By Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 1/5/24 – History books tell in graphic detail about the destruction laid upon Japan at the end of World War II by the dropping of two nuclear bombs on that country.
What history books do not tell you about is the cost those bombs (Little Boy and Fat Man) exacted on our country. It doesn’t even mention the hundreds of Americans who died as a result of the development and testing for these two bombs. The story of the first developmental bomb, the Trinity Bomb, is barely discussed. It’s creation and successful detonation as part of the Manhattan Project directly led to the two devices of mass destruction detonated in Japan.
There has been a lack of discussion for seemingly good reason: The U.S. Government has been covering up the unintended collateral damage of that bomb – the deaths of hundreds of civilians and the subsequent health problems suffered by their families who were contaminated by the fallout from that device.
Known as “Downwinders” their stories have largely been ignored or outright denied until now, that is. “First We Bombed New Mexico” exposes the gripping, untold story of multigenerational cancers and governmental abandonment suffered by local communities in New Mexico since the 1945 Trinity Bomb detonation in their state.
The documentary film, produced by Lois Lipman, featuring the inspiring New Mexico Hispanic cancer survivor Tina Cordova, will be making its West Coast premiere on Monday at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
“First We Bombed New Mexico” had its World Premiere in New Mexico at the Santa Fe International Film Festival, where it was honored with the 2023 Audience Choice Best Competition Documentary. Later in October, it screened at the Austin International Film Festival, where it won the Documentary Feature Jury Award.
Lipman and Cordova, who have catalyzed a movement seeking compensation for families of the area, sat down for an exclusive chat with “The Hollywood Times” to discuss the film and how the mostly Hispanic and Native population have suffered multigenerational cancers tied to that bomb with little concern from the government.
Click below to see our exclusive interview:
Cordova believes the reason it has taken so long for this story to come to light is because our government is reticent to admit what it did.
“I believe it’s very difficult for our government and the people in it to admit that in the process of developing the nuclear device and using it to stop the war – which is what they said the goal was – I believe they have a very difficult time admitting that they harmed American citizens, that they killed American babies because American babies died afterwards. I think that’s a very difficult thing to admit to, but that is the truth and that is what happened. The only way that we will ever get past this history is if we finally admit what took place, fully admit what took place, acknowledge the harm that was done and atone for that harm” she said.
For decades, we have known of the absolute destruction Fat Man and Little Boy inflicted upon the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. However, no one has ever told us about the pain and suffering the Trinity Bomb inflicted upon our own citizens.
“Imagine how horrible it was, what took place in Japan,” Cordova said. “To admit now, in advance of that, you also bombed American citizens, that is a real harsh reality for our government to admit to.”
It is only within the last several years that the government has admitted to what happened. Unfortunately, beyond that admission, there has been little to no acceptance of responsibility.
“What’s odd right now, is they’re not even denying any longer that they harmed us. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act is an admission of the harm that was done to American citizens during the buildup and the nuclear arms race” Cordova said. She went on to say about the Compensation Act, “That’s an admission in itself. They’re not even denying that any longer. What they are saying is – and this is what makes it even more immoral, actually – is that ‘we don’t want to put resources towards taking care of this mess.’ “
This harsh reality is hard to swallow for those affected by this generation-spanning tragedy.
“I keep saying we live in a Democracy based on rules, law and order. You and I could not go about recklessly harming people. It was reckless what they did here, it was entirely reckless … and then when they are held to account for it, to say we’re not going to put our resources towards taking care of the mess we made, we would never get away with that. That makes this shockingly immoral. That’s where we are today, members of Congress saying it’s going to cost too much to do this. Imagine the insult to our injury that adds. It’s just immoral.” Cordova said.
Lipman pointed out that New Mexico is the home of two National Nuclear Laboratories and the only place where we store nuclear waste.
“The state of New Mexico has a unique position that isn’t talked about, ” Lipman said. “It is the heartbeat of the nuclear arms industry. It’s where the uranium was mined, it’s where the bombs were developed, it’s where they were made, it’s where they were detonated. And now they are going to expand … it’s called modernizing it … they are putting billions into modernizing this same bomb. And there are a lot of interests involved with this billion-dollar nuclear industry, and it doesn’t serve their interests to expose the harm that also comes out of this industry.”
Indeed, New Mexico has a “cradle-to-grave” process involved in its nuclear weapons industry, and that means it has a lot of working parts.
“There’s a lot of employment associated with that, there’s a lot of industry associated with that, there’s a lot of big business associated with that,” Cordova said. “So, many people believe you don’t bite the hand that feeds you. You just don’t discuss the hard truths about what that means.”
Cordova has been at the forefront of a movement to reshape the narrative surrounding the Trinity Bomb’s impact on New Mexico, an 18-year-long fight, to reinforce to people that one of the reasons they have health issues is because of this industry. “Before that, people just didn’t talk about it” she said.
“At one of the very first town hall meetings we ever held about this, a woman said, ‘You’re not going to be satisfied until they shut down the Air Force base’ … and I said that will never happen. We cannot let that shape how we actually deal with the negative health consequences we all are seeing in our families” stated Cordova.
One might think, admission by the government that Americans were killed, and generations of citizens have had their health negatively impacted by the Trinity Bomb test might be the first step in making amends.
(AP Photo/File)
You would be wrong. Officials on both sides of the aisle are saying the resources just do not exist to make this right. Cordova believes that is complete and total nonsense.
“When they say we don’t have the resources, they’re lying to begin with, because we DO have the resources,” she said. “I think it was (Missouri) Senator (Josh) Hawley who pointed out on the Senate floor this year, we’re going to give the Pentagon $32 billion more than they asked for … but they won’t take care of American children who are dying? It’s just immoral.”
“First We Bombed New Mexico” will screen initially on Monday in Palm Springs at 8:30 p.m. at Camelot Theatres, followed by a Q&A moderated by David Ansen. The encore screenings will be Tuesday, at 1:45 p.m. and Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. at the Regal Palm Springs Theatre.
