Operation Redwing
US Atomic Veterans
George Lindell
George Lindell sent email about his duty at Operation Redwing.
From: pamelananci@sbcglobal.net
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: NaaV
Dear Keith,
I was stationed aboard the USS Catamount in 1956 as EN2 when we were leased to the Atomic Energy Commission to perform our part in Operation Redwing, i.e., set up weather stations on adjacent atolls, transport vehicles, personnel and in one case, an H-bomb, aboard our ship.
During each test the ship was dispatched to a point about thirty miles away from Ground Zero. Each person above decks was instructed to lay down facing aft, away from the shot, and put his eyes in the crook of his arm and close them until instructed to open them, which was approximately ten to twenty seconds after the detonation. I recall afterward that the dark ocean was lit up brighter than day, and bright colors were in the sky. A few minutes after each shot, the shockwave would hit the ship with a big “whoosh” which, if you weren’t prepared, would suck the fires out of the boilers, leaving the ship without power. After the first detonation there was a learning curve because nobody knew what to expect, so there were several things that went wrong and had to be adjusted for future detonations. For example, the weather changed and blew the radioactive clouds over us. In later tests we had to adjust for this by shutting down the ventilation system during the period of time when the shockwave was to pass over the ship.
I recall that fire pumps were manned to pressurize the spray curtain that the ship was fitted with. Enabling the system was supposed to wash off all the fallout. Each sailor was checked for radiation with a Geiger Counter. Anyone contaminated would have to proceed to the designated showers and shower off and then be rechecked. If still contaminated, the process was repeated until all the contamination was presumably gone. Some of us had to take several showers.
When I was diagnosed with colon and liver cancer in 2005, I immediately remembered the warnings we were issued and the conditions we were subjected to during Operation Redwing. There is no history of cancer in my immediate family and I’d been healthy up until that time. I've since had a colon resection at Churchill Banner Hospital in Fallon, Nevada, and a liver wedge resection and radiofrequency removal of an internal cancer from my liver at Stanford University Hospital. I was treated with chemotherapy and am currently under observation for return of cancer. This leaves and me and my family in a very unstable atmosphere, as I'm sure other cancer victims understand.
If any of my shipmates happen to read this and would like to contact me, I would be happy to hear from them. They can reach me at impatient4@hotmail.com
Best Regards,
George Lindell
Email: impatient4@hotmail.com
Keith Whittle
February 28, 2007
[ Operation Redwing ]