Mike Sanford, 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 Mike Sanford

Branch: Air Force AFSC: 46450 EOD Location: Lowja (Hootch #34) Year: 1978

Quote:“We deserve to have our concerns taken seriously and receive treatment and compen-sation for doing our duty and suffering conse-quences of that service. We shouldn’t have to beg for any of this when the evidence is out there for all to see…”

“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."

“In 1977, I was stationed at Clark Air Base (AB). One of my fellow EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) troops had volunteered for the first rotation going to Enewetak and served down there from late 1977 to early ’78. When he came back, he told me it was a cool op and that I’d get a Joint Service Commendation Medal (JSCM, promotion points!) for going. He received his JSCM so sure, I volunteered to go. When I came back from Enewetak, I got my Humanitarian Service Award too, but no promo points!”

“I actually knew something about the Marshall Islands before I went because I’d been a big WWII buff and had read a lot about the Pacific campaigns. I also knew about Bikini Atoll and all of the nuclear testing that had been performed there because my job with EOD included having to know how to disarm nuclear weapons still being used by the US Air Force.”

“I was a member of what they called the Field Radiological Support Team (FRST) and our team was a combination of different personnel from Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), Disaster Preparedness (DP), Non-destructive Inspection (NDI) and Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE). The Air Force built each rotation of FRST teams using a mix of specialists who either knew about radiation (EOD, DP, NDI) or who could fix small engines/air pumps (AGE). Our job was to check for radiation contamination on personnel and equipment. We also ran air samplers at various locations and collected dust on paper filters, which we would further check with our radiation detectors. We had Alpha, Beta and Gamma detectors for this duty and logged our findings in daily reports.”

“During my rotation, I mainly worked the hotlines at Enjebi and Runit, checking troops coming back from working on earth moving equipment, or at the batch plant, and at Runit crater. I also rode on the truck barge for a couple of days and two different Maggie boats which were used to move soil from Enjebi to Runit.”

“Because of my EOD qualifications, I also worked with Army engineers blowing some of the bunkers on Enjebi and helped identify WWII ordnance which was scattered all over the atoll. I never thought about if we were being exposed to high levels of radiation or not out there except for when we worked a few areas that were contaminated with plutonium. I had radiation detection instruments available to me and could check anything I wanted but rarely found levels higher than regular background levels. (In fact, as I recall, my Seiko dive watch put out enough Beta radiation from its luminous dial that it qualified to be dumped into Runit crater.) I wasn’t so aware at the time but today, all these decades later, I know how close we lived to ‘Ground Zero’ while we were there and have a better appreciation and understanding of the potential exposures we may have suffered.”

“Time and again, the United States government and its military have sent troops into situations of hazardous exposure, repeatedly since WWII and have denied there was ever any danger. Eventually, enough evidence piled up and they were finally forced to admit the dangers were real and they’d actively tried covering things up. The Enewetak cleanup operation is likely another such case but we’ll never know for sure until somebody is forced to really study the documentation and check all of us for exposure.”

“Regarding health issues for me personally, I came back from Enewetak, got married and had two healthy children. I have numerous ailments these days but they’re things controlled by medications and none are life-threatening. Since joining the Enewetak Atomic Cleanup group, I’ve done some research and none of my current health issues can be attributed to radiation exposure. I haven’t applied for any VA disability benefits or treatment, but then, none of that really means anything other than the possibility that I just got lucky.”

“I kept a daily diary of my time at Enewetak. Some of it is very personal but some is stuff I’d be willing to share. I just happened to be poking around on Facebook last December and found the Enewetak Cleanup Vets page. After seeing the various comments posted there, I decided to share my own experiences and photos with the group and have made efforts to get my elected officials to support the current legislation. My congressional rep was one of the first Republican members of the House to sign on as a co-sponsor for HR3870- Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act.”

“If I had an opportunity to address this country personally, I’d tell the USA that our small band of brothers deserves the respect and support of its government. We deserve to have our concerns taken seriously and receive treatment and compensation for doing our duty and suffering consequences of that service. We shouldn’t have to beg for any of this when the evidence is out there for all to see.”

Written by - Michael M. Sanford, SMSgt, USAF (Retired)

"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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