Operation Redwing 1956 US Atomic Veterans Walter Lewis From: retlaw@net-magic.net (Lewis, Walter) To: "Keith" pdxavets@aracnet.com Subject: Operation Redwing Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 Hello Keith I was aboard the USS Walton DE 361 during operation Redwing, we were not there during the entire period. I believe that we were present during 8 or 9 nuclear and thermonuclear explosions. Our principal duties, if I remember correctly, was the gathering of biological (Plankton etc) data sampling during our time there. We had 5 biologists on board to do the samping and analysis of samples collected. We used things like plankton nets and dragged them at different depths over about a 3,000 square mile area to determine levels of radioactive materials in the oceans biomass. I believe that the level of radioactivity in the areas we sampled was far greater than anyone ever thought. One day me and a couple of others were diving on the coral reefs off Japtan Island and we found some huge killer clams and we decided that we could talk the cook into fixing some clam chowder, if we brought him the clams, so we collected a couple of them, they weighed over 50 lbs each, and brought them back to the Walton. One of the biologists on board saw us bring it aboard and he asked us to let him check it with a geiger counter. He did and those clams were so radioactive that they probably glowed in the dark! No clam chowder that day! >Walter Lewis retlaw@net-magic.net --Keith Whittle October 20, 1999 Operation Redwing [ Home Page || What's New || Email || Family Mail Call || Notes and Hints ] [ Atomic Veterans, Atomic Test Series and Dates ] [Videos ] Information about the National Association of Atomic Veterans [ The NAAV Story || NAAV Medical Data Base Information ] Atomic Veterans History Project © 1997-2005 For use of the material found on this web site, please send us an email with your request.