Jim Diemer, 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 Jim Diemer

Branch: Navy Rating: Boatswains Mate 1st Cls Location: Lowja Year: 1978-79

Quote: “As far as what made me decide to share my experiences about Enewetak now, I was looking to find out if anybody else was having the same health problems as I have had. I’d had the foresight to make copies of all my service medical records."

“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’d been through all the islands down in the South Pacific. I didn’t know anything about Enewetak but I knew about Bikini (Atoll.) When I was on ships, we used to go deliver stuff down on all those islands but Bikini was off limits. At one time, there was word about a mass cleanup but that never happened. The islands were too hot (radioactive.) When we eventually did get sent down there, I asked our commanding officer about Cesium-235 (radioactive isotope with a half-life of 10,000 years.) I was told the island was no longer hot. One time, I took some guys out to one of the islands (Japtan) we had just cleaned up. These guys were all dressed in contamination suits complete with face masks and Geiger counters and there I was just in shorts, shower shoes and a paper mask looking at all of them like, ‘What the heck?’”

“I ran a warping tug, pushing trucks full of contaminated dirt every day. I had a RAD badge every once in a while, that is, when they decided to give them to us and no shirt, just shower shoes…and no place to get out of the sun. (When I came home, I was so dark that my ex-wife didn’t even recognize me at the airport.) Most of the guys down there got so dark everywhere except their feet where they had boots on. They called them Lowja socks.”

“I think I knew immediately that things weren’t quite what they seemed but there was no way to complain. I mean, we were all right there. I couldn’t voice my opinion to anybody because we were all doing the same thing. It was so hot down there. There was no air conditioning. Enewetak had big barracks that were air-conditioned but most of the time, my job had me out in the middle of a lagoon on a boat with no shade. After one of the typhoons that went through, we all had to hang at those barracks because that storm did some major damage. I remember eating bologna and cheese sandwiches for two weeks after that.”

“As far as what made me decide to share my experiences about Enewetak now, I was looking to find out if anybody else was having the same health problems as I have had. I’d had the foresight to make copies of all my service medical records. That’s how I got the VA to do anything to help me. I still had to get a Congressman involved to help me out. I have a claim in but haven’t heard anything back.” Mr. Diemer paused in thought. “I’ve developed Type II diabetes but back in early 1983-84 was when I really started having problems. I’ve had a section of my colon removed, have had multiple operations to remove growths that nobody knows where they come from. I haven’t had any cancers though, although when I returned from Enewetak I had to have some x-rays and I lit up the machine...”

“My health issues are my biggest problem, but some of my brothers have conditions worse than mine. My problems aren’t like what they have. The government just screwed them/us big time; hopefully the government will belly up and give us the benefits we deserve. It’s not about the money; it’s about what they did to us. Maybe an apology would be appropriate. ‘We’re sorry we sent you there.’” The government lied, they will always lie, but they need to take care of us so we don’t have to bear the burden from our own pockets. I’m not talking just about Enewetak vets….I’m talking about all vets. I’m lucky that I am retired military. I’m lucky that I get all my health matters taken care of.”

“It’s been so long since we were down at Enewetak but I still have a lot of bad feelings about what happened and why. The government is never going to tell us the whole truth. We need to demand more information about why we were sent down there. I mean, I went to Viet Nam and I knew why we were sent, but nobody has ever told us the entire truth about Enewetak. The government sends troops to all these places to do things and then they don’t react on what happens to their vets. We all volunteered, we all raised our hands to protect and defend and the president raised his hand to protect and defend but in most cases those guys in Washington, their only worries have been about getting re-elected.”

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