Brian Mummert, 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 Brian Mummert

Branch: Army MOS: 62E10 Location: Lojwa Year: 1979

Quote: “We did what we were asked to do…”

“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.

”The military took volunteers from all stateside units….I was sort of atypical: just went out and did my job. Here today, I’ve been fortunate with my whole experience of serving down there and still have my health.”

“What did I know before I went to Enewetak? We were told volunteers were needed for a cleanup mission at a nuclear test site. We’d already had a person down there so the location and mission wasn’t completely foreign to me. We were told we’d be safe and so away we went. There wasn’t any orientation until we arrived and even then, all we had to do was sit and watch movies about the nuclear blasts that had taken place there previously and about the different kinds of radiation there were. It wasn’t until after we had gotten there that I realized all the safety gear we needed wasn’t going to be available.”

“I did wear the banana suit, you know, right down to the air purifying respirator but that was only when I was operating the equipment. I didn’t have that thing on 24/7.” Mr. Mummert paused before continuing. “They had about half of the island marked off. Half was considered ‘hot’/contaminated and the other half was ‘clean’. The line of demarcation wasn’t at all accurate though. Some people didn’t have access to all the safety equipment that I had.”

“We had a lieutenant who would come in at times to tell us to move some particularly ‘hot’ loads as fast as we could. So in some respects, I suppose I was safe but we were always subjected to dust blowing around everywhere. That line of demarcation was only there in theory, essentially. You’d come off site, cross the decon line and get tested. If you were ‘hot’ they’d tell you to go wash off in the lagoon. We tried to follow protocol but you knew we still weren’t completely safe.”

“Things were a whole lot different once we got down there then what they said they were going to be like back stateside. It was always in the back of your mind that something wasn’t quite right. Never mind all the ingestion/inhalation of dust. The place was so deceiving because it was so beautiful, so pristine. You were almost transfixed by what you could see. I was lucky with the job I had but I was still out there day in and day out just like everybody else.”

“I still have all of my paperwork documenting the fact that I was there. I have all my orders, even earned an Army Commendation medal. You know, It’s all about that whole post-Vietnam/Cold War era thing. We weren’t involved in a physical war so most people don’t want to acknowledge we ever existed. Why the government doesn’t want to give us the designation….” Mummert paused. “I just don’t know. This may sound kind of strange, but you know, I’d be up for going back over, sure. But in the here and now, I am concerned about the lack of responding survivors. People can sign up on Facebook or on the website that we’ve established but….I’m hoping other people hear about us. I know there are more survivors out there who haven’t signed up yet or are just shying away from computers in general. But Enewetak was our job, an actual mission that we completed with the best of our ability. We need to find everybody…”

“I would like to let the world know that what we did over there in 1977-1980 was an honorable and noble thing. We’re still here and we want to be recognized for what we did. We were a group of young guys who did their duty and cleaned up islands we as a country contaminated with all of that nuclear testing. Today, there are many of us who have come down with health issues who need help in restoring our good health. Congress needs to adjust the official definition and include/acknowledge us for what we did out there. That’s all this group is asking for: acknowledgement.”

"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