. He loved telling this story. I’ve heard it several times from him.

[Spencer]

The air force has a massive budget, but couldn't fully pay someone back for accidently bombing their house and nearly killing them, amazing.

[JasonLambek]

I’ve known of this “incident” for years, but never had heard anything about the family, folks nearby, and related stories/information. That’s what I love about TheHistoryGuy; all that extra information gleaned from what has to be pretty exhaustive and skilled research. Another great vid. Thank you!

[kingcosworth]

I have a blasting licence, we set off 20kg of ANFO as a surface charge strictly for a percussion test. We were standing around 400m (437yds) away. Standing far away you get experiences from the blast, you see it, you feel it through the ground and then you hear it. It was an obvious sensation through the ground and when the sound wave came it moved my hair and clothing and you can see the camera move back and forward as the wave past. This was 45lbs @ 437yds, and these people experienced 2000lbs @ within roughly 100yds. Not a pure percussion blast as the blast would of had some load blowing the bomb structure apart, but still, this would be such an aggressive assault on the senses, it's pretty much impossible to imagine.

[carldavid]

Thank you. The most impressive part of this story for me is the way old time journalists got every detail of a story that they could. Peoples names and ages, what they were doing at the time etc.
a time when people were more professional and took pride in their work.

[LukeSilverstar]

This is about 50 miles from where I grew up, and it was legendary amongst locals. I’ve actually visited the site. It was very overgrown but I did find the crater pond back away from the main road.

[ShootAUT]

"Granpa, how did you meet uncle Kulka"

"Well, that 70ft swimming pool in the backyard? He did the excavation. We had a blast that afternoon."

[prismstudios]

Jiggling the pin with a hammer...Translation: Beating the Holy crap out of

[change_your_oil_regularly]

Drop a nuke on his house and injured his kids but didn't rebuild his house? Poor form!

[ringandpinion]

I've always loved history but hated it in school until I had a teacher that was probably similar to The History Guy. He enjoyed history and thus, so did his entire class. Thanks History Guy, you do a great job, Mr. Klassen would be proud of you.

[tommynikon]

The scarier conclusion is: there have been ALOT of "broken arrow" accidents and our understanding of all things nuclear THEN....was pretty archaic compared to now.

[mannys]

"Hey, what about Major Kong???"

Little did I know, that scene was almost entirely historically accurate. That navigator was so lucky he didn't ride that bomb out of the bomb bay after releasing it. 😱

[maxlever]

I was 4 y.o. and lived not so far away. Scared my parents when they saw the hole. I had forgotten about this incident.

[BluefootOnEire]

“Sorry we dropped a nuclear dud on your house” probably can’t be found in the hallmark isle

[chrisnurczyk]

As usual, History Guy delivers with impeccable, detailed research and great delivery. You put so much into a 10-15 minute piece. Always interesting!

[robertellis]

I was born and raised in Florence, always a trip to hear it come up, even tangentially. We had a Mars Bluff Road, and the story of how the Air Force dropped a nuke on us is local legend. Thanks for sharing the story!