Dr. Richard L. Walker
Colonel, USAF (retired)

Recognizing 75 Years of Nuclear Deterrence
A group of individuals (both men and women) all played a significant role in maintaining Nuclear Deterrence over the past 75 years. Not just the obvious military personnel who served as crews of the nuclear deterrence forces (bombers, ICBM silos and nuclear submarines, as well as tactical weapon platforms) but also those who provided supporting efforts in the production of these forces, the training needed, and, like me, the war planning for our nuclear forces.
-– Col Richard L Walker, USAF (retired)
4 Aug 2020
'Fat Man' was dropped from the B-29 bomber Bockscar, detonating at 11:02 AM, at an altitude of about 1,650 feet (500 m) above Nagasaki. An estimated 39,000 people were killed outright by the bombing; a further 25,000 were injured.

Dick was my friend and mentor, helping me navigate my mother's passing, as well as the depths of MDNTs politics. We bonded over Lionel trains, and we spent many days together going to train shows and railroad museums. We also celebrated his 80th birthday in Oak Ridge, Tenn, where we went to view the eclipse. When our fellow railfan Charles Mannix moved to Arizona, Dick bade him farewell at the train station, and when we went to his memorial service, we rode the Chama narrow gauge railroad in his memory.