The Astonishing Story Of A Texas Air Force Base’s Forgotten Blast

It's incredible what things can happen that end up mostly forgotten about. In Texas, for instance, there was the time when a massive explosion at the Medina Air Force Base  had many people convinced that World War III had begun. How can something like that become a fading memory?

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Explosion At Texas Nuclear Weapons Bunker In 1963

Recently, a friend of mine shared an article detailing the events that took place on the day that an explosion rocked Medina Air Force Base in San Antonio. According to the first-hand accounts in the article, no one was sure exactly what caused it. It happened in what was referred to as an "igloo" where explosive materials from nuclear bombs were being stored after having the radioactive bits removed. They were still explosive and dangerous, just not in the way they would have been with the radioactive materials still inside.

The thought is that maybe one of the detonators got triggered by accident, and that's what caused what happened next.

Community Rocked By Explosion On Air Force Base

There are photos of the blast left behind that are chilling to look at. Supposedly, it was around the same size as half of a football field. The igloos housed more than one mechanism. They were stuffed with them.

There are accounts of people across San Antonio saying they felt the blast in one way or another. For some, it was pictures falling off of a wall. For others, it was windows being blown out. One thing is for sure, it was a massive blast that had everyone thinking that World War III had started and that the US and Russia were at war.

How Does Something Like This Get Forgotten?

It makes you wonder why something like this isn't more widely known or remembered. This could have been beyond catastrophic, and it was traumatic for many of those living in the area at the time. Fortunately, no one was gravely injured.

It's hard to believe, but something like this could become a forgotten part of Texas history.