Explore America's superior nuclear bomb shelter

In 1959, the US secretly started construction of a nuclear bomb shelter deep in the ground in the city of White Sulfur Springs, western Virginia.

By 1961, this secret work was completed, with a capacity of up to thousands of people. Especially, this cellar was built with the purpose of protecting the weak against the risk of nuclear attack; but in fact, since its construction, its use is not different from a storage .

'We own a nuclear bomb and they have a bomb like that. We built a bigger bomb and they did the same thing. It is true that the two opponents are on equal footing. ' That's the way Americans commented on the early days of the Cold War, when the US and the Soviet Union were always in a position to destroy each other with atomic bombs and then a hydrogen bomb.

Construction site.

This is a frightening moment for the people of the two countries and many Americans have underground tunnels in the hope that the cellar will protect them in the event of a nuclear war. The most prominent of these are secret bunkers built beneath the luxurious Greenbrier hotel in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia state - a large shelter designed to accommodate the entire Parliament, comprising 100 seniors. MPs, 435 senators and about 500 service personnel, in case of being attacked by thermonuclear bombs.

The initiation of this special cellar began when President Dwight D. Eisenhower summoned Congressional leaders to a secret meeting at the White House. He urged key figures in Parliament - House Speaker Sam Rayburn and leader of the majority in Senndon Johnson Senate, as well as leaders of the minority in the House and Senate - to build National Assembly protection plan in case of a nuclear attack. The United States has built secret bunkers for the President and the Supreme Court, and the Constitution stipulates that the legislative branch is also responsible for maintaining what military planners call 'continued existence. government'. So it is not surprising that Congress leaders agreed and began to find a place to build a nuclear bomb shelter.

West Virginia's wing of Greenbrier Hotel.

Nobody knows exactly why leaders choose Greenbrier to build this bunker, but that choice is reasonable. The hotel is close to Washington but not too close (about five hours by car or train) and surrounded by mountains. These mountains can prevent radioactive clouds from drifting from the capital in case the capital is attacked. From here, winds will also blow in the west and southwest toward Washington. Moreover, Greenbrier is a familiar vacation destination with many politicians. They often come here to play golf and meet wealthy benefactors. And the federal government has long collaborated with this hotel, which was a military hospital during World War II.

'What made Greenbrier selected? Is the President like golf courses? ' . It was a mixed humor question but there was a bit of truth in it. US President Eisenhower really loved golfing at Greenbrier. In March 1956, at a summit with the leaders of the countries there, he had a meeting with Walter J. Touhy, director of C&O Railway, which owns this hotel. On March 28, 1956, the day that Eisenhower left Greenbrier after the meeting, four leaders in Congress sent Touhy a letter with the content: 'This letter introduces Mr. George Stewart, the White House architect, came to consult with him on a number of issues of vital importance to the US Congress. We, the undersigned, representing the US Congress leader, will be very grateful for your cooperation. '

Hospital with 12 beds.

The letter contained only two ambiguous sentences that were the only document showing the connection between Congress and the secret bunker in Greenbrier. Soon, the White House architect carefully selected a team to do the design and construction of a huge underground project for the National Assembly. This secret campaign was changed several times: first as 'Project X', then 'Casper Project' and finally ' Greek Island Project'. The investment for this project is about 14 million USD, secretly transferred to not only the hotel, but also the company that owns it, C&O Railway. The company works as a cargo carrier for the US military.

Of course, C&O Railway cannot openly build this bunker but must cover the people 's table with a public building. Accordingly, in 1957, Greenbrier announced plans to build a new building next to the main building. This building includes living rooms, a large display area and an indoor entertainment area. In 1959, construction began with digging deep into the ground. This intrigues the locals, especially when they see construction workers dig a 'giant hole'. Indeed, that is the biggest hole they have ever seen so far.

Soon, contractors began pumping large quantities of concrete there - 50,000 tons - enough to build walls with thicknesses of 90cm to 150cm. The entire construction site was covered by a high fence to avoid prying eyes. The workers built 153 rooms, including 18 dormitories, a 12-bed hospital, a power plant, a studio and private rooms for the House and Senate. The total construction area of ​​these two underground floors is 34,137m ² . Above the bunker, the workers put a 6m thick layer of ground. Later, they built a hotel on the west side of Virginia, a building with 88 guest rooms and a large display stand used to hold trade shows. This is the work to cover everyone's eyes on the 'giant hole'.

"It is not feasible for MPs to move to the secret bunker ," said Ted Gup, a former Washington Post correspondent who revealed the bunker secret in Greenbrier in 1992. 'The United States cannot move Congress but the Soviet Union does not know. And if the Soviet Union knew that Congress had withdrawn from the capital, they had reason to believe that the US might not wait for an attack but instead would preemptively strike. Therefore, the evacuation of the National Assembly will be seen as an American act of provoking the Soviet Union. '

External communication systems.

'The act of moving Congress away from Washington would be a sign to the Soviet Union about an imminent war , ' Greenbrier Conte historian also shared with Ted Gup.

In other words, bunkers were built to help Congress avoid a nuclear attack but Congress could not move to the bunker because that could lead to a nuclear attack. This is a paradox and it explains why this secret bunker has never been used. Congress cannot go there before an attack without causing doubts about the intentions of the United States. If Congress waits after a new nuclear attack has occurred, then it is impossible to keep up because at that time, MPs may have . melted into ash.

'Is building this cellar a right decision?' Many American historians still ask this question. Indeed, since the work was revealed so far, Americans have been constantly discussing the purpose of this particular cellar.

Perhaps the fact has taught American congressional leaders that this bunker 'cannot be put to use'. But that is not the reason for closing the cellar. It remained active for the next 30 years, being constantly maintained and maintained by the staff of a 'team' company. Meanwhile, hotel leader Greenbrier said that the work of Forsythe workers was hired to repair hotel cameras. In fact, these workers have repaired television sets, but the time to fix the television is less, and the time to maintain the sophisticated equipment inside the bunker (including communication equipment and encryption) so much. Of course, the cost of maintaining bunkers is kept confidential, but Conte historian estimates, the cost is more than $ 1 million per year.

Deckke is now a tourist attraction.

In 1991, the Soviet Union disintegrated and the Cold War ended. By that time, Ted Gup, Washington Post's investigative reporter, had heard of it as well as viewed photos of the bunker at Greenbrier. He said: 'My sources are security workers who will never share information with me if they think the facility is still in use'.

Gup interviewed several government officials who knew about the bunker and found that they seemed to have doubts about the existence of the cellar.'I don't really believe in the existence of this facility,' said former House Speaker Tip O'Neill. O'Neill also said that, in the event that the cellar exists, he will never move there if the country is attacked. 'I don't care about it when they tell me that my wife and children won't be with me,' he told Gup . 'Lord Jesus, do not think that I will run away and leave my wife and children. That's the craziest thing I've ever heard of, 'said Tip O'Neill.

In 1992, while Gup was preparing to write on the subject, Thomas Foley, then President of the House, called Leonard Downie, the Editor-in-Chief of the Post at that time, to the White House and asked Downie. Do not post this article.'Foley said, if we publish, you'll have to close the bunker door , ' recalls Downie. 'But Ted Gup told Congressmen who said they wouldn't go because they couldn't bring their families . To me, it seemed that posting this article would not harm security. national or social safety '.

On May 31, 1992, the Post Office published the story of Gup, 'Congress's superior bomb shelter'. Not only receiving the attention of the people in the country, the article also attracted the attention of international public opinion, causing the US Congress to immediately end the secret bunker program.

'The National Assembly is concerned that people believe that the National Assembly protects themselves and not protects people,' Conte said. 'And because it is located in Greenbrier, people will think, MPs come to a luxury resort while people are burnt to death.'

'The very existence of this project has been revealed that forced Congress to come up with a more responsible plan,' Gup said . 'It exposes an out-of-date plan and causes Congress to develop a more feasible plan'.

Currently most of the Greenbrier bunkers are being used as a record store of a large corporation. The rest is an attractive place for tourists.

Indeed, no one could imagine that a superstructure is deep in the ground, invested up to $ 14 million half a century ago, but only used for tourism and warehousing purposes!