Ray Hampton, 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 Ray Hampton

Branch: Army MOS: 64C10 Location: Lowja Year: 1978

Quote: “We deserve the respect of a job well done. We don’t want the money so much as the healthcare we were sup-posed to get no matter what the situation we were in. That goes for every veteran there is…not just 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 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 was stationed with the 84th Engineers right off the bat and was told that I was going to a little place down in the Pacific called the Marshall Islands. Nobody told us what we were going down there for, we just knew that we were going and we didn’t have a clue. I was in the second wave of soldiers who were sent. I guess they did tell us that it was a bomb cleanup and that we were going to go clean all the mess that had been left behind. Radiation never crossed our mind.”

“For the most part, I did the job I had been trained for out of Basic Training. Most of the time, this other guy I know, John Blackwell and I were inside concrete trucks cleaning out dried concrete. Imagine this: it was 125F outside and we were inside a metal tub with jackhammers cleaning concrete….”

“While I was on Enjebe/Janet, I was running jackhammers on the Hilton. We had to take off the top levels on account of contamination. We were up there in radiation suits running jackhammers all day long in heat you might never imagine. We had to drink as much water as we could hold in our systems. If you didn’t get enough water, you’d dehydrate and pass out.”

“When did I start to suspect something wasn’t right? Whenever they didn’t worry about RAD badges or dosimeters every day like they were supposed to do. Nose wipes? They’d do those, throw them in a box and that’d be the last we’d ever hear about them. It was like they were just going through the motions with all this stuff that was supposed to be done. You’ve seen what our uniforms of the day were; boots, cut-offs, and a Boony (hat). You know, I was a bright red-head when I left for the Rock and when I came back, I was a bleached blond. Had a real dark tan with Lowja socks, too. We had one guy who was super dark. He was getting ready to go back stateside and he came up with the bright idea of getting an all-over tan; no tan lines for the wife. He ended up with 2nd degree burns.”

“Most people don’t understand or believe the hardships all of us went through down there. I ran across this website that talked about Enewetak and hooked up with a few guys who I’d served with, guys I hadn’t talked with for over 30-40 years…”

“Before our government blasted Hiroshima, they had to know what the bombs would do. So they tested their bombs... all over and around the Marshall Islands. The 84th was called in to do the cleanup, and so we went and did it. Despite what we accomplished, a few of the islands were still considered too hot to habitat again.”

“When we pulled out of Lowja, we were supposed to take everything out that we’d put in…power plants, water treatment plants…everything. Their chief wanted everything on the land to be put back exactly as how God had provided for them in the beginning.” Mr. Hampton paused briefly. “That makes me think about this; the wild life. We saw some of the strangest things out there. I caught a square fish one day, it almost looked like a milk carton it was so square. We were told ‘Don’t mess with the coconut crabs’ but you know, they were good eatin’. We fished a lot for sharks, too. The movie ‘Jaws’ had just come out and back in Hawaii, shark teeth were a real popular thing. So we’d go shark fishing off the causeway every night. The locals would eat the meat and give us the jaw bones with all the teeth.”

“Our government likes to police the world and then, inevitably, somebody has to go in and fix all the troubles that causes; generally, it’s the military that goes, they do, and come back. Those people deserve all the rights and respect when they return from their missions. Veterans are doing jobs they’re told to do. They don’t ask….they’re told and so they go. As far as all of us who served down on Enewetak, we deserve the respect of a job well done. We don’t want the money so much as the healthcare we were supposed to get when we came back; and the respect, no matter what situation we are currently in. (That goes for every veteran there is…not just us.) What people don’t realize is that the small percentage of people who have served this country are the ones who have given the rest the rights they enjoy. All we’re asking for is recognition and follow-up.”

“The statute of limitations has run out and we can talk about our time in service. We were skipped over and forgotten. It’s our time to be heard.”

"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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