The Day We Lost the H-Bomb: Cold War, Hot Nukes, and the Worst Nuclear Weapons Disaster in History

65 The Allies worked hard: Spain's relations with the West during World War II and in the postwar years is described in detail in Whitaker, Spain and the Defense of the West, chaps. 1 and 2. See also R. Richard Rubottom and J. Carter Murphy, Spain and the United States since World War II (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1984).

65 “Henceforth” said one historian: Whitaker, Spain and the Defense of the West, p. 11.

66 “more weight was given”: Ibid., p. 32.

66 In July 1947, he told a reporter: Paraphrased in ibid., pp. 35–36.

66 “I don't like Franco”: Quoted in Streeter, Franco, p. 106.

66 “The strategic advantages”: Quoted in Whitaker, Spain and the Defense of the West, p. 40.

67 American military officials: In Spain and the Defense of the West, p. 39, Whitaker argues that the push for Spanish bases came from the U.S. Navy. But Corey Ford and James Perkins, in “Our Key SAC Bases in Spain and How We Got Them,” Reader's Digest, August 1958, pp. 23–26, say the impetus came from SAC.

67 “a bitter pill”:

Quoted in Whitaker, Spain and the Defense of the West, p. 50.

67 President Eisenhower visited Madrid: The description of Eisenhower's visit to Madrid comes from ibid., pp. 80–82. Also see The New York Times' coverage of the visit: Benjamin Welles, “Franco's Prestige High as He Awaits Eisenhower's Visit,” December 19, 1959, p. 3; Russell Baker, “Madrid Provides Warm ‘Saludos,’” December 22, 1959, p. 8; “Texts of Franco and Eisenhower Talks,” December 22, 1959, p. 8; Benjamin Welles, “Eisenhower Is Hailed in Madrid,” December 22, 1959, p. 1; Benjamin Welles, “Eisenhower Gets Franco's Support,” December 23, 1959, p. 11; Benjamin Welles, “Franco Aide's Visit to Highlight Improving U.S. Ties with Spain,” December 30, 1959, p. 3.

68 Spain slowly began to climb: Details on Spain's economic recovery come from “Spain: The Awakening Land,” Time, January 21, 1966, pp. 26–39; Bart McDowell and Albert Moldvay, “The Changing Face of Old Spain,” National Geographic, March 1965, pp. 291–341.

68 The Spanish magazine

¡Hola!: Author's reading of ¡Hola! magazine.

69 keeping a lid on the press: Bill Moyers, letter to Flora Lewis, August 11, 1966: The Spanish government “was acutely sensitive to any public statements made about the incident and the presence of nuclear weapons.”

69 On the day of the accident: The first few days of press coverage are detailed in Cable, CSAF to Joint Chiefs of Staff et al., January 19, 1966, #59032 (LBJ); SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 311–312; Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 19, 1966, #855 (LBJ); Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 19, 1966, #856 (LBJ).

70 Duke sat down to discuss: Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 21, 1966, #869 (LBJ); Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 19, 1966, #855 (LBJ).

70 Although the U.S. military had stored nuclear weapons: To the best of the author's knowledge, the United States has never publicly admitted storing nuclear weapons in Spain. However, the fact of their existence has long been accepted. See Robert S. Norris, William M. Arkin, and William Burr, “Where They Were,” The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

, November-December 1999, pp. 26 ff.

70 “The subject was still very touchy”: Joseph Smith interview, August 9, 2007.

71 On January 19, a secret cable: Cable, CSAF to Joint Chiefs of Staff et al., January 19, 1966, #59032 (LBJ).

71 A young reporter: Andró del Amo's story is told in Szulc, The Bombs of Palomares, pp. 107–116, and SAC Historical Study #109, pp. 314–315.

73 Duke got wind of del Amo's dispatch: Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 19, 1966, #857 (LBJ).

73 Exercising its iron grip: Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 21, 1966, #869 (LBJ).

74 the UPI article landed on Franco's desk: The fallout over the UPI article is detailed in Cable, Embassy in Madrid to the Department of State, January 22, 1966, #871 (LBJ).