1945: First atomic bomb exploded near Alamogordo, New Mexico 

Whenever these kinds of anniversaries come up, I always find myself thinking about the genie that we have let loose upon the world. Today is the 63rd anniversary of the day the United States tested the first atomic bomb in 1945 near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The following month we dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, leading to the end of World War II.

People still debate that action. Should we have bombed a deserted island within view of the Japanese High Command instead? Was it necessary to bomb two cities in Japan instead of just one? I can’t get into these debates, because I wasn’t there as a part of the decision making process. I wasn’t there when we were at war.

But now it seems as if the genie has turned against us. Our government won’t come right out and say it, but I believe their biggest fear is that one of the “unfriendly” nations out there is going to get their hands on a bomb and detonate it within the U.S. That’s why we resort to saber rattling, economic sanctions, and other activities to deter anyone else from getting the bomb.

You have to wonder - will future historians talk about us as the first country to use an atomic weapon on another country, and also the last country to have a nuclear weapon used on it?