Richard Mingus | |
|---|---|
 Mingus in 2011 | |
| Born | October 19, 1930 Ohio |
| Occupation | Security guard at the Nevada Test Site from 1957-1993. |
| Spouse | Gloria Mingus |
Richard Mingus (born October 19, 1930) worked as a security guard at the Nevada Test Site from 1957-1993. During that time he secured various parts of the base such as Area 51 and Area 13. Mingus worked on many black projects such as the U2 spy plane and dozens of atomic test detonations that occurred during the cold war. [1]
Mingus was born in 1930. He fought in the Korean War. In 1957 he worked in a restaurant in the Sands Hotel and was married to his wife Gloria. Due to problems during Gloria's pregnancy, Mingus needed a solid job with hospital benefits. He applied to work on government projects and because of his veteran status was quickly accepted into the program. [2]
Mingus was one of the first federal services security guards assigned to Area 51. Besides securing the base facility, Mingus was responsible for the daily communication into the base from the outside world. He could never identify the base over the phone or discuss what was occurring on the base. He could not confirm the presence of anyone present there. The base was simply referred to as "Delta." The phone was answered "Thirty-two thirty two." [3] [4] Mingus could not even reveal his occupation to his wife up until her death. [5]
Mingus was responsible for guarding Project AQUATONE (the U-2 spy plane project).
Mingus spent many years in the tunnels of Area 12. These tunnels were used to facilitate nuclear testing. [10]
Mingus was assigned to work with President John F. Kennedy's secret service detail when he visited the base in 1962. Kennedy visited the base as part of a space travel promotion tour. Behind the scenes, planning was underway for a nuclear-powered spaceship that could reach Mars. [11]
Mingus worked at the United States Department of Energy's emergency command center in Las Vegas on January 24, 1978 when a nuclear-powered Russian spy satellite (Cosmos 954) crashed in Canada. The top job while fielding calls at the emergency command center was to prevent Americans from panicking. All that the agency would report was that a "Space Aged Difficulty" had occurred, nothing about a nuclear-powered satellite with potential lethal fallout. [12]
In 1982 Mingus was securing an underground test at Area 6. The base had a live nuclear bomb exposed above ground. During the process of lowering the bomb underground, the base came under attack by armed combatants. Mingus was primarily responsible for coordinating the breach up through the chain of command. President Ronald Reagan was ultimately notified and the event became a significant (and secret) national security issue. Later, it was determined that the combatants were men from Wackenhut security conducting a drill. [13] [14]
As of October 2011, Mingus worked as a security guard at the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada (pictured).
In 2010 Mingus was featured on National Geographic's TV show, Area 51 Declassified.
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Groom Lake is a dry lake, also described as a salt flat, in Nevada. It is used for runways of the Nellis Bombing Range Test Site airport (KXTA). Part of the Area 51 USAF installation, it lies at an elevation of 4,409 ft (1,344 m) and is approximately 3.7 miles (6.0 km) from north to south and 3 miles (4.8 km) from east to west at its widest point, and is approximately 11.3 miles in circumference. Located within the namesake Groom Lake Valley portion of the Tonopah Basin, the lake is 25 mi (40 km) south of Rachel, Nevada.
The Nevada National Security Sites, popularized as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a reservation of the Department of Energy of the federal Government of the United States located in the southeastern portion of the Nye County in Nevada, about 65 mi (105 km) northwest of the city of Las Vegas.
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Area 51 is a secret military facility in Nevada, north of Las Vegas.
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