Operation Redwing
1956
Oregon Atomic Veterans
Gerald Cetto
From: JERRYSTACK4LES@aol.com
Full-name: JERRYS TACK 4LES
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999
Subject: New email address
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Update, Tue, 7 Dec 1999 : New email address
Keith,
Yes that is my online address, add my email address to my page.
Gerald Cetto talked to me on the telephone about his duty during Operation Redwing. We talked for a few minutes and he told me that Forrest Bahler, a friend of his and a veteran of Hardtack brought him some print outs from the website and Operation Redwing. Gerald is from Dallas Oregon. My comments and questions are in italics.
What did you do out there?
I was transfered off the heavy cruiser USS Rochchester CA 124 because I only had 13 months left to do on active duty, so they transfered me aboard the USS James E. Kyes DD 787. And I'll be darned if I didn't find out later that they were headed for Bikini and Eniwetok for Operation Redwing. I was a ships serviceman 3rd Class on the Keyes I was part of the crew that ran the ships laundry, and my battle station was the 40mm gun. I was first loader on the 40mm gun. And as you know the test were in the spring and summer of 56.
We deployed over there and were part of the task group that escorted the ship with the warheads on it.
Was that the Curtiss?
I believe it was.
The ship USS Shelton DD 790 was with us.
I remember on the way over there we were called to general quarters when we had an unidentified sonar contact. We actually rolled depth charges on it. It was not a drill.
Did you find out if you hit it?
No, there was never any indication we ever hit anything.
A whale will set off the sonar too.
I bet the whales suffered a lot during the atomic testing.
So we went on over there and did our thing.
We had naval weathermen on board, they sent up the weather balloons to see which way the breezes were blowing. Before every shot they had to make sure the wind was blowing the right way. It was quite boring. We would do our thing and patrol out about 40 miles, keeping unauthorized shipping out. And then on the mornings they would set off the shots, everybody that wasn't involved in running the ship, would have to stand to quarters, that means out on the main decks, muster quarters. And then they would tell us before the shot, because we did'nt have the goggles, to turn and face the bulkhead and put our arms over our eyes, and to not open our eyes till we were told to turn around and watch the mushroom cloud go up.
Once I and opened my eyes when the flash went off and actually saw the skeleton in my left arm. It was pretty awesome. Then we would turn around and watch the mushroom cloud go up and wait for the shock wave, it would roll the ship around. Once the flash went off we could turn around and watch the red boiling cloud going up. It was awesome really awesome. Most of the shots were set off predawn.
We had the outside sprinkler system installed on our ship at the Long Beach shipyards before we went over. There was a couple or three time we had to turn that on when the wind shifted unexpectedly.
What did all the sailors do while that was going on?
We had to go in while the ship was being washed down but then we had to go outside and scrub the decks. Do some further washdown.
Also during one of the tests and I don't remember which one it was. You know how the Air Force would have jets fly through the mushroom clouds, with a monitor or scientist in the back seat? One of these jets went down during one of these tests and the Keyes was the destroyer that found the pilot floating around in his one-man little donut. We pulled him aboard. I watched him clammer aboard ship from the Jacob's Ladder we sent down to him. We pulled up along side him. And the scientist, to my knowledge was never found. I remember that pilot coming aboard. They took him inside right away.
Here is a mention of this accident from an official history of the Redwing tests.
The most serious accident during Redwing happened on 18 May, when B-57B Number 52-1531 of the Early Penetration Element was lost at sea while returning from a cancelled CHEROKEE mission. In climbing to 26,000 feet in an effort to get above rainy conditions, the pilot felt an explosion and was conscious of a blinding flash. The right fire warning light came on immediately, followed by the left one within a few seconds. The pilot elected to abandon the aircraft; the observer ejected, and the pilot followed. The pilot was sighted by an SA-16 aircraft within 20 minutes, but because of rough seas, the SA-16 was forced to orbit until a surface rescue was possible. The pilot was taken aboard a destroyer some four hours later, but an extensive search failed to reveal any trace of the observer, Captain Paul M. Grumley.
The general day to day crap was real boring though. The only place we had to go was Japtan Island, where they let us set up a bar and softball field. They would send these LCMs around to all the ships to pick up the crews that were allowed to go over there for liberty.
I mentioned Al Wheyland's story at Redwing where he mentioned the bombed out ship that was beached there.
I remember seeing that. Also I went back into the jungle and saw this old burnt out shell of a Japanese tank.
Have you been to any ships reunions?
I've been to one reunion for the heavy cruiser I was on, and one for the James E. Keyes up in Seattle.
Were there any Redwing vets?
Yes, very few , but there was two or three that were on board when I was at Redwing.
I enlisted out of the Black Hills of South Dakota. Back during thelast part of the Korean war while they were still drafting everybody.
Jerry said he had the Redwing Fact Sheet that was sent to him back in 78 when he contacted the government about being an atomic veteran. I asked him to send me a copy to put up on the website.
Jerry says he's doing pretty darn good health wise. Although he did lose a daughter and granddaughter to health problems. He said he's not feeling all that bad.
It was pretty awesome though.
Redwing was a big set of tests out there.
We could feel those shock waves coming throught the water, even as far away as we were.
Could you feel the heat off from them?
Yes, yes we could.
When you were standing there facing the bulkhead could you even though you had your eyes covered could you still sense the light.
Are you kidding me?
It was the brightest light I've ever seen in my life. It lit up the sky so bright that you almost couldn't watch it. And then it would be dark again then. When it went away. When the light came thats when I could see the bones in my arm. They had an anouncement over the loud speakers that said you can turn now. And the officers that were standing there said you could turn now.
Then you could feel the heat on your faces from it?
Yeah, you'd get the heat and then the shock wave. The shock wave was a slow rumbling sound and then the ship would bob around awhile. It wasn't excessively loud, just a rumble, rumble rumble.
I told him I'd type this up and put it on the website. He said he has kept all the NAAV newsletters over the years, he has pictures of the ships he served on and other papers.
Thanks for the conversation.
Talk to you later.
Gerald Cetto
Email: JERRYSTACK4LES@aol.com
May 6, 1998--Jerry called and ask me to add this story.
This new boot came aboard in Hawaii and we were cruising along between Hawii and Midway, and it's getting rather late in the evening and were all on the fantail, ready to watch a movie as soon as it turns dark enough. All of a sudden out of the after head, which is close to the fantail. The door opens and this boot, comes dashing out and does a perfect swan-dive right over the port side. We jump up and yell, man over board portside!
We could see his head bobbing in the wake. The Officer of the Deck turned that destroyer around hard to port, just like turning it on a dime and they had the motor whaleboat in the water and had that guy picked up within 5 minutes. He just went bananas, he didn't want to leave home and go over to Wetok and Bikini.
They brought him back on board, I don't remember what the kids name was but he was fresh out of boot camp, joined the ship in Hawii. The Captain Cmdr. F.F. Penny, former sub-mariner, ordered the kid hand-cuffed to his bunk. He didn't want him jumping off the ship in the middle of the night. I'm pretty sure that when we got to Midway, the captain had him taken off the ship by helicopter and then they flew him back to Hawii to deal with him.
You don't want somebody that's going to go bonkers on you like that on a deployment to a remote island where nuclear bombs are going off. So they sent him back and we went on about our business.
Jerry Cetto
520 Hawthorne Ave.
Dallas, Oregon 97338
(503) 623-4755
Email: JERRYSTACK4LES@aol.com
--Keith Whittle
April 19, 1998
Update: December 8, 1999
Operation Redwing