I want to go to Mars Bluff, SC. As near as it is to Charlotte, I’ve never been there. I know, you are wondering... what is in Mars Bluff? Where is Mars Bluff? Why would you want to go there?
The name kind of sounds like an alien resort; it is not, of course, but what happened there is so, oh my gosh, interesting. Mars Bluff is a small community in Florence County, SC. On March 11, 1958, an Air Force Boeing B-47 was flying over the area with a nuclear bomb on board. Captain Koehler, the pilot, noted a fault light in the cockpit indicating an issue with the bomb’s harness. He notified Captain Kulka, navigator and bombardier, to check on the bomb. As Kulka was doing just that, he needed to steady himself and accidentally hit the emergency release (time for a dramatic pause)… and down, down, down went the bomb. It landed in, you guessed it, Mars Bluff.
The nuclear core was not on the bomb, but there was still enough explosive material to create a crater about 70 feet wide and 35 feet deep! There is a marker there and everything! When I read about this all I could say was, “Oh, my gosh”!! Of course there is more to the story and here is a link to additional information — check it out and you’ll say, “Oh, my gosh!” too.
Mars Bluff is on my 2018 list of things I am going to do. It is not a huge thing, or an enormous trip. I realize it might even be anticlimactic, but I want to go to Mars Bluff to see the crater where the nuclear bomb dropped in South Carolina. I’ll let you know when I get there.
Leave a comment and let me know what local thing you want to do in 2018!
Here is a link to pictures of Mars.