Operation Teapot
US Atomic Veterans
Terry T. Brady
Terry contacted us by email about his participation during the Teapot atomic tests.
From: "Terry T. Brady" huskywood@gci.net.
Subject: Atomic Veteran (Operation Teapot)
Keith:
Thanks for the information. I would like to see the video. Please forward,
with any charge. Also, I would like to join your organization, as it appears
you are keeping a record that has been mostly forgotten ... and if there is
help needed for some of the vets I would like to be involved.
I was in the U.S. Marine Corps from Februay 1953 though February 1956. From
the summer of 1954 until I was discharged I was stationed at the Marine
Barracks, Lake Mead Base, near Las Vegas. I was part of the Armed Forces
Special Weapons Project Security Detail.
It was my understanding that the base was nominally under the control of
the Sandia Corporation, with Navy oficers in charge of the military
component, and involved with the science, and Marines providing security.
We used Air Force vehicles.
We witnessed a number of tests. From time to time Marines were sent to the
test site (usually if one got caught on base off-duty at the wrong time).
We also transported small cannisters and even provided security for
transporting large containers (flat-bed trailer loads) from place to place,
including the airfield at Nellis Air Force Base, where planes were
loaded (and off-loaded) under tight security.
On a number of occasions Marines were sent to downtown Las Vegas, with
counters, to measure the effects of dirt from the test site settling over
the city after a blast. Sometimes we were just in the vicinity (on liberty)
when that happened. Las Vegas was not very big then, and all doors to
casinos, etc. were always open, so dirt, dust and presumably other waste
material from the tests would settle indoors. It did contain radioactivity.
I was both Top Secret and Q Cleared. This meant I pulled security within
the Q area which contained assembly buildings and bunkers. This was the
highest security area of the base, though the base, in general was very
secure. I was especially trained to handle the small cannisters, which we
moved about on school buses, even on the public highways. Never saw inside
one though.
Duty was based on day on - day off ---- weekend on -weekend off. During
duty times we rotated from actual guard (4 hour shifts) to barracks reserve,
to Q area (if cleared) active reserve. If anything unusual happened (such
as the perimeter lights going on, or an alarm on a bunker going off) we had
to set up machine guns, mortars, etc. and wait for an all clear. This was a
somewhat regular occurence.
I moved to Alaska in 1959. I am a forester. I also carried a Big Game
Guiding License for 25 years, and for 10 years was Coast Guard licensed as a
Passenger Vessel Operator on the Yukon River. I did not return to Las Vegas
until 1990, when I attended a trade show. At that time, in discussions with
long time residents, I learned that a number of personnel from the base had
come down with diseases some thought could be attributed to radiation. I
have never seen any figures on this, and would like to know more about it.
Were we exposed?
There were times when we were told to wear special detection badges, which
were always picked up after our duty. Never received any information on
these badges.
I have been contacted a couple of times in the past two years about
reunions of Lake Mead Base veterans. Unfortunately I have not been able to
go. I have only seen a couple of people from that base in the 40 plus years
since my discharge. One was a good friend that visited me in the Pacific
Northwest (where I grew up) about a year after I left the service. Another
was a fellow that moved near me in the late 1950's, and I saw one former
Marine in Alaska in 1959.
My 10-year contract to "keep my mouth shut" expired in 1966. We were told
we were subject to fine and prison if we discussed our duty during that
10-year period. I believed it and kept my mouth shut, and actually forgot
most of that period. In 1966 a "stranger" visited me and my wife in
Fairbanks, Alaska, and began talking about Lake Mead Base. He took us out
for drinks and dinner, and kept pumping us. Eventually he said,
"Congratulations, you have passed" and he left. My wife was surprised, as
she knew I had enlisted in the Marine Corps, but that was it (we met in
1963). Anyway, I guess that is all I have to tell, except that I must
honestly say that of all the forces of man and nature I have witnessed in
my life, in many parts of the world, that even a small nuclear shot was
awesome and beautiful in its own way. The human brains and technology that
were combined to create such events should certainly be able to solve many
of the problems we are faced with on earth.
I understand the next Lake Mead Base reunion is to be held in Las Vegas, on
October 21, 22, 2. The contact is Jim Hamann, Box 172 - 16420 Dayton Ave.,
Dayton, MN 55327-0172, Phone 612-428-2046. He sent out a newsletter last
month. I, again, don't know if I'll be able to make it.
In the meantime, I would like to know more about the physical we are
supposed to receive from the VA. The local office here in Alaska knows
nothing about it. Hamann noted a toll free number (1-800-827-0365). I have
dialed that number, but told it is "not working" by the operator. Just
curious to know if my rheumatism, kidney stones, and bad teeth and thinning
hair are just "old age creeping up" or something else.
Again, thanks for the information. If I'm eligible I would like to join
your organization.
Terry Brady
Email: huskywood@gci.net
Operation Teapot
Keith Whittle
September 3, 1998
Update, March 16, 1999.
