Lynn Kingrey sent email about his duty at Operation Dominic.
From: "Lynn Kingrey" lynnkingrey@hotmail.com
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: atomic vets
Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2001
My name is Lynn Kingrey.
I was on both Dominic 1 and 2. My outfit was the 1211th Test Squadron, out of Kirtland.
Our aircraft were B-57 B-C and D models. We were the test people for all the shots at Christmas and Johnston islands. My job was NCOIC Personal equipment 1211th.
During the tests, my people were at, Kirtland, Hickem, Barbers Point, Elmendorf, Australia and one at Bali. I was at Christmas Island. Dominic 1 and at Barbers Point and Johnston Island and the aircraft carrier Princeton off Johnston for one shot which we followed with our own shot right after the altitude shot by the Johnston crew. Then I went from Barbers Point to Johnston on an almost a trip every other day. Without looking up my records I made 27 trips back and forth during the month of November.
Dominic 2 during November I remember flying down, eating and flying back, then bumming a ride to Barbers Point. I am at present in a battle with our glorious VA over the problem I have. It is related and its been about 8 years and still not settled.
If this will help or you would like more info. I've got pages and pages of stuff. Some are lies, some guesses and and a lot is someone in a chair in DC saying this is the way it was and not knowing what they were talking about. They weren't there I was.
Lynn Kingrey
retired Sept, 1970.
lynnkingrey@hotmail.com
Keith Whittle
June 28, 2001
From: "Lynn Kingrey" lynnkingrey@hotmail.com
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Dominic 1 & 2
Date: Mon, 02 Jul 2001
At Livermore and Los Alamos, the controler for each shot was physicists from one of the labs and they flew control from one of our long winged aircraft, B-57D and told the rest of the planes where to fly during the shot and till they got the air samples they wanted.
I was in the 1211th test Sqdn out of Kirtland AFB. We flew air samplers both short winged and long winged, of course the 57 Ds were high altitude aircraft, pressure suits and all that stuff. Someone had to put the crew in the plane and take them out, thats what I did, both when the plane was clean and when it got back and was radioactive.
I did all the hot pickups except 3 and I went on emergency leave when my father died and I went from Dominic to Kirtland then home and right back to Christmas Island for the rest of the tests.
We had problems and they relieved our Squadron CO and put me and my section under Col. Walker as commander when Gen. Starbird wasn't there and I never saw him at a pre shot briefing that would show the aircraft where they would fly during and after the shot for samples.
Lynn Kingrey
retired Sept, 1970.
lynnkingrey@hotmail.com
Keith Whittle
July 2, 2001
[ Operation Dominic ]