On September 2, 1945, Japanese representatives formally surrendered by signing the surrender document, that action marked the end of World War II.
The war that lasted from September 1, 1939 - September 2, 1945 (80 years ago,) had more than 70 countries directly involved, with participating nations on every continent except for Antarctica. This involved major powers like the United States, the United Kingdom, China, the Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Over 16 million Americans served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the war, which includes volunteers and draftees, with, according to online sources, about 50,000 being New Mexicans.
The 200th and 515th Coast Artillery Regiments were New Mexico National Guard Units among the first to fight in the Pacific, providing critical air defenses after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, these soldiers were overtaken and involved in the Bataan Death March in the Philippines. Of the 1,800 who served there, fewer than half returned home.
Many of the 400 Navajo Code Talkers were from New Mexico, with the pilot program taking place in Gallup, New Mexico.
The Navajo Code Talkers saved thousands of American lives with their unbreakable code based on the unwritten language of the Navajo Nation, that even baffled the skilled Japanese code breakers. They contributed to key Allied victories such as the battle for Iwo Jima, a five-week conflict in 1945, where U.S. Marines landed on the island to capture airfields vital for the invasion of Japan. This conflict became the bloodiest battle in U.S. Marine Corps history, but resulted in a U.S. victory nonetheless. The code talkers relayed vital battlefield information, such as troop movements and artillery coordinates. They were vital in many battles, such as Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Peleliu, but it wasn’t until 1969 -over two decades later- that the world learned about them.
Additionally, in Los Alamos, New Mexico, the “Manhattan Project” was underway. This project was a research and development program to produce nuclear weapons, specifically the atomic bomb, a project the Soviet Union was also working on, making it a race that emphasized the mutual distrust and ideological divide, leading to the Cold War.
On July 16, 1945, the first nuclear device in the world, was detonated as an implosion-type bomb during the Trinity Test, and conducted at what is now the White Sands Missile Range in Alamogordo, New Mexico. On August 6th and 9th (1945), the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Japan, ultimately leading to Japan’s decision to surrender, officially ending World War II.
However, it wasn’t the end of atomic bombs, war, or a potential nuclear war.
The Cold War started shortly after World War II ended.
In 1950, during the Cold War, a Navajo sheepherder named Paddy Martinez discovered a large uranium deposit at Haystack Mesa in the San Juan Basin near Grants, New Mexico. This led to the United States no longer having to rely on other countries for their uranium supply. With the discovery of this critical resource, the U.S. now had a significant, self supply of uranium for the U.S. nuclear weapons program.
During the Cold War, the U.S. extensively mined uranium from the mines near Grants and used it to manufacture nuclear weapons and fuel the nation’s growing nuclear arsenal and submarines, all the while the Soviet Union did not stop trying to create an atomic bomb. Their determination paid off. On August 29, 1949 the Soviet Union detonated it’s first atomic bomb, initiating a new phase of the Cold War and increasing global fear of nuclear conflict.
Knowing how much power each of them had now, they developed and implemented the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) in 1962, as a military doctrine of deterrence where a nation’s nuclear attack would be met by a retaliatory nuclear strike from its adversary, leading to what they believed would be a complete annihilation of both sides, making a first strike irrational, and prolonging the nuclear battle.
The volunteers, draftees, and Navajo Code Talkers played vital roles in the Allies winning the war. Considering we do not know much about the Navajo Code Talkers, yet they made such an impact, it only makes sense that we look into what they contributed to each battle.
Additionally, the Uranium Mines near Grants played a vital role in the Cold War and would have been of great use during World War II. Though there are many people skeptical about reopening the mines, its important to realize what world we are currently living in. The tension between the United States and the east is intense and the term “World War III” is being used more frequently.
It only makes sense that we utilize our own uranium mines in case we need them, rather than relying on other countries, risking being cut off from them, then scrambling in emergency.
We have our own source- a source that was once called the “Uranium Capital of the World.”