The Man Who Disabled Two Hydrogen Bombs Dropped in North Carolina
On January 24, 1961, a U.S. B-52 bomber was flying over rural North Carolina when fuel started to leak, the plane snapped apart, and the two hydrogen bombs it was carrying fell into a tobacco field. If detonated, these 3.8-megaton weapons would have had an impact 250 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Lieutenant Jack ReVelle, a munitions expert who was 25 at the time, was the man called to the scene. His job was to make sure the bombs didn’t explode.
He came to StoryCorps with his daughter, Karen, to remember those harrowing eight days.
Top photo: Four of the “terrible ten” – from ReVelle’s team – observe the retrieval of the second bomb’s parachute pack from inside a hole they dug over the course of eight days. Photo courtesy of the United States Air Force.
Middle photo: The first hydrogen bomb in January 1961. Photo courtesy of the United States Air Force.
Middle photo: 24-year-old First Lieutenant Jack ReVelle in 1960, the year before the incident in North Carolina. ReVelle worked in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). Photo courtesy of the United States Air Force.
Bottom photo: Jack ReVelle and Karen ReVelle at their StoryCorps interview in Santa Ana, CA. Photo by Kevin Oliver for StoryCorps.
Originally aired January 25, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
The Tallapoosa Possum Drop, a New Year’s Eve Tradition
New Year’s Eve in Times Square? Meh. The real action is in Tallapoosa, Georgia.
That’s where Bud and Jackie Jones, career taxidermists, live. They helped establish a completely different kind of New Year’s Eve tradition in their small town.
Bud and Jackie came to StoryCorps recently to share the love story that helped launch it all.
Since the Tallapoosa Possum Drop began in the late 1990s, the event has grown from about 40 people to over 7,000 in attendance. That’s more than twice the population of Tallapoosa itself.
Top photo: Bud and Jackie Jones pose after their StoryCorps interview in Tallapoosa, GA in September 2018. By Kelly Moffitt for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Bud and Jackie Jones pose together in 1963. Courtesy Bud Jones.
Bottom photo: Bud and Jackie Jones pose near “Spencer” at the Possum Drop in Tallapoosa, GA in 2014. Courtesy Bud Jones.
Originally aired December 28, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Native American Railroad Worker on His Complex Relationship with His Work
This is a story about the railroad — and it comes to us from Barnie Botone in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Botone (above right) is descended from Guipago, a Kiowa leader. In 1875, along with dozens of other Native American leaders, Guipago was taken by train and imprisoned by the U.S. Army.
Almost a century later, Botone himself went to work on the railroad. He was 22 years old at the time. At StoryCorps, he remembers the day he told his grandmother about getting the job.
Top Photo: Gordon Williams and Barnie Botone at StoryCorps in Bismarck, North Dakota. By Camila Kerwin for StoryCorps.
Bottom Photo: Gúipä’go (Lone Wolf), head chief of the Kiowa tribe in 1872. Photographer: Alexander Gardner. Courtesy Wikimedia.
Originally aired December 14, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Married Couple Remembers Those They Lost to AIDS
Over the years, many people have come to StoryCorps to remember those who have died of AIDS. And for those left behind, how to move forward is never an easy path.
Larry Dearmon and Stephen Mills met in 1992, during the height of the AIDS epidemic in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Together for 26 years, the two came to StoryCorps to remember the loss that eventually brought them together.
Larry and Stephen have been together for 26 years. The two were married in 2013, a day that Larry calls “the best day of my life.”
Top photo: Larry Dearmon and Stephen Mills at their StoryCorps interview in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2015. By Natalia Fidenholtz for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Michael Braig poses for a photo in Frankfurt, Germany. He succumbed to AIDS in 1991. Courtesy Larry Dearmon.
Bottom photo: Stephen Mills and Larry Dearmon pose for a photo on their wedding day at Lake Tahoe in 2013. Courtesy Larry Dearmon.
Originally aired November 30, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Man Recalls Being Shot by a White Supremacist at Jewish Day Camp
On the morning of August 10, 1999, a white supremacist opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon at a Jewish day camp in Los Angeles. Five were wounded, including six-year-old Josh Stepakoff, who was shot in his leg and hip, and one person was killed.
Now an adult, Josh sat down with his father, Alan, to remember that day.
The shooter is serving two consecutive life sentences plus 110 years for multiple convictions. His actions were ruled a federal hate crime.
This story aired November 2, 2018 on NPR’s Morning Edition. A version also aired November 10, 2017 on the same program.
Bottom image: Josh and his father, Alan, in Washington D.C. for the Million Mom March rally in May 2000, the year after Josh was shot.
A Son Remembers his Father, a Lucha Libre Wrestler
John Torres Sr. grew up in the Bronx and fell in love with Lucha Libre, the freestyle wrestling popular in Mexico.
He found fellow enthusiasts at the Bronx Wrestling Federation, where a motley crew of men — plumbers, lawyers and police officers — moonlit as Lucha Libre showmen.
John joined their ranks and quickly became a star in the city. But his biggest fan was his son: John Torres Jr.
John Torres Jr. came to StoryCorps with his dad’s best friend and fellow wrestler, Abraham Guzman, to remember John Sr., who died in 2011.
Top photo: Abraham Guzman (L) putting John Torres Jr. in a friendly chokehold at the StoryCorps booth in New York City. Photo by Liyna Anwar.
Bottom photo: John Torres Sr., who wrestled as The Falcon, is pictured at a wrestling match in 2010. Courtesy of John Torres Jr.
Originally aired October 05, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
A Couple on the Loss and Pain They Suffered at the Hands of a California Wildfire
Monique and Cody Walker chose Santa Rosa, California as the place to raise their five children. Then, in October 2017, the Tubbs wildfire swept across Sonoma County. The Walkers got their kids and dogs in the car, and fled for safety.
The fire destroyed their home, along with over 5,000 other structures. At the time, it was considered the most destructive wildfire in California’s history.
Monique and Cody sat down at StoryCorps two months after losing their home.
Top photo: Monique and Cody Walker at their December 2017 StoryCorps interview in Santa Rosa, California. Photo by Yosmay Delmazo for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: The plot of land on which the Walkers’ home used to sit. Photo courtesy of Monique Walker.
Bottom Photo: Cody Walker had cradle baskets made for each of his children, in keeping with his Chukchansi culture. They were lost in the wildfire that destroyed the family’s home. Photo courtesy of Cody and Monique Walker.
Originally aired September 21, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Remembering Balbir Singh Sodhi, Sikh Man Killed in Post-9/11 Hate Crime
In the wake of the September 11th attacks, Muslims, Arabs, and Sikhs became targets for hate across the country. Balbir Singh Sodhi was the first person to be murdered in a hate crime in this aftermath.
On the morning of September 15, 2001, Balbir donated the contents of his wallet to the victims of the attacks. He then went to the gas station he owned in Mesa, Arizona and began planting a garden out in front, when a man who was seeking retaliation for 9/11 drove by in his pickup truck and shot and killed Balbir, assuming he was a Muslim man. Balbir was a follower of the Sikh religion and wore a turban as part of his faith.
At StoryCorps, Balbir’s brothers, Rana and Harjit Sodhi, sat down to remember him.
Later that day, Balbir’s killer also shot at people who were of Middle Eastern descent. They all survived. The murderer is currently serving out a life sentence in Buckeye, Arizona.
Originally aired September 14, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Top Photo: Rana Sodhi (L) and Harjit Sodhi holding a photograph of their late brother, Balbir Singh Sodhi, in Mesa, Arizona. Photo by Mia Warren for StoryCorps.
Memories of a Sister and Daughter Murdered in a Transgender Hate Crime
On July 17, 2008, Angie Zapata — a transgender woman — was killed in northern Colorado. Angie was murdered by a man she was dating.
Angie’s killer was sentenced to life in prison plus 60 years. This was one of the first U.S. cases ever to result in a conviction of a hate crime against a transgender person.
Ten years after Angie’s death, her mother, Maria Zapata, and Angie’s brother, Gonzalo Zapata, sat down to remember her at StoryCorps.
Top photo: Maria Zapata and Gonzalo Zapata at their StoryCorps interview in Brighton, CO. Credit: Liyna Anwar for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Angie Zapata. Courtesy Maria Zapata.
Walter Reed Physical Therapists on the Profound Effects of Their Work
During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, over 1600 men and women lost hands, arms, legs, and feet in battle.
For nearly a decade, Adele Levine and Etaine Raphael worked side by side to ensure those soldiers would be able to navigate life after their injuries. The two women were civilian physical therapists at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the Washington, D.C. area.
Both Etaine and Adele left Walter Reed in 2014. Today, Adele continues work as a physical therapist at a Maryland hospital, while Etaine has found new work as a preschool teacher.
Top photo: Etaine Raphael and Adele Levine at their StoryCorps interview in Washington, D.C. on September 19, 2016.
Middle photo: Adele Levine at work with a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Courtesy of Kyla Dunleavy.
Bottom photo: Adele Levine and Etaine Raphael pose with a physical therapy patient, Rob Jones, who they helped rehabilitate. Jones lost both legs in Afghanistan but went on to compete in the Paralympics for rowing. Courtesy of Etaine Raphael.
Originally aired May 25, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.