Operation Ivy and Castle
US Atomic Veterans
Tom Bair
Tom Bair sent email about his duty at Operation Ivy and Castle.
Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002
From: Tom Bair tombair@joplin.com
To: "Keith pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: IVY/CASTLE
Hi Keith,
My first assignment after boot camp was on the USS Curtiss, which was
located in dry dock at Hunters Point/San Francisco. After dry dock
repairs were completed and a shakedown cruise, we returned to San Diego,
the homeport for the Curtiss.
The USS Curtiss was assigned to a Task Force involved in conducting
nuclear testing in the South Pacific. During Operation Ivy I was a
Fireman and my initial duty was working in the engineering department’s
water evaporator room. The evaporators converted seawater to fresh
water for all of the ships operations for drinking, bathing, cooking and
steam for power generators and for the main engine boilers. During
Operation Castle I was an EN-3 and my duties involved working on diesel
and gasoline engines.
After getting “Q” clearance, I was assigned to a nuclear radiation
monitoring team whose function was to measure the amount of radiation
fallout after nuclear tests. This required that I be trained in the use
and maintenance of radiation measuring equipment at the naval base at
the south end of the San Diego Bay. The radiation test equipment was
capable of measuring Rem and Milliremems. During my three-year
duty on the Curtiss, our ship was involved in two nuclear test projects
in the Marshall Islands. The projects were Operation Ivy, Mike test,
Oct. 1952, 10.4 megatons on an island in the Eniwetok atoll and
Operation Castle, Bravo test, Feb. 1954, 15.0 megatons on an island in
the Bikini atoll.
The routine for both of these tests was very similar. The USS Curtiss
was an ideal ship for assisting the nuclear testing because it was a sea
plane tender with various maintenance type shops that were converted to
laboratory type work. On each of these operations the Curtiss was
loaded with Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) equipment prior to our
overseas trip to the Marshall Island atolls of Eniwetok, Kwajalein and
Bikini. On arrival in the islands we would take on more AEC personnel
and proceed to anchor inside the atoll and off shore from the “Ground
Zero” island. We would remain anchored for 30 to 60 days assisting the
AEC civilian personnel. On the evening before each test day we would
deploy a boat with AEC personnel who made the final adjustments at the
test site island. They would then return to our ship and we would head
out to sea. The countdown to detonation would then be announced over
the ships PA system. These tests were held at daybreak or twilight and
our ship would be 25 to 40 miles from the test island, depending on the
expected strength of each test. On both projects we would watch the
detonation with protective goggles from the topside of our ship. The
fireball was so bright that you had the feeling you did not have
goggles on. We would see the fireball, then after removing the goggles
we would watch the mushroom rise thousands of feet. A short time later
we would see the sound shock wave travel toward us on top of the water.
In preparation for these tests, our ships exterior had special sprinkler
heads installed approximately every four feet. The sprinklers were tied
to a series of water pumps powered by three diesel engines that used the
ocean as their water source. After viewing these tests, all personnel
were ordered below decks and all hatches and ventilation would be
closed. When our ship would maneuver close to the radioactive fallout
the topside water sprinkler heads would spray saltwater over the entire
ship. The water sprinklers would provide a cocoon of water protection
to prevent radiation from landing on the ship. After passing through
radiation fallout, I would participate with the radiation team to go
topside and measure for radioactive fallout contamination. When we
located radiation on the ship we would close all hatches and ventilation
again and the water sprinklers were turned on for 30 minutes or so.
When the sprinklers would not remove the radiation to a safe level, the
deck crew would use fire hoses to manually wash the surface until the
radiation was considered to be in the safe range. During the next
day or two the Curtiss would steam back into the atoll where the test
was performed. The radiation measuring team would load up in small
personnel boats and proceed to measure the amount of radiation on
various flat barges and floats in the area. We wore special clothing
and had film badges and dosimeters for the purpose of recording
individual radiation exposure. After each measuring mission we went
through a very intensive decontamination procedure, discarding all
clothing in special barrels and taking several showers to assure we had
removed all radioactive particles.
After each mission our film badges and dosimeters were recorded in the
personnel office on the second deck for our personal medical record. On
one mission, I jumped on a flat barge to measure radiation and all of my
instruments pegged, then I jumped in the escape boat and we sped away.
When I checked to see how much radiation I had been exposed to, they
said my film badge and dosimeter both were so overexposed they could not
determine how much radiation I had received. They recorded that I had
been issued a defective film badge and a defective dosimeter. I have
received my military record and dose information summary from the
Nuclear Test Personnel Review Technology Development Directorate showing
my radiation doses were well over 7 REM.
Leisure time while anchored off shore from the Test Island was
welcomed. Liberty parties were authorized about every three days for
off duty personnel and we would load up in small boats and go to an
adjacent island for recreation, (softball, snorkeling, etc.) My
evenings were taken up by fishing off the fantail or going to the
nightly movie. Some evenings I had the opportunity to talk to the AEC
scientists about operation Ivy/Castle, which made our mission very
interesting.
Our ship would anchor at Kwajalein atoll either upon arrival or
departure and we would have liberty. This was a pleasure because
Kwajalein had several stores to purchase souvenirs.
After discharge from the service, the Department Of The Navy Nuclear
Test Personnel Review and the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) sent me
several letters requesting information on my health status. After
several years of inquiries they stopped sending these letters. Since I
considered myself at high risk for ionization radiation type sicknesses,
I take regular medical physicals. I have had two operations to remove
pre-cancerous conditions.
I am proud of taking part in these historic nuclear tests. I have the
highest respect for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Government and the
personnel who are in nuclear technology.
Regards,
Thomas L. Bair
EN-3
Email: tombair@joplin.com
Keith Whittle
March 26, 2002
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