Grantsville, MD – In March, I was fortunate to contribute an article to Blue Ridge Outdoors on a nuclear disaster that nearly played out in the low mountains of Western Maryland.
On January 13, 1964, a B-52 armed with two thermonuclear bombs crashed into Big Savage Mountain near Grantsville, Maryland. The weather was so poor – estimates range from -10 to 10 degrees with three feet of snow accumulating – that the crash for some crew members was just the beginning of an unfolding nightmare.
It’s a compelling story of inspiring bravery from the pilots, as well as the courageous efforts of a small town pulling together to do the right thing in the harrowing shadow of an unthinkable outcome.