Hoover Dam, 1930s.
Canyon walls, 120 degrees.
Dust in the air.
Men cling to rock faces.
Sweat stings their eyes.
Heavy drills vibrate their bones.
They built it by hand.
112 workers died.
Their names mostly lost.
Today, it powers 1.3 million homes.
Every light in Vegas.
We flip a switch.
They paid in blood.
More discoveries
American Grit
In America, a lot of fathers never say “I love you.”
American Grit
She was twenty-four.
American Grit
An 18-year-old girl from New York went away to college in Chicago.
American Grit
Her parents drove her to college in the fall.
American Grit
He was arrested for drunk driving in March.
American Grit
“I’ll kill your whole f--king family. Your children, your wife, all dead.”