Ernest David, Enewetak Atoll (1979) 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 Ernest Davis

Branch: Army MOS: 75B Admin Spec Location: Enewetak, Lowja Year: 79-80

Quote: “We need to be compensated for the things that we’ve suffered...I think that somebody really needs to go and take a look at that, and stop this madness of denial.”

“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.

When asked about what he knew about his destination or the mission on the Marshall Islands prior to his deployment, Ernest Davis was quick to respond. “Nothing. I was told I was going to the Rock, that I couldn’t get out of it and that was it. ‘They need another clerk down there and you’re it so you go and get ready. You’re going to the Rock.’ I had never heard of the Marshall Islands before that, never even knew they existed. I knew nothing whatsoever about radiation or anything else going on down there. As far as I knew, I was just a support troop for a deployment.”

In speaking with other Atomic Cleanup Veterans who served in the Marshall Islands, it was noticed how many had trained for one occupational specialty but performed another when they arrived on Enewetak and Lowja. When Mr. Davis was asked about his MOS and service on the islands, this was his response. “For the most part, I was a driver for dignitaries but I pretty much did everything that had to do with personnel; in-processing and out-processing, records, sample processing, mail, throwing records, securing classified documents….all that stuff. Basically whatever needed doing, I made sure it was done.”

“I knew something wasn’t quite right about the Rock when some of the guys who had been deployed before me came back and talked about how Geiger counters would start going off and they were told to ‘just be quiet about it’. While I was down there, I sort of adopted this old tom cat. He was like my pet; kept me halfway sane. When my time on the Rock was up, I was told I couldn’t take him back to Hawaii because of possible radiation. I had to leave him…”

“People just didn’t believe Enewetak existed. The more I talked about it, the less they seemed to believe. Later on, after I finished my deployment down there, (on the Rock) I was eventually stationed in Germany. I started wondering about who else out there might have served down there and eventually, I happened to run across a few other guys who’d been there.”

“If there was a message I could share with the rest of the country, I would tell them this. My government lied. When we were down there on the Marshall Islands, they had us exposed to all kinds of radioactive stuff and they lied to us about it. They lied to the Marshallese who are also still suffering from this. The gov’t cares nothing about us or what it did to anybody. The Marshallese people are being taken care of for all their cancers…getting all the care and compensation they need, but not one vet (in our group) has been able to get care regarding their health after having served in the islands.”

“We need to be compensated for the things that we’ve suffered. What the American Government is doing is saying that they can’t tie in any of our current health issues, conditions or concerns with information regarding the radiation we were all exposure to on one level or another. This goes way back. It’s not just us now. They even need to compensate the families of vets who served down there and have since passed away. I think that somebody really needs to go and take a look at that, and stop this madness of denial.”

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