NEVADA - 1952 - US Marines get behind trenches at the Yucca Flat proving grounds before an atomic bomb is detonated Stock Video Footage - Alamy

Marines Witness the Fireball — Yucca Flat, 1952 On May 6, 1952, two battalions of U.S. Marines were placed in foxholes on Yucca Flat, Nevada, to witness a tactical atomic bomb detonation just 2,000 feet above ground zero. It was part of a Department of Defense experiment to prepare troops for nuclear warfare. This official footage, later released by MGM News of the Day, shows the moments before and after the blast, from the intense fireball to the towering mushroom cloud, and finally, Marines em