Operation Crossroads
US Atomic Veterans
Joseph K. Jordan
From: "Joseph K. Jordan Sr" neptp2v@mindspring.com
To: "Keith"
Subject: Re: Operation Crossroads experience
Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2001
Keith,
Yes, I have seen the "Radio Bikini" movie and think I have a copy of it somewhere in our VCR collection. It was very good, and if you remember. "Smitherman" said that he had picked up a little rock and put it in his pocket. That was probably some of the Bikini Bay bottom or coral that rained down on us, and when he put it in his pocket, and kept it for a souvenier, it probably was his death warrant. Immediately after the rain started, a wise old Chief, "Pop Drew" that had been in WW 1 and called back for WW 2 told me and the rest of his Motor Machinist Mate Repair Crew gang, that we had better get below decks as it was no telling what was in that rain.
I followed his advice and example. My thyroid died by 1968 and resulted in my cholesterol rising to 750 and triclicerides 1800. However, a good Doctor discovered my problem and I have been on medication since then and I have developed other problems over the years like diabetes, cardio pulmonary disease and hypertension as well as some colon polyps that were caught before cancer set in and total prostate removal with suspected cancer. All in all, I am just one lucky SOB to have survived the YON 186 sinking in Manilla Bay and two serious, burnimg P2V Neptune Patrol Plane crashes along with umpteen emergencies in the air and hitting a mine in the south pacific on two occasions and different ships. (they didnt go off). I know I played a small part in our great Military, but am proud of it.
Thanks for your hard work in keeping Atomic Veterans in the limelight and giving a place to contact others.
Being on a repair ship and in the internal combustion shop (engines), I got to go on many ships before and after the tests to help out in repairs to machinery. Also went on some of the hot target ships to get spare parts to use for other ships.
An old USN EN 1 that retired as an USNR ADRC in 1973.
Joseph K Jordan Sr
North Augusta, SC
p2vnept@mindspring.com
Keith, here is my write up on the Bikini Test Able and Baker. Its kind of long winded, and is part of a story of my Naval Experience I have written that is about 23 chapters long and average 32 KB each and I hope to sell some day if I can figure out how. They are copyrighted but you have my permission to use parts or all of this chapter Three. I would appreciate your honest remarks on this writeup and your opinion on the marketability of this example of my experiences. Its in the rough at this stage.
Thanks and I am, Joe Jordan
Excerpts from PART THREE " SEASTORIES OF THE FOURTIES"
by Joseph Jordan.
Aboard USS Cebu ARG 6, from Kwajalien to Bikini and " OPERATION CROSSROADS" to Rongerik to Bikini, Kwajalien to Pearl Harbor, San Diego CA to Long Beach CA, Hunters Point San Francisco CA.
Operation Crossroads involved 42000 men, 242 ships,and 156 aircraft. 70 of these ships were used as targets and the others were used to arrange and support the operation and run a screening line a good ways from the target area. On the decks of the target ships were placed , battle equipment, airplanes, a gas truck, food packages, ammunition and tanks. Also aboard the ships on deck, in the gun turrets and below decks were placed 400 goats and pigs (some shaved with sun screen on them). Also about 5000 rats were either caged or turned loose on the target ships to test the effects of radiation on them. Also l believe there were at least two cadavers on the target ships.
This story starts with the USS CEBU ARG 6 anchored at Kwajalien in the Marshall Islands preparing to get underway, when it was announced that all hands not on watch could come up on deck and watch Test Able atomic bomb test through smoked glass. We were a good ways away and this was to be an air burst over the target ship USS Nevada.
At 1000 according to my records but 0900 historically (maybe we were in a different time zone than Bikini) the first day of July 1946 a plane flew over Bikini Atoll Lagoon at an altitude of about 30,000 ft. and dropped the "Test Able" Atomic Bomb and even though we were "over the Horizon" we could see the sky light up like the rising sun in that direction and about 90 seconds later feel the shock wave (the ship shook slightly) and much later see a large white cloud go floating by. The "Special Sea Detail" was set and at 1230 the Cebu was underway back to Bikini. After test Able was exploded, the next morning the lagoon was declared safe to enter and that the radiation had decayed overnite enough to be harmless to human life.
We arrived back at BIKINI the next day not knowing what to expect and things looked normal and we were told that all the radiation was gone up with the clouds and not to worry that the water was safe and our evaporators were still making drinking water out of the sea water and that the tide had flushed the contaminated lagoon water out and that the shipboard water was safe to drink and that the food was safe to eat.
There was smoke from burning cargo on the USS SARATOGA CV 3 deck and a few more ships but the Seagoing Tug Boats and Auxillary Rescue Ships equipped with fire fighting equipment put the fires out by the end of the day and sent men aboard to finish the job and inspect and make sure that the fires were not going to reignite. They had no geiger counters at this time as the scientists and evaluating teams were using them, while they were taking the pigs, goats and rats off the ships to run autopsies on and penning the live ones up to see how long they would live and keeping some of the live ones for test baker. The next few days sailors were boarding the target ships and "decontaminating " or washing and swabbing them down with contaminated ocean water pumped from the lagoon..
The bomb had been a little off target and the USS NEVADA's red paint was scorched and smoked up on one side with not much visible damage. There were about seventy ships forming the target area. 5 battleships, 2 aircraft carriers, 12 destroyers, 8 submarines and many landing craft and passenger vessels. The Nevada had about 20 ships within about 1000 yards of it. The other ships were outside the 1000 yard area but still in the target area like the spokes of a wheel.
Did l say that things looked normal when we returned to Bikini except for some smoke ?? Well shortly after anchoring in our same place the USS CLAMP ARS 33 came alongside and Chief Drew sent a working party consisting of practically the Cebu's entire I C engine shop aboard it to help them change a crankshshaft in one of their main engines, which was a Cooper Bessemer GSB 7. The Chief Motor Mac on the Clamp and his men had already started disassembling the engine and was getting it ready to seperate at the main bearing section where it was bolted to the oil reservoir which was the base of the engine, and lay the block over on the side to remove the crankshaft. The Chief said he had it under control but he could always use some help and mainly that he needed some people to go aboard the USS INDEPENDENCE CVL 22 and remove a crankshaft from an engine aboard it to replace the Clamps crankshaft.
Chief Drew got us a LCVP boat and crew and riding over to the Independence CVL 22 we got a close up view of damage to the target ships. The USS GILLAM APA 57 was sunk, the destroyer USS ANDERSON DD 411 was sunk, another APA was sunk, the destroyer LAMSON DD-367 was capsized and sunk, the Japanese cruiser SAKAWA was sunk, and many other ships close to the Independence had visible damage. The INDEPENDENCE CVL 22 looked the worst of all and we boarded it. The flight deck was bowed up about six foot amidships from bow to stern and the stacks were missing and there were broken chains where the aircraft had been tied down, but no airdraft remained, and Tillie the crane, badly scorched was turned over on its side with a chain or two still holding it down and they had chained a 3000 gallon gasoline tanker to the deck and the chassis, with tires, engine and bottom part of the tank was still there. Amazingly except for the hanger deck shaken up below that there was very little damage visible. A "Skeleton Crew" on the Carrier took us down five decks and there was our engine hooked to a generator and surprise surprise- A crewmember said it had already been disassembled before Test Able by Motor Macs in the Carrier Crew because they knew the Clamp needed a crankshaft and because of the workload, the USS Clamp CO had decided to run the engine on till after the test and then change it. Well to make a long story short we hooked a chain fall up to the crankshaft and raised it up to the hangar deck and with an ordinance bomb cart hauled it over to the side of the carrier and lowered it down to the LCVP boat and went back to the USS Clamp. They manned their boom and lifted the crankshaft aboard aboard after which we washed it in diesel fuel and blew out the oil galleries and oiled it down and after measuring it with micrometers and inspecting it for nicks and burrs we wrapped a blanket around it and manhandled it down to the engine room using a chainfall for safety going down the ladder. How much radiation did we get ? Who knows. The main thing that bothered us was the stagnant air and still heat. It must have been 120 degrees below deck as it was 98 degrees topside. I had heat rash in some unmentionable areas that burned when l showered and since it was typical, the Corpsmen could only say, keep as dry as possible and take frequent salt water showers, and they gave me some talcum powder to put on it. Sulpher would have been better but all they knew was how to issue the cure-all, APC tablets.
Well me and one of the Motor Macs from Cebu stayed to help assemble the engine and the Clamp being able to operate with one engine set out to help relocate some of the target ships and replace some others. You might say rearrange the target area getting ready for Test Baker. Some of the crew had to board the contaminated ships and raise the anchors and attach the towing cables. After two days we had the engine running and was picked up by an LCVP boat and taken back to Cebu with a Thank You. The USS Clamp ARS 33 was a hard worker and a good feeder but she wasn't much on liberty . We worked around the clock in shifts and due to a shortage of space, bunked in our reliefs bunk. My relief was a Fireman and he had a heat rash also so we had at least two things in common.
Continue to the rest of Jordan's story.
--Keith Whittle
March 4, 2001
Operation Crossroads