On 1 July 1946, millions waited by their radios for news of Operation CROSSROADS—the first postwar atomic bomb tests. No one knew what to expect. Now the story can be told in the definitive memoir, OPERATION CROSSROADS, LEST WE FORGET! AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT.
NAPA, Calif., July 16, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On 1 July 1946, millions waited by their radios for news of Operation CROSSROADS—the first postwar atomic bomb tests. No one knew what to expect.
Among the 42,000 servicemen, scientists, and civilians at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands was 20-year-old U.S. Navy Gunner's Mate William L. McGee, stationed aboard the heavy cruiser USS Fall River (CA-131). The ship's role at Crossroads was to position the 95 target vessels in the Bikini Lagoon for two atomic bomb tests—Test Able from the air on 1 July, and Test Baker from underwater on 25 July.
What McGee and his shipmates witnessed was both frightening and spectacular—and with consequences some would not survive later in life. They had signed an oath of secrecy at Crossroads and could not tell their stories until fifty years later.
With the secrecy oath repealed, McGee, now an award-winning author of World War II in the Pacific, wrote his atomic memoir, OPERATION CROSSROADS, LEST WE FORGET! AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT. Known for his detailed research and journalistic writing style, McGee wrote what has been called "the definitive memoir of the 1946 atomic bomb tests at Bikini."
Inside the book:
- Interview excerpts from shipmates who witnessed the atomic blasts.
- Entries from the Fall River Ship's Log capturing her up-close role at Crossroads.
- Vintage images.
- Early and later opinions of the military and the media.
"While updating this memoir for the 80th anniversary of Crossroads in July 2026, I had a sobering thought," says Sandra V. McGee, co-author and widow of Bill McGee. "Likely few Crossroads participants were alive today. The shipmates Bill interviewed for the book were gone. Bill passed away in 2019. Many of these men, including Bill, died from illnesses now linked to radiation exposure at Crossroads. I'm proud to have played a small part in preserving this history few know about today."
OPERATION CROSSROADS, LEST WE FORGET! is available on Amazon in paperback and ebook. For bonus material, visit the author's website at McGeeBooks.com.
Media Contact
SANDRA V. MCGEE, McGeeBooks.com, 1 4152357144, [email protected], https://www.McGeeBooks.com
SOURCE McGeeBooks.com
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