Operation Castle
US Atomic Veterans
Red Royal
Red Royal sent email about his duty at Operation Castle.
From: Redroyal33@aol.com
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000
Subject: Atomic Veteran (Operation Castle)
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Hey Keith,
As you requested I'll try to provide a little more information of my recollection of Bairoko and Operation Castle. That's quite awhile ago and I was quite young, but Bairoko was my first ship and I loved her very much. I also had some of the best shipmates ever on Bairoko.
As I remember Operation Castle it took much longer to complete than planned,
because of extending the 'Restricted Area' around Bikini Atoll after test
Bravo. I was standing a lot of signal watches while at anchor in the lagoon instead of
having liberty in San Diego. We were the Flag Ship for Joint Task Force 7.3 and
therefore, there was a lot of visual communication going on.
The day of test Bravo is most memorable of the entire operation, the test was
conducted at daylight (approx 0500). After the test, my watch mate QM3 Don
Lundine, said he was going up above the Signal Bridge and go back to sleep in
a hammock we had rigged, and ask me to wake him before Quarters. I went below and
hit my bunk. When I woke everything was quite, no blowers, nothing, and I'm
all alone. I broke Circle W and headed for the Bridge. I found all the
Signalmen except for Don Lundine and QM2 Dudley Chauvin in the passageway
below the bridge. Lundine was still asleep up above the Signal Bridge and
Chauvin was the only Signalman left on watch. The water washdown system was
in operation and no one was allowed topside. We were on our way to pick up
some scientists (via Helo) from a bunker on one of the islands of Bikini
Atoll.
Thank You,
Red Royal
Fredericksburg, VA
Email: Redroyal33@aol.com
Keith Whittle
July 24, 2000
From: Redroyal33@aol.com
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000
Subject: Re: Atomic Veteran (Operation Castle)
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Hey Keith,
To answer your questions re. Lundine and Chauvin. They were both on Bairoko.
Chauvin was on watch on the Bridge. However, Lundine was up above the Bridge
asleep in a makeshift hammock. I was the only one that knew where he was. I
was supposed to wake him prior to 0800. I couldn't get topside because all
water tight doors were closed and the wash down system was activated. Lundine was
above the wash down system. He told me when he awoke the wash down system
was going and he saw some white stuff falling around him, but he thought
nothing of it and went back to sleep.
Chauvin and Lundine as well as others from Bairoko and the civilians from the
Bunker stayed on Bairoko until we arrived at Eniwetok. They then might have
gone ashore there for some medical checks. I don't remember. I just remember being
anchored in Eniwetok Lagoon for a couple of weeks and scrubbing the Signal
Bridge. I remember throwing the swabs overboard and getting new ones often.
We kept monitors on the Signal Bridge and took measurements constantly.
I kept track of Lundine pretty close, he was my guest for the Commissioning of
USS Richard E. Byrd DDG 23 in Seattle during March 1964, and when I was
working ships in Seattle/Bremerton after I retired from the Navy we would get
together for a beer.
I lost track of Chauvin and his younger brother, Maurice. Dudley's
name recently popped up a list of Bairoko Association members. I hope to see
him at the Bairoko reunion this fall in San Antonio.
Thanks,
Red Royal
Fredericksburg, VA
Email: Redroyal33@aol.com
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