Recollections of an "Unknown Enewetak Atoll Veteran" - Could be speaking of any of the 8,0
Photo: Courtesy of VFW
I was on the Island of Lojwa in 1978 as part of a Defense Nuclear Agency Clean-Up Project. We were part of a Joint Task Group Effort that included all branches of the military, The DNA, Holmes and Narver, Bechtel Corp., Atomic Energy Commission, The Department of Energy, Brookings Laboratories and many others. I was “NOT” told why I was going to Enewetak Atoll. I only had six months and eight days in the service.
They sent me there for six months. I was on the island for communications purposes. All of the communications equipment was inside of an old Japanese Bunker that was made of several feet of concrete. I lived in the bunker. Also, several feet into the ground. This was the only building on the island with an air conditioner. It was used to keep all of the electronics cool. When I arrived, I could not believe what was actually there. It was interesting, and I made the best of it. The diving was awesome.
But the islands are still unsafe. Regardless of who is reporting the information, it is still unsafe. I was pegged with 161 rads on my hands and my feet two days prior to my departure. I was told to jump in the ocean to wash it off. That is not a way to decontaminate. They gave us no protective gear while there. The dirt excavation people were given paper dust masks. That’s it. We were issued shorts, t-shirts, jungle boots, jungle hats and flea powder. What a joke. The dome has cracks in it now from sub-par concrete mixes, and the island will never be safe.
Seawater does not eliminate radiation. It is still there. It merely dissipates due to so much water and currents in our oceans. It has been spread worldwide. There is evidence of radiation in the lagoon, as well as several islands. The soil that was scraped off the top of the islands and put into the dome, was replaced by soil that was brought in from the Nevada Test Site. Amazing. I was on the second island from Runit. There were three before the blast. A lot of the sea life is still showing signs of heavy radiation levels.
As well as, Also the trees, coconuts and coconut crabs are still unsafe. The Islanders have agreed with the U.S. to not eat these items. The water table is in question. There were reports of fly-overs with biological weapons, and post Vietnam disposal of Agent Orange. There were many (leaky) storage barrels on several of the atolls nearby. I could swim easily to Runit. And, the government still claimed it was safe. Today, there are many of us that have been diagnosed with many Exposure related diseases. Mine was Colon Cancer Stage 3-C. I was told that I caught my cancer from my mother.
There was no evidence of anyone in my family ever having cancer.
The V.A. accepted all responsibility for the surgery, all of the chemo and all of the additional necessities from residual care. However, they have denied me benefits and refuse to list me as a disabled veteran. Even though I suffer from so many things as a result of my exposure. I am unable to work, and it has been devastating to my family. We were told on the day we left, that they would see us again in thirty years. And they did! I could continue on about horror stories. But there were also some very good times while I was there. We were also awarded a Humanitarian Awards for our participation.
Many of us never received our awards and just found out by chance online. Now we have to prove to the government that we were there. They have all of our records. All of my medical records were blank when I left the military. All they had in my file was my shot record and my regular annual physicals. That’s it. The islands had no growth on them at all. Vast wasteland when I arrived. The military planted trees, that you can see from Google Earth. They are in a grid pattern. On the Southeastern side of the atoll, Google has blocked out some of the islands.
Shortly before the blackout, I noticed that there was something being built underwater at the northern tip of the island. Within a month, an Iraqi missile was intercepted from somewhere in the south pacific. Anything else you want to know, feel free to ask. I will check back periodically. I just wish someone high up in government or the press would read this. Like I previously stated, there are many of us and we are getting no help with benefits. It is not ever going to be a destination spot. And those of you that believe in Nuclear power, they haven’t perfected it yet, made it safe yet, and dispose of spent material safely. Radiation is forever. I know from a first hand perspective.
Written by an Unknown "Enewetak Atoll Survivor"
Note: During the three-year, $100 million cleanup process, the military mixed more than 111,000 cubic yards (85,000 m3) of contaminated soil and debris from the various islands with Portland cement and buried it in an atomic blast crater on the northern end of the atoll’s Runit Island. The material was placed in the 30-foot (9.1 m) deep, 350-foot (110 m) wide crater created by the May 5, 1958, “Cactus” nuclear weapons test.
A dome composed of 358 concrete panels, each 18 inches (46 cm) thick, was constructed over the material. The final cost of the cleanup project was $239 million. The United States government declared the southern and western islands in the atoll safe for habitation in 1980, and residents of Enewetak returned that same year. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enewetak_Atoll
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