John Hodge, 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 John Hodge

Branch: US Army MOS: Communications Specialist (Held initial MOS of 11B, qualified in multiple MOS’s) Location: Lojwa, (305 Days in the Marshall Islands)

Quote: “I’m proud to have served my country and would do so again. I just wish they had been up front with us from the beginning…”

“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 this 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.

Imagine if you will, a place somewhere in the south Pacific called The Marshall Islands. Imagine being in the military and being told nothing about this duty station except that this island or that atoll is going to be where you call home for the next period of time. “This is your hooch, this is your home, and this is what you’re going to do. There’s no choosing about it.” Talking with Mr. John Hodge about his participation in an essentially forgotten operation that took place in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, this is what he had to share about his experience as an Enewetak Atomic Cleanup Veteran.

“We really didn’t know a whole lot about the deal. I had a brother who was already there. He was part of the first crew that went down there. When I started going through the whole process of being assigned and got to HQ with the 84th Engineers on Enewetak, people were asking about my brother. “It was a real culture shock for me. I mean, I was Infantry. I was used to doing PT every day, we worked and trained Infantry and then rest was rest. That’s exactly what you did. When we were assigned with the Engineers on Enewetak, things worked a lot differently. I remember asking what time PT was and was told, ‘We’re engineers. We don’t do PT.’ They wondered just like I did about what exactly I was doing there. ‘We don’t have slots for combat guys here. You need to go upstairs to the MARS Station and talk.’”

“I was exempt from any duty rosters. I worked at the MARS Station doing communications. It was very easy duty. Coming from an infantry unit, I was used to being busy constantly.”

(Mr. Hodge shared the many MOS designations he was qualified in; 11B, 11C, 36K10, 05B. 05C, 05D, 63B). I worked communications and other jobs just to keep busy because I had a lot of free time.”

“Work crews had been out scraping topsoil since before I ever got there. I was watching them one time and happened to ask about it. Of course, they told me the surface was ‘hot’ (radioactively contaminated) and so they’d have to scrape down some more. You could look out and see those guys doing their job but that was what it was all about.”

“When I got down there, it was ‘150 days and you were done. Next plane off the island and you were on it.’ We had incoming on Tuesdays and Wednesday mornings, we had people out in front of HQ ready to leave. But I didn’t go that route. I was extended. That means I went past the 150 day mark. So, as I was told, I was the only junior-grade enlisted that got a 2-for-1 deal. I was credited for an overseas tour with my time in Hawaii and a hardship tour for Enewetak. As far as I know, a lot of the officers didn’t even get that. I got two tours out of it.”

“I spent 305 days in the Marshall Islands. It was your typical American GI scenario; ‘Make the best with what you got.’ There were lots of memories, -some good, and some bad. And protective gear? Let me tell you a little something about that. When I went to Lojwa, they sent me through a class on the banana suits. We dressed out in full gear; mask, gloves, hood, tape…We basically toured the island in that getup. It was the first, last, and only time I wore it. After that, my job had me in an air-conditioned building the entire time I was there. I was more concerned with exposure to the radiation I had inside than I was with whatever was outside. I guess it was because I didn’t know about any problems out there. None of us did at the time.”

“Right now, I don’t have any health issues. I’ve been a smoker for almost 50 years and I have the smoker’s hack... but my brother, on the other hand, has degenerative bone disease. He was in the Marshalls in 1977 for six months with the first crew as a mechanic. His bunch worked on the vehicles down on the ramps at the lagoon. They sucked in all the dust they kicked up so constantly.”

“One night when all was said and done, this guy asked me if I would talk to some of his friends on the radio. And you know, we had to be careful about what we said out there because Russia wasn’t far off. So a night or two later, we got on the radios and started talking. It was 1978, and this fellow started asking me all kinds of questions about the radiation on the Islands, what did I know about it, had I seen any weird stuff and if anybody was getting sick or anything. I was just a radio guy so I didn’t know the answers to a lot of the questions. Turned out, that guy was a congressman on the Mainland. So I’ve had about forty years to think about that single 10-15 minute conversation. There was something more to it then I knew at the time.”

"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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