Allan White, Enewetak Atoll (1978) 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 Veteran 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 Allan White

Branch: Air Force AFSC: APO Postmaster Location: Enewetak Year: 1978-79

Quote: “The days after typhoon Alice at Enewetak served as a baseline for the definition of what a bad day could be.”

“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.

“”I knew a little bit about Enewetak before going down there. The Air Force had a magazine at the time called; “Airmen” and I’d read a story in it entitled ‘RecoveringParadise Lost’. Along with that article were pictures of operators doing their thing in full decon suits. The article talked about the military’s mission and what the Air Force’s part in all that was. I remember thinking, ‘Those poor guys… sure am glad I’m not there.’ It wasn’t long after that when I received orders for TDY. I was going to Enewetak. The thought of going out to this remote location wasn’t very appealing. That article had given me some sense of what I was walking into.” Mr. White paused briefly in his thoughts. “I don’t know if that heads-up was good or bad though. Maybe it would have been better had I went down there without any prior knowledge.

Enewetak was a place flat-out in the middle of nowhere. I remember having told my father when I enlisted in the military that I wanted to go to places where every Tom, Dick, and Harry didn’t go. To that end I was successful.”

“Arriving at Enewetak was a unique experience, to be sure. Guys watching us disembark were shouting “Newbie! Newbie!” At a briefing in the open air chapel, we were told any radiation exposure we’d get was only the equivalent of what you’d expect from a chest x-ray. I had no protective gear. Come to think of it, I never wore any kind of dosimeter or other radiation measuring device. I don’t recall seeing much of anybody wearing them or safety gear beyond boots and gloves. When our tour was over and we were getting ready to leave Enewetak, I never had to give the gallon urine sample everybody talks about and never gave any blood.”

“I was basically the guy running the small APO at Enewetak, just like a mailman and as the mailman. We were in a sucky environment, very isolated but my job kept me busy. All the equipment down there was old and decrepit, but I had a mail truck that I’d use for picking up the mail from the in-coming planes. That truck had a big rusted hole in the top of it. Being in the tropics, it seemed like it rained every night down there, so most mornings, I’d get an extra shower when I hopped into my truck from the rain the night before. Being the mailman meant I had to make deliveries on many of the other islands as well via helicopter. Other than the MARS guys, I was the connection to the outside world. Everybody liked the mail man.”

“One of the civilian contractors, Holmes and Narver, had hired a lot of guys from the Philippines. One thing I remember working at the post office was those guys lining up by the droves to make out US money orders to send money back home to their families. I wonder about their health and what troubles they may be encountering.“

“I was 22-years old back then, flying around in helicopters, making deliveries and running an APO. It was a unique experience and while I was there, I never felt I needed to be concerned for my health.

I never thought about the potential for any problems until conversations started appearing on social media. That’s when I started learning about all these other guys who had served down there who were now developing different health problems. At this time, I don’t have any known radiation driven issues but years ago, I had some skin issues that my doctor asked me about. This might be worth mentioning too; we had a Lt. Colonel (Paul Crandall) (Photo) who died of some type of cancer. I have no idea if it was related to Enewetak or not.”

“This group is the only reason why I joined Facebook. Last year, I was on the computer and discovered a few things on line about Enewetak. Not many people have that particular experience, and even fewer Air Force vets. I found it fascinating to be able to talk with others who’d been there, guys who shared the Enewetak experience. Many of the pictures people have posted evoked a lot of memories. My main interest in the website was more to solidify my own recollections about my experience rather than delve into health issues.”

“I read how a lot of people are having problems proving they were ever sent to Enewetak; some have never received their humanitarian award. I’m fortunate in that my DD214 actually shows that I was there. I still have my orders and travel voucher, too which I think is important as far as proof. Travel orders can be changed; vouchers not so much. It proves I actually went, so I know somebody somewhere knows I was there.”

“Being stationed in that small of a place really made you take pause, made you stop and think, particularly when the weather turned bad. (Think hurricanes.) People have a hard time believing we did what we did in such a tiny, tiny place. There was lots of boredom and lots of ‘hurry up and wait’ to contend with. Despite everything, I’d like to go back for just one day. I’d like to see how things turned out, what life is like on Enewetak. I don’t want to go back for six months but I’d like to see the fruits of our labor. It definitely was one of those places ‘you can’t get to from here.’”

“I think for me, part of everything I experienced about that tour would be the fact that Enewetak served for me as a baseline for what a bad day could be. That baseline was established after Typhoon Alice made landfall at Enewetak. I have a picture of Enewetak Atoll taken from an Army chopper and one of myself sitting on my desk today. If I’m having a bad day, I can look at those pictures and think, ‘You’ve had worse ones.” If I could share a message with the rest of the world about all of that, I would try to educate people about all the what, when, and where's of Enewetak. Nobody knows about us being there. There aren’t a whole lot of us who were there, so we don’t have the numbers or the ability to get the exposure or recognition such as that experienced by those who were impacted by Agent Orange in Vietnam.”

"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.”

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