Authors' Note: The poem relates a story from the Cold War, as highlighted on its 60th anniversary by the Charleston S.C. press. A Broken Arrow is defined as an accidental event which does not create the risk of nuclear war, but involves nuclear weapons, warheads or components.
An atomic bomb weighing 7600 pounds was inadvertently dropped on a South Carolina farm in 1958 by a B-47 bomber on a training mission, with destruction of the farmhouse, and creation of a crater 30 feet (9m.) deep, but only minor injuries to the family. Apparently, a total of 32 such episodes have been acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Defense; many of these resulted in no victims or even civilian involvement. By 1960, the practice of warheads being carried on bomber training flights was presumably discontinued.
EDITORIAL UPDATE: You can also find a parody-song about this same episode by clicking HERE.
View the entire collection of poetic assertions on the topic "Reprehensible Modern History" at our more encyclopedic blog 'Edifying Nonsense', by clicking HERE.
For the purpose of this blog, a 'brief saga' is defined as a poem, usually narrative, but occasionally expository, that tell its story in at least 15 lines. Most commonly, the format involves three stanzas in limerick form. Your blogging team has been presenting these concoctions at the rate of one per month, mixed in with the shorter poems, wordplay and other stuff that we offer.
To access the next 'brief saga' on this blog (August 2020), proceed to 'the Aegean Cat'.
To access the most recent previous 'brief saga' (June 2020), back up to 'Life as a Loon'.
To access all of our 'brief sagas' by the year of their creation, click on your selection below.
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