World Radio DayWe are celebrating World Radio Day with a party line of atomic secrets. Archives Tech

World Radio Day

We are celebrating World Radio Day with a party line of atomic secrets. Archives Technician Aaron located this image of two guys working on a ham radio in the South Pacific, with one guy on the phone under a sign saying, “SHHHH they are listening on the party line.” They are stationed at the Enewetak Proving Ground in the Marshall Islands under the direction of the Atomic Energy Commission. Their ham radio number was KX6BQ. The Enewetak Proving Ground is where the United States was testing atomic weapons before moving to Nevada. Nothing like broadcasting explosive sounds from the islands! I find it funny to have a place where you are doing top secret work and your communication system is a party line.  

For more information on the history of radio check out the National Capital Radio and Television Museum, and the Federal Communications Commission. 

Series: Jobsite Photographs of the Pacific Islands, ca. 1953 - ca. 1959. Record Group 326: Records of the Atomic Energy Commission, 1923 - 1978.  (National Archives Identifier  26464919).