Matt "Hawk" Hawkins, 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 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 Matt "Hawk" Hawkins

Branch: Army MOS: 12B10 Location: Runit Year: 1978

Quote: “We did our job and now we’re fighting a losing battle…”

“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.

“What did I know about the islands before I went? I knew it was a bad deal. When I received my traveling orders, I read the description about where I was going and knew it was a place I didn’t want to be. Short of doing something to get court-martialed for though, there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Some people didn’t get it, I don’t think, you know? All that nuclear testing that had happened over there all those years before? When we got down there, we had no contact with the outside world. If you ever wanted to call anybody back in the States, you had to use the MARS radio network. I stayed from April until September then it was back to Ft. Riley for me.”

“Actually, the first two weeks was us basically us just getting acclimated to the heat. You have to remember where we were coming in from: April in Kansas is cold. We stopped in Hawaii before we hit Enewetak and the weather there was pretty nice, especially after leaving the cold of Kansas. I figured, ‘No problem. I can handle this.’ Then we hit the islands. We were right there at the equator. I want to say that when we arrived, the temperature was about 120 F. What a shocker. I couldn’t breathe.”

“A typical day went something like this: you’d get up, have chow, then get on the boats and go out to whatever island you were going to for the day. We’d work 12-hours, spend time waiting for the return boat that’d pick us up, then go eat dinner, maybe catch a movie and finally go to bed.”

“One night after we’d been over to the club, there was a group of about 4-5 of us out on the causeway. Two guys who were pulling security and were out riding around in a jeep confronted us. Well, there were some words back and forth and what ended up happening was my group of guys all jumped off the causeway to get away from the guys in the jeep. We swam back to shore and went back to hooches. The next morning, our company commander spoke to the guys who went swimming the night before. “We know who you are.” He just wanted to let us know there had been a 10ft shark caught out there. “No more swimming after dark.”

“Back in Kansas, I was in the Bailey Bridge Unit. I was a 12B in a 12C unit which was the 55th Engineers attached to First Division at Ft. Riley (The ‘Big Red One’). We did a lot of post engineer work where I usually drove a 5-ton dump truck for most jobs. When I first got down to the Marshall Islands, I worked demolition mainly on the northern islands, made a few trips on the LARCs carrying contaminated soil for disposal. After my demolition work, that’s when I got the cement job and ended up on Runit for the last three months of my tour doing what you call ‘bag buster’ or ‘debagging’ work. I was one of the guys who tore open the bags of concrete mix we needed for capping the Dome.”

“Why did I feel like sharing my experiences? I guess I never thought much about it until I saw the Facebook page. It’s been a long time since we were all there. To tell you the truth, I never talked about being there or about what we did because nobody really cared. We worked in the Marshall Islands during a time of peace. I have health issues now and yes, I’m concerned. I don’t know if any of it comes from being down there or not. Ever since my twenties, I’ve had pains in my lungs that they’re calling chronic bronchitis. I have diabetes, as well. Whenever I’ve been admitted to the hospital for observation, they never find anything. I do a lot of thinking about things. What’s going to happen further down the road?”

“We’re veterans just like everybody else. We did our job and now we’re fighting another battle, one for our lives.”

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