Everything was so secretive. Life was almost like living in a prison camp. We couldn't leave, couldn't telephone anyone, and our letters were censored.

The day of the actual recordings started out with an early morning thunderstorm. The storm delayed the recordings from its originally scheduled time of 4 a.m. until nearly 5:30 a.m.

Then there was a bang, and then a roar. The sound reverberated off the mountains. With the sound came the shock wave -- a high wind after the glow, almost strong enough to knock a man down.

No one knew where we were going or what was going to happen.