Daniel Rose, 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 Daniel Rose

Branch: Army MOS: 12B Rock/Rebar Crew Location: Enjebi Year: 1978-79

Quote: “I want the government to say they’re sorry,”

“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 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.

“Before we went down to Enewetak, I knew little to nothing about the place. I was out at Ft. Sill Oklahoma with the 299th Engineers at the time when one morning our platoon sergeant called a meeting. He asked for volunteers to go on a cleanup mission to a South Seas Paradise. I was 19 years-old at the time so I volunteered. That’s how I was indoctrinated into the whole Enewetak thing.”

“I worked on a rock and rebar crew. Enjebi was our main focus. When we got down there, we basically reconned the entire island searching for and picking up certain garbage. We had to pick up all metal debris we found and any hunks of concrete bigger than a basketball. We took all of that out to the LARC and dumped everything into the center of the lagoon. As far as safety gear? On my first day there, they handed me a paper surgical mask and said, ‘This is your protection.’ I think I wore that thing for like ten minutes before I just said to hell with it. It was too hot, anyway.”

"Asked when he first began to suspect his duty on Enewetak wasn’t quite right, Daniel expressed the following. “Back then, the average Joe didn’t know the dangers of nuclear radiation or about the after-effects of being exposed. When I finished my job and came back stateside, well, I’ve never had any kids of my own. Before going down there, I never had any problems. I really didn’t think about anything too much until after I got back to the states. I never had any kids despite being married to the same woman for a long time.”

“In the 90’s, the VA gave me the runaround. People who knew about the time I’d spent down at Enewetak told me I needed to talk about it, go tell somebody. So I ended up talking with this one woman and told to her about other issues that I had and asked if any of those things could have anything to do with my time on Enewetak. She as much responded, ‘I’ve never heard of such a place’ and hung up on me. Later on when she was asked about this conversation, she said ‘I’m sorry Mr. Rose. I don’t remember talking to you’ and hung up.”

“I’ve recently ended up being diagnosed with a very debilitating cancer, one that I’m told only comes around every so many years; not common at all. All these years, so many other guys who’d been down there were talking about the different cancers they’d battled. I thought to myself, ‘I’ve never had cancer.’

“I have to say, if I were asked to go back and do it all over again, I would. I love my country. If we’d been given proper protective gear…” Daniel paused again. “Logistically, it was difficult for the Army to make sure we had the right equipment. I mean, we were so far away, so far from everything. But I truly believe the government wanted results of long-term exposure.”

“There were a lot of Vietnam vets still in the military when I went in. I come from a line of military. My dad had served, my grandfather…and my brother was Air Force.” Daniel paused in thought. “After I got back home, I was out in Arizona. I’d made contact with Steve Harrison and Rick Masculine but we all lost touch. Then, a little while after that, I moved out east to Tennessee and Steve caught up with me again on Facebook but by that time, Richard had passed away.”

“I want the government to say they’re sorry. I’m going through chemo right now for inoperable lung cancer. Yes, I smoked, but so many others from this group are suffering cancers in other places in their bodies and didn’t smoke. I want our government to give these guys/us guys the help they/we need. That’s all we can ask for I guess. I’d like to think that part of history is over with, you know, with nuclear testing and that they are a lot more careful of our soldiers these days.”

"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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