Norma Cox was born July 18, 1925, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cox attended primary and secondary school in Las Vegas, Nevada, and attended college in Long Beach, California.

Cox was affiliated with the Nevada Test Site as an Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Public Health Serice (PHS) Administrator.

Jim Hodge was born May 31, 1927 in Ashville, North Carolina. Born and raised in the South, he enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17, just as World War II was winding down. His primary job was that of a cook.