Operation Teapot
US Atomic Veterans
Carroll Jones
From: "Docjones35" cjones5@cfl.rr.com
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Operation Teapot-1955
Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2001
Hi Keith. My name is Carroll Jones and I was assigned to the 651st Comm Sq., Shaw AFB, SC...In January 1955, myself, along with several other Communication Specialists, were assigned to what was to become Operation Teapot. The detachment, consisting at first, of 15 was flown from Shaw to Indian Springs and then we went on to Camp Desert Rock where we set up a radio van. My best recollection is that we were there for 80+ days and supported the 15 Atomic Bomb Tests. It was quite an experience and one that I will never forget.
As far as our tour at Camp Desert Rock and Camp Mercury, let me tell you some of the things that I recall.
When we first arrived at Camp Mercury, we were told to take our 6 by with the radio van and the power units and to set them up at Camp Desert Rock, and that is just what it was....After doing the set up, we went back to Mercury to see about housing and were told to go back to Desert Rock where we would be issued a couple of tents. Whoa...Before leaving South Carolina, we were promised housing at Camp Mercury, but that was not to be for over a month.
Well, let me tell you a little about Desert Rock. I could not see a tree in any direction and as I recall, there was not too much cactus. And when the sun went down, the red in the thermometer went down with it and every night the wind blew about 40 knots.
Cold??? I had just recently come back from cold country with a total complement of snow, ice and whatever else went with cold weather, but Desert Rock was different. I have never been so cold in my entire life.
Our tent had 2 round oil burning stoves and we would get them so hot that about a foot of the stove pipe would be red. If you got within 2 feet of the stove, it would raise blisters on you. If you got more that 2 feet away, you could not even feel the heat. We really hated that place.
As I recall, the tests were done right at dawn and when the weather conditions were ideal. More than once, I would stand on top of the van and watch the light come across the sky from the detonation and then I would watch it go back. It looked like a large window shade being pulled.
Some of us had to go to the trench line and hide in the bottom until after the explosion. Talk about get your attention and what a light show that we were not supposed to look at and a noise that one will never forget.
I never did know who our radio was hooked to, but it was wherever the sample planes were based. At that time, they told us very little, as usual.
Our TDY was for 82 days and we flew back to home base in late March. We started with 15 guys and wound up with about 25 because they found out that the 15 of us could not handle the workload. I did not like Shaw AFB, but I was sure glad to get back.
The only bad thing was not being able to go back to Las Vegas. I really hated that.
Carroll Jones (docjones)
Email: Docjones35" cjones5@cfl.rr.com
Operation Teapot
Keith Whittle
October 5, 2001