Carlos Vela, 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 Veteran 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 Carlos Vela

Branch: US Army MOS: 11B, Infantryman Location: Lojwa Basecamp Year: 1978

Quote: “We were trying to save the world for other people but we were the ones getting screwed...”

“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.

“My introduction to this project in the Marshall Islands went something like this. I was brought in by the sergeant major who told us that we were going to go clean ‘war debris’. That was it. That was all we knew. We were 11B’s (Infantrymen) so we thought we were going to pull guard duty of some sort (I was one of three 11Bs who went to Enewetak from Alaska) but that wasn’t the case. When we got down there, the clerk on Lojwa even questioned our presence. ‘We were just sent here.’ That was all we could offer as explanation. We ended up working demolition. I ran a loader and a back hoe on Lojwa, worked a week over on Runit (location of Cactus Dome) and then was moved over to Engebi. We went out to some of the smaller islands to pick up debris.”

When asked to elaborate on the type or amount of protective gear worn while cleaning the islands of decades of nuclear/radioactive debris, Mr. Vela responded immediately. “I had a paper mask and that was it. The uniform of the day usually consisted of cut-off fatigues, boots, and T-shirts (which we usually ended up taking off.) The heat got downright intolerable at times. And it wasn’t sand on the beach; it was coral, so there was no going barefoot. You’d cut up your feet pretty bad if you did. That coral also reflected the heat too.“

“We had to use water from the lagoon for making concrete. So to pump the water in, somebody had to walk out into the lagoon and hold the hoses down in the water. Working that angle in this cleanup wasn’t so bad. At least you could cool off in the water.”

“Working twelve-hour days, things were pretty relaxed out there. Even so, we tried staying busy. I was the sailing instructor at the rec center. There was one television out there that pulled in stations from Hawaii…”

“I found some skeletons when I was scraping topsoil; never knew if they were American or Japanese. We had to let HQ know about finds like that. They’d come in and box them up… once they took them away, that was pretty much the last we heard of it. We found tons of unexploded Japanese ordnance too, and when we went out diving in the lagoon, we found airplanes with skeletons still in them.”

We didn’t know much of anything about the cleanup before we went to Enewetak. And it’s hard to say when I first thought there wasn’t something quite right about the mission. When we worked out there, we carried radiation badges. So when we turned them in, we tried not thinking about why we had them in the first place. Just before I was discharged from the military, I had to go to Carson. Cancer was brought up at that point but the topic was dropped really quickly. Ten years after I was discharged, I had to have back surgery. At that time, I was told I had the bone density of a 70-year old man. (Keep in mind, this was 20 years ago. I am not even in my 60’s today.)”

“Learning about the environment I had actually lived and worked in while I was stationed down there, I started searching the Internet. I found the Enewetak Atomic Cleanup Veterans survivor page and connected with one of the administrators Frank Bolton. We started talking about Enewetak and sharing our stories. Because of the various jobs we all did down there, some of us received more exposure than others but we all served together during the same period of time.”

“If I could get a message out to the world, I’d tell them not to forget us. People talk about the threats of nuclear war in our history and they talk about the atomic era. Nobody talks about the guys who did time in The Marshall Islands. We were all out there, yet have been almost totally forgotten. The Enewetak Atomic Cleanup Veterans are a prime example for the world to see what could really happen. It has taken years, but we are proof as far as what kind of long-term effects could occur after nuclear exposure. But we’re still here. Nuclear related issues happen in other countries and this country is all over it, offering help, solutions, humanitarian aid, etc. But when things happen here, to our own people? What has happened to us?”

“We were in hell but didn’t know it at the time. Now, we’re dying…one breath at a time. It’s scary to look at our brothers who have passed, to look at their ages. They’re MY age. We were trying to save the world for other people but we were the ones getting screwed.”

"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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