Craig Cassel, 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 Craig Cassel

Branch: Army MOS: 12B10 Location: Lowja Year: 1979

Quote: “As bad as I wanted to leave the islands, I wanted to go back almost immediately…”

“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 first heard of the Marshall Islands and Enewetak from a Spc-4 named Daniel Carmody. He had been down there and came back and gave us a brief synopsis of his tour. It was hot, the hours were long, but the food was excellent and the Army’s shaving and boot polishing policies were pretty lax. As long as you wore your dust mask, boots and Khakis, nobody gave you any grief. I volunteered to go.”

“We were sent to Hawaii for in-processing and were billeted at Hickam Air Force Base and were bussed over to Schofield every day to process in. We took our time doing all we had to do, too so we could prolong the Hawaiian experience. In the process, we missed our original flight call for the islands. That was a big no-no. The flight master wanted to wring our necks.”

“After we got to Enewetak, there seemed something almost magical about the place, like we had stepped back in time. I don’t know, maybe I had watched too many WWII movies about the Pacific Theatre. But when we arrived, there was no mistaking who the new guys were. Lily white doesn’t even come close to describing our complexions when we were compared to the old-timers. ‘Newbie Juice’ was on the menu for quite some time to keep us all from turning lobster red.”

“I want to say that I met a lot of solid guys during my time there. I can’t say that I ever met anyone that I wanted to clobber…except this one soldier. This was a guy who was constantly getting transferred from hooch to hooch and I soon found out why. I remember one morning; it was this guy’s first night in our hooch. I woke up to him pissing beside my bunk! He climbed back up into his bunk like nothing had happened. Well, that pissed me off, to say the least and I got up and grabbed my ‘rat stick’ (a 2x2 board used for clubbing rats in the dump across the causeway). I asked him why he had done that and he denied it, told me he was tired and needed his sleep. Well, I nudged him. I didn’t hit him or whack him, mind you, but I used my ‘rat stick’ just enough to get his attention. I invited him to step outside to discuss the incident further.

He declined. Next day, our 1st-Sergeant called our hooch out on the beach for a meeting. He was torqued that several members of our hooch would jump this guy in his sleep and beat him up. Before Top went on, I interrupted him and told him the whole story, that nobody beat the guy up. Top calmed down and had our squad leader get the ‘mad pisser’ out of our hooch and secure other quarters for him. That’s the last I ever heard of him. Oh, I did wipe up the mess he left behind, with his own dirty laundry and laundry bag. That was another issue he brought up, about all of us pissing on his laundry bag….”

“I ran a sledgehammer with Roberto Reyes on the concrete forming crew on Runnit. It was tough but doable (and rewarding) work. About three weeks after my arrival down there, the 84th Engineer Battalion CSM arrived unexpectedly. I was standing at attention just outside the hot zone and he comes up to remind me of the Army regs regarding personal appearance and hygiene, most specifically shaving and a haircut. He had me sweating bullets but soon sent me on my merry way. As far as knowing about things not being ‘quite right, I knew something was off kilter with us being out there when we were never asked to turn in our film badges or pocket dosimeters.”

“As bad as I wanted to leave the islands, I wanted to go back almost immediately after I was back playing the good barracks soldier. I never got the chance though as demobilization was too far along.”

"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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