Operation Greenhouse
1951
US Atomic Veterans
M.H. "Mo" Ingram
Update, September 27, 2001. Click here to see a copy of a letter Mo wrote to his Congressman George Nethercutt.
Hello,
Mo sent enlargements on a couple of things in Rob Campbell's writings,
and so he is sending them to you attached here. It is all right to put
them on the internet.
One thing he wrote about is entitled "Abandoned Ship," (could be related
to the OG Book--Pg 23 para 1, and Pg 25, next to last para). The other
one is "Sgt Wood," (see page 40 of the book).
ABANDONED SHIP
In 1950 I was stationed at Camp Chaffee, Ark. While there the camp was
in the process of closing and I was ordered to Okinawa. As a SFC I
could have had my wife and son join me after I was settled. This would
have been a wonderful experience for all of us.
At Camp Stoneman CA, while waiting for transport, I even had a boat
number already assigned. I was ready to go when I got a call from the
Personnel Office, where I was told that my assignment was cancelled.
Instead I was to report to the CO of the 7th Engineer Brigade, where in a
few days we would proceed to Task Force 3.2 and go on to Eniwetok Atoll
for the testing of Atomic bombs.
I had no choice in the matter. I was ordered to go-like a draftee
instead of a Regular Army volunteer as I was. Not only that but my wife
and son had to be relocated to another place. Much hardship and
heartbreak and for what?
This was just the beginning of many wrongs imposed upon us in the next
few years, some of which continue on to this day as I will show in the
following.
Enroute from San Francisco to Eniwetok I was aboard the Gen A. W.
Brewster. (I think it was operated by Military Air Transport Service
(MATS)?
All of the above is to get to my story of an abandoned ship, which was
loaded with special equipment for the tests to come later at Eniwetok,
but we did not know this until later at Eniwetok.
Now back to the introduction paragraphs. We were some where in the
Pacific. I am not sure of the day (Sunday maybe), but we were half way
to Eniwetok. Anyway it was another dull and painful day. I was walking
around on the deck but hardly anyone else was around. Suddenly I saw a
smaller ship which seemed to be slowly moving toward us. It came at an
angle off the right front of the Brewster and I realized it was drifting
slowly with the wind. I expected some signal, or whistle or something
from our ship, but none came.
Suddenly a lot of brownish-looking substance appeared to be emitting from
the smaller ship. I thought at first it was smoke, but it fell to the
water and still retained its color. I was so amazed by all of this. I
thought surely the people in command of the Brewster would do some thing,
would stop, pick up those on the other ship, or make some signs, but
nothing happened.
Our ship passed close in front of the other one, maybe one fourth of a
mile, but we just kept on going without even slowing down. Well, I
thought, those in command probably knew more about it than I. Maybe it
was a deserted derelict. I thought no more about it, but did report it
to the CO. This CO was a cousin of a very popular Senator in Ohio. He
was Capt Taft.
Well, several weeks after arriving at Eniwetok I was called to meet with
some Navy officers. It was a Board of Inquiry, and I was asked to
testify as to what I had seen and of all the things that I have written
here. I later learned that the smaller ship was indeed disabled and that
it was loaded with Secret Equipment bound for Eniwetok.
I never heard any more. Did it get there? Did another ship take it in
tow? Was it rescued by the USA, or did it end up in other hands? I am
sure someone in our Government knows the answer. After what happened to
our men on Eniwetok, and what has continued to happen throughout the
years afterwards until even now, causes me to wonder!! Is this another
Chapter in what is now known to be "Decades of Deceit"?
SGT WOOD
He was my friend. He was killed by someone who reconnected the power
line to the coral crusher. Sgt Wood had gone to see why the power was
off, but when he picked up the line someone on shore turned on the power.
Sgt Wood was in charge of the coral crusher which was set up on shallow
tide water. A power line ran from the power plant out to the crusher. I
was at the NCO Club and had talked to Sgt Wood that night. About 10:00
pm I went to my quarters and then heard a siren go off. Someone had
disconnected the power line near the crusher. Sgt Wood went out to check
the trouble and then someone on shore turned the power on while he was
standing in a couple of inches of water holding the two pieces of wire in
his hands.
Many of us who knew the history of Sgt Wood never thought this was an
accident, but was nothing short of murder. Perhaps one of the "Nurnberg
gang" from six years past was there to get Sgt Wood. Perhaps he had been
trailed all those years by someone waiting for just the right time and
place, and they saw that this was a perfect place and time to get even.
No one was ever accused of re-connecting the cable. If some in power
there did know who it was, they covered it up like they did to us about
the fallout.
I was stationed near Nurnberg in Germany, as was Sgt Wood, at the end of
WW11. The German Airforce was ordered to surrender and to fly to a field
near Nurnberg. They were to land, give over their planes, have their
guns empty and have no ammunition on board. I was standing with my back
to our shop window when a German fighter came at us with guns blazing.
Never expecting to see this I just stood still. The fighter plane had
two guns firing. The bullets struck on either side of me and just plowed
into the building.
M.H. Ingram
Deer Park, WA 99006
normain@juno.com
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Date: Mar 29 1999
Subject: MH Ingram's Eniwetok Story
From: normain@juno.com
March, 1951-- Man, a lifetime ago!
I was stationed temporarily at Camp Stoneman, California waiting for shipment to Okinawa. It was to be a peacetime family assignment. Was so close to shipment out that I had a boat assignment.
Okinawa was considered a good peacetime post. We were all looking forward to having our families with us. My family was going to follow me over there after I got settled. So it was a real disappointment to us when we learned that our plans were dashed. Suddenly I was called to the Personnel Office and told that I had been selected for a special assignment connected with the Atomic Energy Commission at Eniwetok! I had never heard of the place and did not want to go. The Personnell Officer said I was selected from Washington and there was nothing I could do about it, or that they could do about it either.
Well I had to find a place for my wife and son to stay (we were told for a year), and then we were on a Military Transport heading for the Marshall Islands.
My orders directed me to report to the Headquarters of the 7th Engineer Brigade. In addition to the change of place of assignment, I was a stranger in the new company. The personnel came from the Engineer Center at Ft Belvaire, VA. They were like a family, the 79th Engineer Construction Bn. These guys were the ones who built all the new barracks messhall, bathhouse, water distilling unit, roads and whatever made the island liveable.
This was my third trip overseas by ship on assignment. Had two years in Panama, 1937-1939, and came away with serious headaches that have plagued me off and on ever since. Then during WW11 sailed through storms to get to Europe, where for two years all kinds of hardships were endured. Was with Gen Patten's Special troops. Thirdly, sailed 7000 miles into no man's land, Eniwetok. Two weeks on board, lousey quarters, lousey chow. Didn't know one person onboard but even worse conditions were to follow.
Some of the Hqs people came from assignment at the Pentagon. Like aill of us, they all had "Q-Clearances," and each was a specialist. I was a Supply Specialist with a MOS (Mil. Oct spec No 821). We had no promotions in grade because everything was frozen due to the economy (depressed).
There were no women on the islands but we had to dress in class A uniforms for dinner every day. After this we had free movies out under the stars. Sometimes it would rain, but we just put on our raincoats and helmets and watched the movies sitting out in the rain. Seems possible that the rain carried poisonous radioactivity. One of the men wrote that his hair began to fall out right away and that he was bald. My own hair also began gradually to disappear leaving me bald on top. My extensive family had no particular problem with baldness. Also I am the only one in my family so loaded with skin cancers.
The island is 3 miles long and 600 yards wide at its widest point. The mission was called Operation Greenhouse. This was the fourth postwar atmospheric nuclear weapons test series. It was in 1951 and conducted on the NE islands of Eniwetok Atoll. Of the four shots two were at 200 feet and 2 were at 300 ft. All were denonated on towers and there was significant radioactive fallout. These tests were also involved in the process of developing the H-Ebombs, thermonuclear weapons, and two devices were in the experiments.
I was there from March 1950 to mid-June 1951-- through all the preparations for the tests and through the tests themselves, which took place 4/7, 4/20, 5/8 & 5/241/51.
When we arrived at Eniwetok there were no palm trees left. The beaches were littered with broken up materials used in battle, which had been pushed to the waterline afterwards. A big clean up job had to be done.
We were informed in writing by Hqs that a swimming area would be set up with all the accouterments. Fishing tours would be organized to give everyone many opportunities to deep sea fishing. Fishing poles, lines, reels and lures would be available at all times. However none of this was available at any time for us. In fact we were warned by Hqs, 7th Engr Brigade, Task Group 3.2 before we arrived at Eniwetok that: "At certain times, many of the fish in our area are highly poisonous. The poison is tasteless and there is no way of telling which fish are poisoned." From the time we arrived at Eniwetok the men were not allowed in the water, not even to wade. We could not eat any fish or anything from the water because they be poison and we were to stay out of the water. This verifies that it was known by some in command that there was still danger of nuclear poisoning in the water from earlier Atomic bomb testing done in the area in 1946-48. Unknowingly I gathered a collection of seashells from along the shore, which were undoubtedly well washed in poisoned water in the past.
The Navy had towed a huge concrete Quarters Barge from Southern California and anchored it a few yards off shore from the island. This was to be our quarters until a place for us could be established on the island. Every day we had to leave the barge and go to the island, then return to it later in the day This was done by means of boats. We had to wade in the water at least twice every day in order to get to land from the boat, or get from land back to the boat going and returning. The barge was our quarters for many weeks, until concrete pads were poured and tents erected upon them. These tents were only about 50 ft. from the ocean side of the island. We had to bath with salt water until a huge distiller was finished. (Had to wade and bathe in the ocean water for many weeks-- the same water that we had been forbidden to touch in any manner because it was poison)! This testifies to lingering activity in the water from previous nearby bombings.
My living conditions were different than anyone else on the island. My work and sleep station was in an old warehouse that was no protection from fallout. It was made of old sheet metal that was so rusted out at the bottom that a new foundation had to be put all around it.
The great majority of the people on the island were stationed at the far end of it, a mile or more distant from the warehouse. Their living quarters, the Service Club and Post Exchange were built to be much better protection from fallout and placed farther away from other potential hazardous conditions, than was my living quarters in the warehouse.
No protective clothing was given the troops. Also no dark glasses or protective goggles were issued. All we were told was to look away from the initial blast and then turn around and watch the fireball. Our only protection consisted of holding the collar tips of our raincoats over our eyes, keeping them in place with our hands
This warehouse was near the runway where drone planes landed after flying through radioactive clouds, which accompanied each test, in order to collect contaminated air samples. The incoming aircraft were stopped by arresting cables. One day there was an accident as the drone plane ran into the arresting cables. Spillage of radioactive material was possible as the contaminated plane careened down the runways. Six times a day I had to walk past this plane, through the area wher it had been wrecked, in order to go to the Mess Hall and then returrn to the warehouse where I was assigned.
Before the shot called the "Big One" was tested, the soldiers were ordered to lay out in the open on the sands of the beach. My head was covered with several thicknesses of raincoat and my eyes were covered with my hands, yet when the blast went off I could see through all that with an unbearable light, which showed my hands as bright red and showed the outline of every bone.
During that time, and within a period of less than seven weeks, beginning with the first explosion on 7 April 1951 and ending with the last on 24 May 1551, four Atom Bomb tests were performed. The last one by itself was of greater force than the explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, put together. It was recorded to be over 2.45 rems for anyone who remained on the island for four days after the explosion, which makes it over half as great as the AEC standard of safety which is not to exceed 5rems per YEAR. All four of these tests were done in a period of 47 days, which is less than seven weeks. The fallout from this last bomb lasted well over four days. I was there longer than that. No doubt this added to the accumulated fallout from other explosions there, as well as from nearby radioactive aircraft and lingering toxic substances in the water and land from the past testing and other miscellaneous sources such as hot spots.
US Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory (NRDL) stated that during Operaion Greenhouse an unexpected high percentage of radioactivity was found in particle sizes that could be BREATHED INTO LUNGS from fallout originating in high altitudes. (See National Association of Atomic Veterans (NMV) winterlspring publication, page 7).
Scientists concluded that when an Atomic explosion cloud stops climbing, the moist atmosphere of the area would have absorbed it. Particles contaminating the air could lodge somewhere IN a person's body in greater measure than the body's natural ability to nullify them or expell them. Contaminated Air Breathed in Can Not Be Washed Away!
Regarding concern about post detonation residual radioactivity, the Officer in charge of Radiation Safety at Operation Crossroads (which was testing of A-Bombs at Bikini in 1946), stated that when decay reduced the gamma radiation to safe levels one would still be subject to dangerous hazards in this same area. This would not he Iethal in the sense of being immediately dangerous, but there is a potental and actual absorption hazard. One need only to absorb a few micrograms of plutonium AND OTHER long-life fusion materials and then KNOW that various serious health conditions could be expected in 5-15 years (see NAAV as above, page 3). This and the 1948 tests on Eniwetok during Operation Sandstone, strengthens the belief that lingering radioactivity was present before Operation Greenhouse began.
The denials of disability have been based on an estimated (presumptive) conclusion arrived at by scientists, who set a certain measure of radioactivity exposure below which they claim that no health problems could be caused. This is an unrealistic assumption which can not be accurately applied to everyone on the island. Many things influence the measure of radioactivity in any given spot. Type of construction and location of housing, variety of individual assignments, differences in dispensed clothing, specialized accessories, "hot spots" and other factors make it impossible to establish a standard measure of fallout accumulation and exposures to radioactivity that would accurately apply to every different human body on the island. Certainly not when considering the complexities of each person's individual physical makeup
I would like to hear from anyone who was on Eniwetok during the A-Bomb testing in April and May of 1951. Also would like to hear from anyone who has information about what is being done to help us Atomic Veterans, or who has any suggestions of what we can do to strengthen our cause.
M.H. "Mo" Ingram
2815 E. Eloika Lake Rd
Deer Park, WA 99006-9141
Phone 509-276-6007
normain@juno.com
--Keith Whittle
March 29, 1999
Operation Greenhouse