Operation Tumbler/Snapper
US Atomic Veterans
Stanley R. Cook
From: SRCOOK@aol.com
Date: Tue, 27 May 2003
Subject: Fwd: letter
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
I have been reading some of the experiences of the men who were exposed to
radiation from the atomic testing in Nevada in 1952. I will try to give my story
before it is too late.
Operation Tumbler-Snapper
April 22, 1952
Shot Charlie
I enlisted in the army in December 1949. I was 17 years old and had to get my
parents permission. I went through basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey and
jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia. I was assigned after jump school to
Company F, 504th Airborne Infantry Regiment,82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg,
North Carolina.
In January 1952 we were sent to Texas for Exercise Long Horn. The 82nd was to
be the aggressor force in the operation. We made a jump on a town near
Lampassas or Lometa Texas in March. I jumped with the Pathfinders and was on the
ground when the Division jumped. There were hundreds of civilians watching the
jump.
We completed our tasks in the operation and were supposed to head back to Bragg
by train. We were advised that we had done such a superior job in Exercise
Long Horn that we were going to Nevada for an atomic exercise. We turned in our
aggressor green fatigues and red overseas caps and flew to Indian Springs
auxiliary airport, about 20 miles from Camp Desert Rock, Nevada.
Upon arrival at Camp Desert Rock our Battalion (Second Battalion of the 504th
A.I.R.) was put up in squad tents in the camp. This was probably the 16th of
April 1952. We were advised that we were going to see an atomic bomb blast
and make a jump immediately after the shot. I remember we had parachute riggers
with us that usually were assigned elsewhere.
After we got settled in I was told that I was to be interviewed by
psychologists from the Department of the Army. It seemed to me that the people that were
interviewed were non commissioned officers with high AGCT scores like myself.
I was sent one evening to a squad tent loaded with electronic equipment. I
was put in a chair and set up on a polygraph, wet pads on my hands and an
expandable band around my chest. I was asked a series of word association questions
and other seemingly inconsequential questions.
For the next few days we spent
our off time in Las Vegas and our duty hours taking care of our equipment. We
were lectured about radiation and the severe damage that it could do. We were
told that we would be closer to an atomic bomb that anyone except for a few
unfortunate Japanese. About three days before the drop we were sent out to the
drop zone to pick up some of the larger boulders that were in the area where we
would be dropped. For about three days we picked up rocks and threw them into
piles on the ground. (They were never picked up and caused some injuries)
We banged around Camp Desert Rock for a few more days. The camp was filling
up with straight legs (non-jumpers) and Marines. There were numerous fights
between the three factions. The EM Club sold beer and was the site of a few
battles. There were a lot of civilians at the camp. At no time were we told not to
tell anyone what we were there for. We wrote home and even called and were
never advised that the exercise was confidential. There was an article in the
local paper stating this shot was the first to be televised and shown on public
television. We were also told that this was the largest atomic weapon exploded
in the United States.
On the day of the shot we ate breakfast in a consolidated mess hall with
others that would witness the shot. We were then trucked to slit trenches that had
been dug in the desert. They were about five feet deep and varied in length.
We were told that we were 6400 meters from ground zero. Most of us were given
film badges. Behind us was what appeared to be a control bunker filled with
civilians. They had dark glasses and did not have helmets. We were dressed in
our normal field gear with packs and T/O weapons. Most of the NCOs jumped with
empty pistol holsters. The riflemen jumped with their M1s in Griswold
containers (Individual rifle cases). No crew served weapons were taken to the trenches
or the drop. Directly behind us were loudspeakers on posts. About 9:30 we were
advised that bomb would be dropped and detonated at 3500 feet. We were told
to get down in the trenches and cover our eyes until we were told to stand up
and face the shot.
I saw a flash like a flash bulb going off (I guess my eyes
weren't completely closed). The speakers told us to get up and look at the
burst. We did and saw the most impressive sight I ever saw. The blast was above
the ground and completely round. Many hues of red were visible in the maelstrom
before us. It was really huge and frightening. We could see the shock wave
coming across the desert at us and we were told get down until it passed. The
sound was the thing that amazed me the most. It sounded like an M1 being fired
into the trench, a sharp snap, rather than a boom, that I expected. The speakers
were knocked flying and we continued watching the fireball rise and form the
familiar mushroom cloud. We stayed in the area, out of the trenches, for about
five minutes. We were then marched back a short distance to board trucks to
the marshalling area.
We were driven South a few miles to what I think was called Yucca Lake (A
dried lakebed in the desert). At that point we got our chutes on and checked our
gear for the drop. I can't remember how many airplanes were involved, I do
know that we jumped a reinforced company, rather than a Battalion. I know by my
parachute jump log that I was in the number 14 position in the stick. We used
the usual T-7 main parachutes with a reserve parachute. We jumped from C-47
aircraft. Rather than using a jumpmaster, we were old hands; we used a stick
leader who exited first with no jumpmaster in the plane. My stick leader was SFC
Bobby Richardson.
Some interesting things happened on the ride to the drop zone. First as we
were climbing for altitude we noticed that one stick of troopers were exiting
early. The stick leader was the Chaplain (Lt. Shafer). He later said he thought
he saw the green light go on. They landed about 13 km off the drop zone. Some
of the jumpers were injured with bumps a bruises from jumping into the fierce
prop blast from a plane trying to gain altitude. While this was happening, in
the rear of our plane a civilian photographer was preparing to take movies of
our exit when his camera (Attached to his hand) got caught in the slipstream
and he was pulled part way out of the aircraft. A Private named Figley was
able to pull him back into the plane. We got the green light and went out.
Accustomed as we were to landing on a well-plowed drop zone, the concrete
hard desert floor was difficult to land on. We landed and assembled. We walked
through the display area consisting of a few buildings and quite a bit of
military hardware, tanks, trucks and probably 10 airplanes of different types. Most
of the planes were badly damaged and so were the buildings. The livestock that
was staked out for the blast upset me. It was easy to tell which direction
they had been facing when the shot went off. They were badly singed and in some
cases badly burned. We got to the area before the veterinarians got there to
euthanize the badly burned animals. As I remember we walked right through
ground zero. You could see that everything from that spot had been knocked flat.
We remained in the area for a couple of hours. We then walked past a Sgt. with
a Geiger counter, if your reading was too high, two men with brooms swept you
off. At that time the film badges were taken, never to be seen again. This was
April 22, 1952.
We then were trucked back to Camp Desert Rock. We got cleaned up and got
ready to pull out. I was called to the Military Effects Test Group. These were the
people who had given us the first tests. Once again I was set up on a lie
detector and asked word association questions. This time they inserted words like
flash, bomb, flame, etc., I know my heart skipped a beat or two on some of
those words. Probably the dumbest thing I saw was the fact that the testing was
done in the tent next to the EM club. Most of the interviews were done with
troops that were half in the bag. They later put up signs forbidding any
drinking before the interviews. We were never told to exchange clothing or boots (No
one could have my Cochran jump boots). We saddled up and were trucked to Las
Vegas where we got on a troop train back to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. All I
remember is really bad food and 24 hour pinochle games. I served the remainder
of my enlistment and was honorably discharged on February 27th, 1953.
I was recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer that has spread to my liver.
I am about to start chemo and radiation.
Stanley R. Cook
Manahawkin, New Jersey
SRCOOK@AOL.COM
--Keith Whittle
May 28, 2003
Operation Tumbler/Snapper