Hawai'i residents were shoved into the nuclear age without warning when the United States detonated a hydrogen bomb over Johnston Island that was visible in Honolulu, some 800 miles away. It was the first of a dozen similar tests in the 1950s and 1960s.
The blast on Aug. 1, 1958 — code-named Teak Redstone — was accomplished by sending a 3.8 megaton warhead to an altitude of 48.3 miles and detonating it at 12:50 a.m. But the flash awakened and terrified so many people — "many were emotionally disturbed by the phenomenon," Gov. William Quinn told military commanders — that advance notice was given for the next blast 11 days later.
The second blast, on Aug. 12, 1958, was greeted by anything but panic.
Thousands of residents found good locations along O'ahu's coast to view the explosion. They packed snacks and held "atomic parties" with the blast as the highlight.
Months later, the power of the two stratospheric nuclear explosions was detailed for the first time.
They were blamed for disrupting radio communications so severely that airplanes were grounded throughout the Pacific. Planes flying to Honolulu were told to stay in touch through plane-to-plane relays over channels that were not affected. Animals 300 miles away were blinded.
The blasts also left a toxic legacy on Johnston Island, which had been a national wildlife refuge since 1926.
On June 20, 1962, Starfish, a Thor missile with a nuclear warhead, was blown up over Johnston when it failed one minute after launch. Metal parts and debris fell back onto the island, injuring personnel on the ground. A month later, on July 25, a launch dubbed Bluegill Prime was destroyed on the launch pad, scattering radioactive material.
The tests continued until November 1962.
One of the last explosions was seen by a Hawaiian Airlines pilot flying over Diamond Head on Nov. 2, 1962. The night sky lit up like dawn, he said.
"An unbelievable rising sunset ... ," said pilot Richard Barcheski, "... a churning orange center crusted with fire ... the rainbow etched in a frightening arc ... then a lavender-white end to everything."
