Operation Hardtack 1
1958
US Atomic Veterans
Wayne Parker
Wayne Parker sent email about his duty at Operation Hardtack.
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
From: AirCrafInterior@webtv.net (Parker's Upholstery)
(by way of histgaz@aracnet.com (editor)
Subject: Atomic Vets!
Hello,
My name is Wayne Parker. In the spring of 1958, I was a participant
in "Operation Hardtack" & witnessed 2 Hydrogen Bomb explosions from
Johnston Island (near the Eniwetok Atolls) in the Pacific about 700
miles from Hawaii. These bombs were 10 times more powerful than the
A-bomb.
They were shot into the sky about 35 miles up & we were aboard the
Aircraft Carrier "Boxer" approx 35 miles out from the island they were
launched from. Since the bomb was to explode 35 miles up, they assumed
that 35 miles was a safe distance if something went wrong with the
launch & launches were crude back then in the age of the Redstone
Missile.
I witnessed both Blasts, in 2 separate shots, & was looking directly
at them the moment of explosion. Talk about Awesome & Scary. We were
wearing dark glasses that looked like welders goggles & you could NOT
see the sun through them at high noon. When the blast went off, it
looked like the sun with your naked eyes.
The explosions occurred at night & it lit up that ocean brighter than
high noon at the equator. If that explosion had occurred on that small
island (one & a quarter mile long & a quarter of a mile wide) there
would have been no more island.
I have been looking for anyone who was there to see how their health
was in relation to those blast. I am almost 62 now & have been having
skin cancer removed since 1973. VA has been taking care of me but always
want a financial statement to see if I'm still eligible for free medical
care.
I can sympathize with "Desert Storm" vets, & the government IS
waiting for us to die off like they did the Japanese Americans that were
imprisoned in the US during WW-II.
Any & all e-mail is welcome & anyone who can give any directions to
sites or discussion groups about these Atomic & Hydrogen test would be
gratefully appreciated.
Wayne Parker, USAF vet.
If you have'nt done so already, please visit our websites at:
http://www.fly.to/AirCraftInteriors,
http://www.freeyellow.com/members6/aircrafinterior/index.html,
Warmest Regards,
Neomia {Ne-o-ma} & Wayne Parker
Parker's Upholstery - {Aircraft Interiors}
1223 Lilac Drive
Brighton, CO. - {Near Denver}
80601-6407
303-659-6226
"The Bitterness Of Poor Quality Remains Long After The Sweetness Of Low
Price Is Forgotten"
Email: AirCrafInterior@webtv.net
[ Operation Hardtack1 ]