Hardtack 1958
US Atomic Veterans
Charlie Nachbar
Charlie Nachbar sent email about his duty at Operation Hardtack.
From: "Chuck & Sally" cnachbar@hotmail.com
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Operation Hardtack, 1958 "24th Helicopter Sq. USAF"
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005
Hi Keith,
My name is Charlie Nachbar. I transfered to Eniwetok in 1958 from Japan with the 24th Helicopter Squadron of the USAF.
I do rember the old B36 landing and taking off. I think it had a B4 Bag painted on the the nose that said "HAVE B36 Will Travel."
We had mostly H21 helicopters and one H19 which we lost while I was there. We also lost one of the top atomic scientists with it. It went down at night in shallow water, rolled on it's side and someone opened a 20 man life raft in the cabin trapping the scientest. I think Ron Daniels from Grants Pass Oragon was crew chief of that H19.
I do rember the great job the US Army did at the mess hall with the steaks on Fridays. The nights spent at Duffies Tavern. Parties over on Japtan, and eating the coconuts before we read the sign by the landing before we went over in the Helicopter, and the old rusted ship left from the war, I think it was the Nickajack Trails and the old cement hull ship in the lagoon we would sometimes land on, the Holmes & Narver mess hall where they served family style dinners and very good pies, fishing was excelent.
I remember seeing through your hands when you didn't have goggles to wear even with your back to the to the blast and when we had tests going on there was no water for showers so they could wash the planes down and takeing the pilots out of the sampler planes with a fork lift so they wouldn't touch the plane. When we came back from picking up the instruments after the blast getting another set of shorts and shirt and a good shower.
I also rember the Coconut crabs. and the large Killer clams. They must have weighed 400 lbs. Then there was the giant shark that use to hang out accross the atoll where we were. On a previous test they had blown an island right out of the atoll, nothing left but the water line where the shore use to be.
All in all the experience in the 24th Helicopter Sq Det 4 was something that a very few got to see and hope I never see one of these bombs used again.
I did get to see some of the damage they did in Japan while there in 57 and some of the people they paraded though the streets on May Day.
Well before I write a book I'll save some room for someone else.
Fellow Atomic Vet
Charlie Nachbar
Email: cnachbar@hotmail.com
Keith Whittle
February 26, 2005
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