I was employed as a helicopter test pilot for a company located at the Harrisburg International Airport, Middletown, PA on 28 March 1979.  I resided at the Western end of Shopes Garden, Lower Swatara Township, Middletown, PA, the corner of Lumber Street and Greenwood Drive.

Upon arriving at work everyone was talking about “something happening” at TMI.  All seemed to know that things were amiss.  Family or friends being called into work at TMI early in the morning.  Some fellow workers drove by TMI and noticed different activities at the TMI, especially security at the plant entrance.

I knew that if there was a radiation hazard that I wanted to be upwind

I had an extensive test flight scheduled for the morning.   This was the 4th day in a row for a test flight on this aircraft, and wasn’t to be the last.

Absolutely nothing was out of the ordinary except that I made multiple checks of the wind.  I knew that if there was a radiation hazard that I wanted to be upwind from the site.  The wind was from a westerly direction which is the predominate direction for central Pennsylvania.

After preflight and another final weather (wind) check the mechanic and I began the test flight about 0900 hours (9AM).  The test flights are conducted in the immediate vicinity or solely at the Middletown airport.  But this test flight was more detailed and could not be conducted overhead the airport proper.

The appropriate tests completed at the airport proper we preceded to my York County flight test area.  Naturally our flight path took us along the west bank of the Susquehanna River.  Near the Brunner Island Power Plant we began our final flight checks a few miles to the west.  Tests complete we returned to the Susquehanna then northwest along its west bank to the airport.  Being the inquisitive sort neither the mechanic nor I observed anything out of the ordinary at TMI.  Not that we could tell but we both knew something was afoot, just didn’t know what at the time.  I guess our only observation was that the towers weren’t glowing.

The flight lasted 1.9 hours, ending just before 1100 hours (11AM).   The aircraft was readied and moved into the hangar.   The aircraft again failed its required tests.  If deficiencies are not soon corrected it is awarded the title of “Hangar Queen.”   Shortly thereafter (1115 or 1130 hours)

We were all told to leave the airport and go home.   And leave we all did in short order.

Every child stayed in a single file barely speaking

This is where my TMI 28 March 1979 recollection begins.

The home on Lumber Street was at school bus stop.  About a dozen or so kids rode the bus.  I always try to watch he students as they leave the bus and walk or play their way up Greenwood to their homes.  Always the normal playing and goofing around, some walking in pairs chatting away, some horse playing, some running and those just getting on with whatever at their own pace.  School was let out early and the bus arrived at about 1400 hrs (2PM).   Many students had been picked up by their parents.  Horseplay this time?  Not this afternoon!  Every child stayed in a single file barely speaking as they ever so slowly walked home.   Somber was already instilled in them.

Advice came from all the relatives, “Leave”, “Come stay with us”, “What’s going on”, “I heard”, etc.  We stayed.  Many didn’t.  My choice, their choice, no judgement either way.   I had heard (pure rumor?) that one family packed it up and went to relatives in Indiana or Illinois whereupon the father had a nervous breakdown.

A lady supposedly went to upstate New York and then went back home to Sweden.

“Just the facts ma’am.”

Well my just turned 8 year old son and 10 year daughter had more than a few questions why we were still there.  To this day they remember many details but absolutely no related trauma from the day.   I don’t talk about my ex but in this case I’ll just say it was her 30th birthday and suffice it to say it wasn’t her idea of a celebration.

All sorts of news was broadcast and rebroadcast.   I feel this is the greater part of my reason to stay.   The mayor of Middletown, TMI officials and Nuclear Energy officials held timely news conferences that provided easy to understand up to date news, information, assurances in an easy to understand this is what we know manner.

I listened to all very intently.  Was all known?   NO, but I felt we were getting no inflammatory, just simple statements, you be the judge information..  As Sergeant Friday would say, “Just the facts ma’am.”  Allow me to make the decision.

What was interesting was how the news conference “news” changed as it went up the ladder.  Local TV stations couldn’t be low key, seemed to have to hype it up a bit, much forgotten from what was said at the Middletown news conference that they were in attendance.  Now on to the national news broadcasts.

Where in the world did they get the information they were putting out?   Not from anything that had been put out here in Middletown.  More PURE hype, sparse on facts.  No one knew what had EXACTLY happened.  This event had never happened, all of the facts wouldn’t be known for some time.

But I felt that honest people were trying their best, giving their best answers and certainly not trying to inflame the populist.

“Oh, where the dead babies are on the street.”

I’ll now jump to 1982, near Stuttgart, Germany.

German students didn’t then have school bus systems as we do for our cupcakes.  A student either walked, got a parent ride, used public transportation or Heaven forbid, hitchhiked!  I don’t know if anything has changed.  Driving along a main side road, not the autobahn, I noticed an older student walking along in the middle of nowhere.  I stopped and offered a lift.  He, in English, accepted.  Great we’ll be able to have a nice conversation, I thought.   My German is only a passable poor.  It went like this, in English:

“Hi, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Where are you from?”

“Pennsylvania.”

“Oh, I was a high school exchange student in Chester County.”

“I thought your English was very good.  My  guess was that you had a good teacher here, but being an exchange student I’m sure helped a lot.”

“Yes, thank you, I had a very nice experience there.  Where are you from in Pennsylvania?”

“Middletown.”

And with the straightest of face, no joke or pun intended he replied, “Oh, where the dead babies are on the street.”

And now my  short commentary, “That is truly how the news travels worldwide.”

Bruce