Blair Rockefeller, Enewetak Atoll (1977) Glimmer of Lights

Introducing a series of narrative articles about the Atomic Cleanup Veterans of Enewetak Atoll.

The following are first-hand accounts told by comparatively few survivors of the Enewetak Atoll Atomic Debris Cleanup Mission, Marshall Islands; a mission that took place from 1977-1980. Their stories appear as told to T-M Fitzgerald(published author, veteran, veteran advocate) because theirs are tales needing to be known.

Read - H.R. 5980: Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act

Introduction: “Where in the World is Enewetak?”

Enewetak is just one of many atolls and islands in the Pacific Ocean’s Marshall Island chain. Located about 2,365 nautical miles SW of Hawaii (just north of the equator), the Marshall Islands were once a major testing ground for nuclear weapons post WWII. This island chain is also home to the project called Cactus Dome, a 350’- wide blast crater located at the northern end of Runit Island that has become known as the ‘Nuclear Trashcan of the Pacific.’

Between 1948-58, forty-three nuclear weapons were detonated over Enewetak and its sister islands. Among these tests were ‘Ivy Mike’ and ‘Castle Bravo’ (a device 1000X as powerful as the bomb ‘Little Boy’ which was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan post Pearl Harbor.)

In 1977, a coalition of United States military forces and civilian support teams were sanctioned to ‘clean’ the islands of residual radioactive fallout. Men, many who were mere teenagers back in the day, were tasked with cleaning the contaminated fallout from the nuclear testing that occurred throughout the previous three decades. Keep in mind, that as recent as 2012, the United Nations reported that the cumulative effects from all that nuclear testing had effectively caused near-irreversible environmental contamination. There was a problem beginning in 1977 and currently, effects from that exposure have begun to manifest, taking toll on many surviving Enewetak vets and contractors today. Four decades later, survivors are telling their stories because the world needs to know.

Personal story by Blair E. Rockefeller

Branch: Army MOS: 12B Location: Lowja Year: 1977-78

Quote: “For myself and for all of my brothers, we need to be taken care of.”

“I am but one of a few of the survivors of the 1977-1980 Enewetak Atoll Atomic Debris Cleanup Mission that took place in the Marshall Islands. A major focus of this group has been to help one another with information and moral support during some of the challenging times we’ve encountered following our time in service at Enewetak."

A secondary focus/goal is to urge Congress to change current law and recognize Cold War Era soldiers and contractors of the Enewetak Cleanup Mission as “veterans and workers who participated in radiation-risk activities during active service.”

"By obtaining their second goal, individuals experiencing health complications resulting from radiation exposure at Enewetak Atoll will be eligible to apply for funds that have previously been set-aside for other Atomic Veterans who have already been recognized and acknowledged for their service.

It was around the end of 1977, beginning of 1978 when I was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky. At the time, I couldn’t even begin to tell you how I’d heard about Lowja or Enewetak but I volunteered to go down to the Marshall Islands.

We worked six days a week, had Sundays off. The food that the civilian chefs cooked for us was just so fantastic. I remember going to a USO show one time when we were there. What started this whole thing and had me starting to check things out was one of those memes that popped up on Facebook that said, ‘If you’ve ever done this, then you might be a veteran.’ It was a picture of a guy standing at a burn barrel. That picture made me think of my time on Lojwa. I re-enlisted after I went to the Marshall Islands and ended up in Hawaii. Hawaii was beautiful but it didn’t compare at all.

We’d get up in the morning, go eat breakfast, and then get on one of the boats and be ferried out to the islands. Of course, you know with those big boats you couldn’t get in real close to the shore but we’d get about fifty feet in and we’d walk in ankle deep water the rest of the way up to the shore. We’d spend a couple hours walking around picking up stuff and put it on the trucks that dumped everything into the crater. The rest of the time we were out there, we’d go snorkeling. About halfway through all that though, they decided we needed security at night. So myself and another guy were selected to drive around the island at night in a jeep.

When we’d go out to an atoll, I vaguely remember how we’d send a special team in first. They’d be the guys wearing the banana suits with a hood that had a mask and little air conditioner thing on it. I guess they went in first to check things out. We’d go in afterward but we didn’t wear any protective equipment. We might have had those little decimeter badges while we were down there but as far as how often did we turn them in to be read? We’re talking about almost forty years ago. I can’t remember the names of any of the guys I worked with much less what we did with those badges. It’s peculiar though because I hadn’t thought about the Marshall Islands for a long time.

I never suspected anything was wrong until I found the group and saw all the information about how so many people have died. It made me think of something we were told while working down there. The higher ups told us one time that when we went through the yellow tape into the hot areas on the island for the cleanup, we couldn’t wear certain types of watches. You know the kind that glowed in the dark? The small amount of radiation in the paint on those things would set the Geiger counters off. They made it sound like the radiation out there was so low-level that it was nothing at all so I never thought about it or realized that it was at dangerous levels until I found the Facebook site.

I have fond memories of my time there. I decided to share my experiences based on what’s happening right now with so many others. It was really a brotherhood, all of us there. We did something that only a small group (relatively speaking) did, I mean, it was just such a unique experience. There weren’t a lot of us that did it. I remember I got this crazy certificate for serving down there; it was a beautiful little piece of paper really. I really wish I still had it. I used to have a picture of me and a few other guys who lived in the huts down there with. I’ve gone through the pictures the other guys have posted. All that’s done so far is remind me of how much I’ve forgotten.

We went down there to do a cleanup project to try and give those islands back to the Marshallese. We need to be recognized for that. If we come down with health problems, our government needs to take care of us. I didn’t even know until about a week ago that all of this was going on with so many guys who served there. I had no idea at all. I mean, I don’t even have my DD214 anymore. I don’t know whether the time I served there will be documented on it or not. Maybe it’s just the fact that I haven’t had any ill-effects yet but at this point in time, I still have to say that I’m glad I went. I had a good time. I never thought about radiation causing any of my health issues up to now. But if I develop any ill-effects from this, I need to know that my military and the VA are going to take care of me. For myself and for all of my brothers, we need to be taken care of.

The primary focus for this group is to urge Congress to change legislation and recognize soldiers of this seemingly forgotten cleanup mission as “veterans who participated in radiation-risk activities during active service.”

Follow our cause: Atomic Veterans of Enewetak Atoll