Thomas Parrish, 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 Thomas Parrish

Branch: Army MOS: 51B/Carp. Masonry Spec Location: Enewetak Year: 1978

Quote: “The Government needs to take care of its veterans instead of turning their back and forgetting like they don’t even exist.”

“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’ve been very fortunate in that I have not had any major problems health wise from the time I spent at Enewetak (at least that I am aware of.)”

“I had no knowledge, knew absolutely nothing about where they were sending us. We were just told that there was TDY in the Marshall Islands and I knew that I was on the list. I was ‘Well, okay. I’m ready. Let’s go.’ It’s hard to remember what all they said about it before we went, it’s been a few years. If there was something mentioned about possible radiation issues, nobody was concerned enough to start checking about it. Uncle Sam told me I was going so that’s where I went.”

“When we first arrived to Enewetak, we were given three days to acclimate to the weather and environment. About the same time, we started our daily boat rides over to Lojwa. I was with the advanced party so there was absolutely nothing there. Fact of the matter is, we lived in tents for the first month. We were the guys who came in and started pouring slabs for the hooches for the next batch of guys due.”

“Protective gear? I guess that would have just been fatigues. Actually, I was just talking to a couple of guys about this. During the first few days down there, everybody was in regular fatigues. So we were all standing around and along comes this full-bird colonel, riding a bike down the road in neatly pressed shorts with perfect sleeves. We asked him, ‘Sir, how come you can wear that and all of us have to wear sleeves and fatigues?’ Before long, everybody had surrounded him and he started looking all kinds of nervous. The very next day we received orders that we could cut off the pant legs from our fatigues and take the sleeves off our shirts. None of us were wearing anything protective. I mean, that uniform was the only gear you could say we had.”

“I don’t remember specifically when I first thought things might not have been quite right down there; probably during the early 1990s when I started searching for things on the Internet out of curiosity. That’s when I started reading the stories posted out there about other people and the health problems they were experiencing.”

“I think I look at my experience on Enewetak in a different light than a lot of these guys. As I said, at the moment, I’ve been very fortunate in that I haven’t experienced any ill-effects like so many of the rest. I actually enjoyed being down there. It was beautiful. I spent most of my time swimming in the lagoon, eating lobster right off the reefs. But this is definitely a story that needs to be told, the world needs to know. The more I hear about our detail down there, the more it seems that we were used as guinea pigs. It was a job that needed to be done and our guys were the ones who went in and did it. The Government needs to take care of its veterans instead of turning their back and forgetting like they don’t even exist. I guess I just assumed that no matter the problem, the VA would always help its veterans.”

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