Blackout, seizures and then paralysis. Breathing alternating from high screeches to low gurgling as froth bubbles up from the lungs. Even with medical care within seconds of exposure to nerve agent GB at Utah’s Dugway Proving Ground, the man barely escaped death and was in a hospital for weeks.

A new document shows horrors that one Dugway medic suffered in 1952 and that other Utahns could have faced from open-air testing at Dugway during the Cold War.

In July, we celebrate our nation's independence and the hardy pioneers who settled the Salt Lake Valley. While celebrating, we should also be looking to secure the future of both our nation and our state.

Our nation faces security challenges that we must creatively work together to overcome. Chief among them is the threat posed by the spread and potential use of nuclear weapons. Republican and Democratic leaders must use every tool available to prevent the ultimate nuclear catastrophe.