Tom R. Eberspecher
From: "Tom" silver6v@cet.com
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: This what I sent to the VA and Justice Dept
Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001
My name is Thomas Robinson Eberspecher. I certify that all of the information written below is the truth to the best of my memory and knowledge.
I joined the Marines on June 12, 1945. I was 17 years old, turning age 18 on the 19th of June. In July 1946, I was sent to participate in Operations Crossroads in Bikini Atoll, stationed aboard the aircraft carrier CVE-117 Saidor.
I was aboard the carrier during the Able and Baker atomic bomb tests. An officer told us that we were eleven miles away from the Able test (which was in the air) and nine miles away from the Baker test (under the water). We were close enough that we could feel the concussion from both detonations. Before the Able test, we were told to cover our eyes with our forearms. We were not told to protect our eyes during the Baker detonation, which had the most beautiful colors I have ever seen.
An aircraft was dispatched to fly through the mushroom cloud immediately after
the detonation. The aircraft returned to the carrier and I was one of the crew men who was
ordered to hand wash it with sea water. When the aircraft was checked with a Geiger counter,
an officer said the meter went to maximum.
In August I returned to the base in San Diego, and was discharged September 29, 1946, and moved to St. Maries, Idaho. Two months later, I experienced periods of fluctuating from feeling extreme heat to extreme cold. These episodes would last approximately 24 hours each time. A new episode occured every two to six weeks. I felt like I was burning up, but then would feel like I was freezing to death. My mother repeatedly checked my temperature during these episodes, but it was always normal. I would become nauseous, but not vomit. There were no other symptoms. This hot/cold problem lasted about a year. After that, I never had an episode again.
In 1950, I began getting flat white spots about the size of a lead pencil on my arms and chest. A fireman told me that they were oozing lymph fluid like blisters from burns do. He also called it "blood plasma". The spots would come and go for about a year. Also in 1950, I got ulcers and canker sores in my mouth. They were constant, all the way through 1985.
In 1953, I had a physical examination for employment at Standard Oil in Casper, Wyoming. The doctor told me that I failed the exam because I had albumen in my urine. He prescribed some medication. A follow-up test showed that the problem was cleared up, but the Standard Oil position had been filled.
In 1956, I broke out with painful running sores, mostlyon my chest and arms. At first they would like a pimple, and then keep growing until they would ulcerate. I still have the scars from these sores. Dr. Robert T. Ymamichi said that they might be caused by a virus. He gave me injections of penicillin. I had an allergic reaction to it, and I almost died. I continued to get new sores through 1959. They have not returned after this.
I felt normal from 1959 until 1967, when I started getting tumors. The first tumor was on the right side of my neck and was removed by Dr. Jones. He said it was pre-cancerous.
About four years later, I had an area of melanoma on my arm removed. From 1968 to 1970, four more suspicious blemishes on my arms and chest were removed by nitrogen freezing. There weren't any other health problems until 1984.
In 1984, there was blood in my urine. I had a pre-cancerous tumor
removed from my bladder. The doctor told me that if you took 200 people with bladder tumors,
99.5% would be cancerous. He said that my early detection caught it before it became
cancerous. Follow up self-test kits have shown that the blood in the urine as not recurred.
In 1987, I had a heart attack that required angioplasty. It had to be redone in six weeks. From 1987 to now, I have had a total of seven angioplasties, one open-heart surgery with four bypasses.
Regarding my personal health habits, I smoked a pack a day from 1946 to 1960. I do not drink alcohol more than three times a year.
NOTE: The Japanese were compensated for the atomic bombs dropped in 1945. Felons at Washington State Prison in Walla Walla, Washington were compensated for radiation that they were exposed to during tests. The Bikini islanders were compensated. The servicemen I worked with were not compensated.
Tom R. Eberspecher
Spokane, Wa. 99216
Email:silver6v@cet.com
[ Operation Crossroads ]