Russell Llewellyn sent email about his duty at Operation Castle.
From: "russ" thelark@pgtc.com
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Operation Castle
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005
Hello Keith;
I was on the Eppy and was at Bikini Atoll for Operation Castle. We had just got back to Pearl Harbor from Korea, as best as I can remember. I had put in for duty any where in California, on any ship, However I got the word that it would be awhile before I would be going anywhere, except back to sea again. After all the paper work for back ground checks and security checks I would have to stay aboard the USS Epperson. Little did I know what I was in for, so after many days at sea we met up with the USS Curtis and somebody aboard the Curtis said that they saw sombody aboard the Epperson with a camera so we laid dead in the water for I think about eight hours while they looked for a camera, they never found one.
We got to Eniwetok and picked up some people that were from the AEC and we set sail for Bikini Atoll. On March 1 1954, I think it was about sun up we went to GQ and we were told to put on our dark glasses. My GQ station was inside the pilot house, when the first H-Bomb test was set off it was just like 12:00 noon and I think we were about 150 miles away and we still felt the shock wave, after all these years I can still feel the shock wave.
We then went back to Eniwetok to drop off the AEC people. That night it rained and I had the watch on the bridge and I got wet. That night we had to get rid of our flag bag covers, even after washing down the ship. The second test we were about 50 miles away, the shock wave was much worse. I went ashore on one of the atolls. They had a swim party for us. There was not much left of that atoll or the trees, but we went swimming and had a few hot beers.
Over the last several years I have had 6 cancer operations on my nose and I hope they got it all, I go to the doctor about every six months or if a spot shows up.
Russell Llewellyn
Email: thelark@pgtc.com
Keith Whittle
March 4, 2005
[ Operation Castle ]