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No
Nukes?
by Heather Quinlan
September 15, 2000 — Those wanting to swim the waters around Georgia's Tybee
Island may think twice before diving in. On this quiet island, it's not the
sharks people are watching out for — it's a nuclear bomb. On a bitter February
evening in 1958, two military planes collided, causing one to drop its cargo
into the waters near Tybee Island; rumor had it that this cargo was actually an
nondetonated nuclear bomb. But after 42 years, the Air Force has finally stated
that there was no nuclear device on board. According to officials, it was only
the casing that was sent plunging into the water; the casing does not contain
any nuclear explosives. "Bottom-line conclusion — no possibility of a
nuclear explosion," Capt. Almarah Belk, a spokeswoman for the Air Force,
said Thursday. But there are those who remain unconvinced. Among them is Derek
Duke, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. Duke claims there is a 1966 report
in which a Department of Defense official included the bomb on a list of missing
nuclear bombs. "The smart thing to do is find the weapon," Duke said,
so he's assembled the American Sea Shore Underwater Recovery Expedition and is
offering the team's services for just under $1 million. Georgia's Rep. Jack
Kingston says he's asked the Air Force to review Duke's proposal. In the
meantime, you can catch the whole story on Armed Forces: Declassified, this
Sunday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET/PT.
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