Elden Morris, Enewetak Atoll (1978) Glimmers of Light

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 Elden Morris

Branch: Army MOS: 52J Power Plant Engineer Location: Lojwa Year: 1978

Quote: "“I think the most important thing we could share with the rest of the world is the fact that our government has not only misinformed the public about our plight, but also the Enewetak people".

“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 wasn’t stationed with the 84th Engineers but was on TDY. I knew quite a bit about the Marshall Islands and Enewetak before getting stationed down there. My unit commander had asked me to do some research and create a sort of synopsis for people going out there after me. So I was actually very well versed as to what was going on, about the culture and a little about the testing they had going on there.”

“I worked in the power plant and the only protective equipment that any of us had was hearing protection. There were a few times when we were asked to help out with generator issues on other islands and the only protective gear we were issued then was yellow boots. We didn’t even have film badges or dust masks when we went to Runit to work on the generators and we never wore those banana suits.”

“Over the past sixteen years, I’ve had some major health problems. I’ve had cardiac issues, eye issues and am diabetic. I was on the computer looking around for people I knew from back in the day and started seeing things other people had submitted about Enewetak. After I read through a few comments on the Atomic Veterans Cleanup page on Facebook, I asked to join the group. I’ve watched this group grow. There’s only been a relatively small response of survivors given the thousands who served down there. I mean, there are several people I’d been stationed with at Ft. Belvoir who are still around but they don’t have anything to do with Facebook and there’s also a few who’ve passed away that were part of the early group.”

“I remember one night when this Major came in with a sheath of papers in a binder. He wanted to talk to somebody about a signature. There were a thousand papers in that file and I told him I wanted to read through it before I just signed my name to it. They were trying to get me to sign the entire power plant over to the 84th engineers after the project. That was four generators and all the associated gear for a 2megawat power plant. We had a colonel back in the states who wanted to rebuild everything and send it back for future deployments. They just wanted to get out of shipping it back to the states. He didn’t take too well to that.”

“Just after my arrival at Lojwa, I went over to the next island on the other side of us. When I came back, there was this lieutenant who informed me that the island I had been on was off limits. Power plant crews never stood in formations so we hadn’t heard the orders that the island was off limits. We were all directed to stand in formation the next morning. So that’s where we went… after we shut all the generators down. (It was against regulations to leave them unattended.) There was no power to anything. Everything was shut down; not only the air conditioners in HQ but the communications section and the mess hall kitchen were shut down as well. Needless to say, that was the last formation we stood in.”

“I think the most important thing we could share with the rest of the world is the fact that our government has not only misinformed the public about our plight, but also the Enewetak people. They lied, plain and simple. A lot of the Marshallese who were relocated have died as result of the actions our country carried out. They are suing the US government. All of us who suffered through Enewetak are just like the guys who suffered through the Agent Orange situation. We died at Enewetak, only our bodies haven’t given out yet.”

"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