From: fukami@attbi.com
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Atomic Shot Participant
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999
Dear Keith,
While surfing on the net tonight I was surprised to find a
site about the test shots on the Nevada Grounds.
I was stationed in
Stockton Calif. when our unit was called to be a support unit for the
Operation Desert Rock. I was in the Subsistence (Food) Company that was
at the support for approximately 6 months. The unit participated in one
shot in which many troops were involved. How close we were to ground
zero I don't know.
I did see and had some weird experiences while at the
site. I remember seeing a tank that was lifted up from the explosion and
the gun barrel was jammed into the ground. I remember in the trenches
they said cover your eyes, while sitting in the trench I covered my eyes
and I have never seen in my life such a bright light. I remember while in
the support area there was an area where all the live animals that
survived a shot were taken. I went there and the Doc. showed me the way
that radiation sickness occurs. As I remember about the sixth or
seventh day the animal usually died from sickness. The hair of the
sheep falls off and soon after death occurs.
I remember one day ( they always announced when a shot was comming ), I went to the parking lot to
roll down the windows of my automobile and as I was returning to the
troop area, the shot (an air burst) occured and wow, I thought I was
blinded. Everything turned deep purple and then slowly, probably five
minutes, my eyes returned to normal but boy what a sight to behold as the
fireball rose and then the ice cap began to form over the fireball, I
have to say it was a beautiful thing to see but it almost cost me my sight.
In fact it kind of scared me a little.
In the six months it was an
experience but now I don't think I would want to go through the same thing.
As I read the stories of many about their experiences, I was very sad to
learn of the many deaths from cancer. But there always seemed to me a
terrible lack of knowledge of just what was going on in that area. We
rolled in sand and kicked the sand and was up in ground zero and all we
had to measure the dose of radiation was the small dosimeter that we
wore on our outer garments.
I am now 70years old and so far have had
no effects from the atomic shots that I know. I say Praise the Lord for
watching over me. Well thats about it for now.
Wilbur Deeter
USA Retired,
762nd QM Subsistence Supply Co.
Email:fukami@attbi.com
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