Bravo 20: The
Bombing of the American West
(1990) by Richard Misrach with
Myriam Weisang Misrach
Richard Misrach is a landscape photographer (known for
highly acclaimed Desert Cantos) and Myriam Weisang
Misrach is a freelance writer for SF Examiner and Mother
Jones. His 100+ page book, about a third of which are
striking color portraits of what the Navy did starting in
1952:
"... illegally testing high-explosive bombs on an
enormous expanse of public land near Fallon, Nevada, land
long sacred to the Northern Paiute Indians, who called it
the 'Source of Creation.' The Navy called it 'Bravo 20.'
... With the help of local residents, award-winning
landscape photographer Richard Misrach gained access to
the area using an 1872 mining law to claim a tract of
land at the heart of the bombing range... Despite initial
fears of unexploded bombs or wayward Navy bombers,
Misrach 'worked his claim' and his camera for the next
eighteen months... breathtaking collection of full-color
photographs--and a remarkable proposal for America's
first environmental memorial: Bravo 20 National Park....
Myriam Weisang Misrach documents the disturbing history
of widespread military expansionism in the American west.
As they built faster jets and bigger bombs, the Navy, Air
Force, and Army claimed larger and larger test sites.
Through extensive research, firsthand exploration, and
interviews with military brass and area residents, the
Misrachs uncover a strange story of sonic booms, dead
cattle, and military control of over 70 percent of
Nevada's air space.... Bravo 20 concludes with Richard
Misrach's provocative proposal for reclaiming the land as
a national park and America's first environmental
memorial. Detailed architectural drawings illustrate the
proposal... 'The landscape,' Misrach writes in the
preface, 'boasted the classic beauty characteristic of
the desert. It was also the most graphically ravaged
environment I had ever seen... The landscape of Lone Rock
is a graphic reminder of our failing stewardship of this
earth. It should be returned to the public domain for all
to see."
Page 95: "On 6 November 2001 the Navy's 15-year
withdrawal of Bravo 20 expires. On that date, Congress
will have the opportunity to return the land to the
public domain, from which it was unlawfully confiscated,
and transform the 64 square miles of bombing range into
America's first environmental memorial:
More of the book's info is on the following web site
and links.
Bravo 20 National
Park
<http://www.rama-usa.org/bravo20/navy1.htm>
Bravo 20 National Park
Visitors Tour
<http://www.rama-usa.org/bravo20/contents.htm>