Oliver Morgan, 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 Oliver Morgan

Branch: US Army MOS: 64C/91B “Truck driving medic” Location: Lojwa Year:1978-79

Quote: “There is definitely a cover-up. They need to acknowledge us.”

“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 of the Enewetak Cleanup Mission as “veterans 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.

“We kind of had an idea what Enewetak was going to be like: desolate, isolated, and a little about what our mission was going to be. I was just eighteen years old when I left the States and was very naive. I mean, I didn’t have a clue. Guys came in from everywhere to go down there: Kentucky, Georgia, Germany and were basically told they were going to get TDY in Hawaii. And they did: for three days and then they were shipped to Enewetak.”

“A typical day would consist of us loading up on Sally with contaminated topsoil and rock and us taking it by barge over to Runit to dump in Cactus Crater. In the process of doing all that, we had no protective gear whatsoever. And as far as the loaders and dozers and other equipment? Anywhere else, all the stuff we were using would have been red-lined. Our equipment was old. You know, we had a guy killed by a dozer because of faulty hydraulics. I was eighteen when I watched that man die; that sticks with a guy. We didn’t have any say or choice in the matter, either. I mean, it wasn’t like they were going to buy us new equipment…”

“I figured out everything wasn’t exactly as it appeared to be down there when I started getting told by NCO’s that we were essentially being used as human guinea pigs. That’s what the Air Force doctor told me. There was the whole trickle down network going on, too; ‘The coconut wireless plan.’ Those islands should never be inhabited.”

“You know, the current population of Marshallese people can’t be supported by indigenous means. And so we signed a treaty back in 1989 where we said we would treat those to people to healthcare, living accommodations, federal relief, relocation. Thousands of them have come to various locations on the mainland and live lives of relative ease. The Federal government reimburses the states for this but they can’t/won’t help us?”

“I’ve been told by the VA that they cannot find any of my service records. I’ve been made to feel like I’m one of those guys trying to steal valor. The reason why I try to be heard about this is because many of my brothers are in bad health or have died. Nobody wants to acknowledge us so basically while I’m still healthy, I want to get the word out. We don’t have the numbers like the guys coming home from war today have but that doesn’t mean we should be forgotten, either.”

“We’re all trying to get the official definition of Atomic Veteran rewritten to include our group of guys. People who have worked in Nevada, Arizona, and Tennessee…. so many others have been compensated before us and after us, but we’ve been purposefully excluded. All those people received compensation and we’ve gotten nothing.”

“We were there; we served in the 84th Engineers between 1977-1980. You know, to this day, we can go there and start talking about our tour in the Marshall Islands and they kind of look at us and be all like, “You’re one of the Enewetak Vets. Do you glow in the dark?” To our parent unit, we’re the stuff folk-lore is made of. But to our government and the VA? They refuse to even so much as acknowledge us. The Feds are still watching us, you can be sure of that, monitoring our ‘progress’ or lack thereof. The common denominator is that we all served on Lojwa. I’m not sure how many survivors are still out there, but you may bet that whenever anybody passes away, they know it.”

“Service men and women should never be used as guinea pigs. We didn’t take that oath and sign that line to be used as test subjects. Nowhere in that oath did it say we would willfully go somewhere that could cause the development of disease processes. We were young and naive men who volunteered to serve our country. We never expected or anticipated this.”

“Do you know why it was the military who did this cleanup job? Back in 1974, a civilian contractor’s lawyer read over the job contracts and about the potential future health repercussions….those lawyers shut it down. That’s why the military took the job, and you know, as members of the military, we aren’t allowed to sue the federal government. The 84th Engineers took on the responsibility because no contractors would.”

“Everything we did there was questionable. We were ill-equipped, to say the least.” "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