Taylor watched Bikini Atoll A-bomb explosion, touched atomic dust

August 6 and August 9 are regarded as anniversaries of atomic bomb explosions, since those were the days in 1945 which saw bombs dropped on Japanese cities. For Fallbrook senior Lee Taylor, July 25 is also a significant anniversary in atomic bomb explosion history, since in 1946 Taylor witnessed an underground detonation 42 miles from the Bikini Atoll explosion and actually touched an airplane which had atomic dust.

Taylor was an assistant boiler division officer aboard the U.S.S. Shangri-La, an Essex-class aircraft carrier, when Operation Crossroads conducted its Baker test.

“I thought that w...