"Mission Survivors" - "Medical Status" - "Respect the Fallen" -Eneweta
Article written by Girard Frank Bolton, III. 1977-1979 participant with C Company and HHC S-3 (Operations) 84th Engineer Battalion (Combat Heavy) (Fwd) Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands.
We are but a few of the Survivors of the 1977-1980 Enewetak Atoll Atomic Debris Cleanup Mission in the Marshall Islands.
Our main focus is to help each other with information and moral support during challenging times.
Our secondary focus is to urge Congress to change the current laws and recognize soldiers of the cleanup mission as “veterans who participated in radiation-risk activities during active service.”
By obtaining this goal, we will be eligible to apply for funds set-aside for those who experience health complications due to radiation exposure at Enewetak Atoll.
Atomic Debris Cleanup Participants are not included in the U.S. Government’s definition because “Congress has not created any presumptions for veterans or civilians based on residual contamination of nuclear tests at Enewetak Atoll.”
We served our country by participating in the Enewetak Atoll Atomic Debris Cleanup Mission.
The Marshallese People have returned to their homeland. The U.S. Government awarded us Humanitarian Medals for our efforts and we appreciate their praise.
However, many of our survivors and their families have health challenges that are not inexpensive. The Justice Department has ruled for medical funds to be available for those who participated in radiation-risk activities during active service, but Congress has refused to include cleanup participants in that definition.
We urge our supporters to encourage their politicians to create legislation which will include us in the U.S. Government’s definition of a veteran “who participated in radiation-risk activities during active service.”
Here's a quick breakdown of some of the atomic cleanup veterans survivors roster survey questions. Keep in mind all of this information has been provided by the individuals who filled out the survey on an honor system.
Summary - Island lived on - (1) 314 Lojwa, 206 Enewetak. (2) All but 12 said they worked on islands other than Enewetak Island. (3) Health Challenges: 250 yes, 197 no. (4) VA Assistance: 141 yes, 37 pending, 192 not needed, 88 other. (5) Employed at Enewetak: 3 J-3, 6 DNA, 60 Air Force, 354 Army, 97 Navy, 4 USCG, 6 H&N, 1 Univ CA.
As of 25 March 2016, we have 342 responses to our survey.
In response to who was your employer during the Enewetak Atoll Atomic Debris Cleanup Mission the answers are as follows:
According to The Radiological Cleanup of Enewetak Atoll published by the Defense Nuclear Agency in 1981, 8,033 people were involved in the 1977 – 1980 Mission.
The response vs total participants breakdown is as follows:
282 of the 2670 Army participants responded (10.6%).
74 of the 2207 Navy participants responded (3.4%).
46 of the 740 Air Force participants responded (6.2%).
5 of the 1011 DOE & Contractor participants responded (0.5%).
0 of the 597 DOI/TTPI participants responded (0%).
8 of the 246 DNA/JTG participants responded (3.3%).
0 of the 49 Journalist participants responded (0%).
3 of the 513 Others participants responded (0.6%).
418 of the 8033 Total Participants Responded (5.2%).
In response to which island did you live on while at Enewetak Atoll, the answers are as follows:
251 lived on Enewetak Island (62%).
147 lived on Lojwa Island (38%).
A total of 408 replied to this question.
In response to the Health Challenges believed to be due to exposure to Ionized Radiation during the Mission, 348 responded.
201 claim health challenges are due to Radiation Exposure (58%).
147 claim no health challenges due to Radiation Exposure (42%).
In response to Veterans Administration Assistance Status, 352 responded.
101 reported they are receiving VA Health Assistance.
30 reported they have pending VA Health Assistance Claims.
149 reported they have no need for VA Health Assistance.
79 reported “Other” as their VA Health Assistance Status.
We appreciate each and every Atomic Cleanup Veteran who helped our readers get a clearer view of the background and current status/consequences reported by participants of our Humanitarian Mission.
You can help us change our “occupational” exposure classification to “at-risk” exposure by letting your Federal Representatives know you want them to support Hawaii’s Rep. Mark Takai’s Bill HR 3870/HR5980 Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act.
Continue to learn more about us from various resources shared by supporters and cleanup participants in future
AtomicCleanupVets.com articles. Our articles contain photographs, videos, documents and stories shared by the actual participants who cleaned radioactive contaminated soils and materials from the surface of the islands at Enewetak Atoll.
