Eniwetok Clean-up
1977
U.S. Atomic Veterans
Thomas J. Parrish
Thomas J. Parrish sent email about his duty at Eniwetok.
From: "THOMAS PARRISH" tparrish245@msn.com
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Memories of Enewetok
Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2005
Keith:
My name is Thomas J. Parrish. I was a member of B co 84th Eng, out of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. I was a carpentry/masonry specialist. I was also, a member of the " advanced party" ( 30 or 32 soldiers) that was sent to Enewetok in May of 1977. Our mission was to clear the island of Lojwa and begin the building of the base camp for the " Enewetok atoll clean-up" project. My tour of duty lasted 179 days ( May to Nov).
I have read all of the letters sent from others that were there during the clean-up project. I have checked back from time to time hoping that I might come across a letter sent by one of those thirtysome. To date, I haven't. So, I thought that if I put my two cents in, it might inspire others to write also.
I would like to thank you and all involved with this web site for creating it. I have found it to be very interesting and informative. More than once, I found myself shaking my head or laughing...thinking ..I've done that or I've been there or I did that before that guy did that. Anyways, your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Before I start , let it be known , that the effects of radiation on the human brain is not fully understood. So, if I ramble on, forgive me.
When I think of my experiences in Enewetok, I have to start with the flight over to the atoll itself. As I recall, we boarded the plane and took our seats, which were rear facing. I happened to be in the last row of seats which overlooked the cargo that was going along with us. Well, it didn't take very long for me to notice that I was staring at four caskets directly in front of me. I looked over at at my sergeant, who was sitting next to me , and asked him what he thought the story was with them. Sgt. Mcvey, replied, "Parrish, the Army in it's infinite wisdom has calculated that we will lose four people on this project, and they are just being prepared." And so, the adventure began.
I think it took around six hours or so to fly to Enewetok from Hawaii. I remember getting off the plane at "Enewetok International" and stepping into that equator sun. Man, it was so hot it took your breath away. Instantly, you began to sweat in your jungle fatigues. And it didn't take to long to realize that those 19 cent sunglasses we were issued weren't going to cut it. We gathered up our duffle bags and other stuff and got on an old bus. We were driven to the green three story (air conditioned) barracks building and given rooms. After that we went to the mess hall to eat and be given a briefing on the dangers of the sun, the sea life, and the biological hazards that awaited us. We were then given the next three days to do what ever we wanted to do and get acclimated to the climate.
It didn't take long for us to find the little bar next door to the barracks...someone planned that out perfectly! I recall coming out the door of the bar one time, staggering about four or five steps to that little chain link fence area, crawling across it to a palm tree. I hugged that tree for a minute or two, then made it to the third floor to my room, where I had one miserable night. Oh, to be twenty years old again, and thirty five cent double black russians.
There was fishin' and partyin' and catching rides from one end of the island to the other, then it was time to get busy. The first trip to Lowja was just that, a "trip". We all loaded up onto this rusty old landing craft, along with a backhoe and plenty of ice water, and set sail. I have to tell ya, I was having a blast. I crawled up into the seat of the backhoe and watched the islands pass by. The waves would break over the bow and everyone would get a cool salty mist sprayed on them. The water in the lagoon was so blue, yet incredibly clear. The sky was just a shade lighter blue, and if you looked past the islands out to the open ocean, it was a deep blue. And even back then I knew that I should enjoy the moment, because more than likely I would never see those sites again. I'll tell you right now, I haven't seen any place since that can compare with the natural beauty of the Marshall Islands. The sun sets were fantastic, and for the most part the weather was nice and hot. Although, those" come out of nowhere" storms were really strange. Blue skies one minute, then pow, a down pour or a wind storm that would send everything flying. And the things I saw while snorkeling were amazing, many times I thought to myself, this is the kind of stuff you see on those Jacque Cousteau shows. One time at high tide , I was snorkeling on the ocean side of Lojwa, when out of nowhere a manta ray appeared. This ray was bigger than my arm span, probably six to seven feet across its back. It just glided by me in slow motion, and I swear it was like our eyes met. At that very moment, I realized that I was in his world and not mine.
Our boat landed at Lojwa about an hour and a half after leaving the main island of Enewetok. On the way there we passed by several islands. One of the islands was the one where all the natives stayed. That was a forbidden place to us. Then we passed by that big concrete ship that was run aground between a couple of islands. Next was the island of Runit, "ground zero" the "hot island" . No one was supposed to go there unless in full contamination suits. Although, one time we did stop and drop off something at a tent that was set up about 50 feet up on shore. No one seemed to be concerned about us not being in a suit. In fact, I can't remember if I ever saw anyone in a suit in all the time I was there. There were a couple more islands then there was Gilligans Island which was just before Lojwa.
When we arrived on Lojwa for the first time, the island was covered with these thorny kind of trees. Filled with some rather aggressive birds. There was a kind of road there that led over to the causeway that connected to the next island. It (the road) was put there by a civilian outfit called Holmes and Narver. It was in that area where the mess tent was set up. At that time the army made a deal with Holmes and Narver to have their chefs make our meals. The food was excellent and plenty of it. The head chefs name was Lee Cupp, I won't forget him with his handlebar moustach.
Anyways, the trees were removed and burned, all the while, the operators were being dive bombed by those birds. It was funny to watch, but I'm glad I wasn't out there doing it. Once there was a cleared area, it was time to start setting up tents. First the command tent, then tents for the rest of us. We stayed in them for a month or so.
After the tents were set up, it was time to make the island home. Outhouse and shower!!! I'm not sure if it was a 10 holer or 12 but it was the biggest outhouse I had seen. Everything fell into cut off 55 gallon drums. Each evening someone got to open the hatch doors and drag the barrels out and burn the contents. The shower system was pretty neat, we built a couple of stalls, then placed two 55 gallon drums on top. Add a couple of pipes, a spicket and a coffee can with some holes punched in it, and there you have it. The drums were filled each morning with water, and the sun warmed it through the day. Later on a larger system was built, but for the advanced team, this is what we started out with. All and all, it worked very well.
Up until these things were built, we shuttled back and forth each day to the main island. As I said earlier, I enjoyed the boat trips. A lot of times you could look over the sides of the boat and see various forms of sea life. Needle fish were common and barracudas on occasion and jellyfish. There was one week where there were millions of jellyfish in the lagoon. You could see them at different levels in the water every few feet, all the way from Lojwa to Enewetok. They weren't that bad on the ocean side....must have been breeding time in the lagoon.
When the tents were up and we were settled in, the work began. We began forming up 20' by 50' concrete slabs for the corrugated metal buildings that were to become home for the 500 man clean-up crew. Things started out fairly well, we had an old concrete truck to mix our mud for us. Then something happened to it...I heard a couple of stories...the end result was that it was dead!!! So, the concrete was mixed in two cubic yard mixers by hand. I read letters from others on this website about eating dust, trust me I ate my share of it, too. About a month or two later, a huge cargo ship arrived and delivered a brand new Diamond Reo cement truck. A little late for us, by that time we were hot and heavy into putting up the buildings.
Speaking of hot and heavy, it got so hot during the day that we would stop working from noon to two o'clock. We were told we could do what ever we wanted to do to try and stay cool. Whether it was laying on our cots with fans on us and a cold drink or swimming. Tommy L., Paul L. the III and myself ( I'd put their names in here, but I don't know if I should or not) would swim together a lot. It was a whole lot safer to have another set of eyes watching the area. One time we all headed out together, on the ocean side of Lojwa. I was searching for an elusive murex sea shell between Lojwa and Gilligans island. The next thing I new I was in a school of huge parrot fish, they must have been two feet long and maybe a couple hundred of them. It was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen. Then in a blink of and eye they just disappeared. Talk about freaking out. I turned around and saw a six or seven foot black tip shark swim by me. I could have poked him with me Hawaiian sling ( a six foot long aluminum rod with three prongs on the end, which we all carried every time we went out). He circled around me once and just disappeared. When I poked my head above the water, my buddies were a quarter mile down the reef. It didn't take me very long to get back to Lojwa. Eventually, I found a mirex. I still have a box of shells and coral that I brought back from the islands. I also have a heavy plastic fishing float with Japanese or Chinese writing on it. it's about the size of a small beach ball. Found a lot of broken glass ones, never a whole one. That's o.k. this one is kinda cool.
While on our fifth or sixth building, I was stepping from one rafter to another. The bottom slid out from under my feet and I fell flat on my back on the concrete floor, eight feet below. After the stars disappeared and I could get some air back into my lungs...I realized that I had messed up my back. So I was sent back and forth each day for heat treatments at the med station on Enewetok. One day as I walked into the med station, I met the Dr. coming out. He looked pretty upset. He asked if I would mind skipping the heat treatment that day. Then he told me that he had just lost a ( navy) man to an explosion. A torch set had exploded and a piece had taken a chunk out of his skull. The Dr. told me the worst thing about it was that he could have saved his life had he been in Hawaii. To this day when I think about Enewetok, that is one moment in time I won't forget.
After I was better and back on Lojwa, I got to help tie det cord for the hole that was going to be blasted into the coral for the foundation of the power station and water purification plant. That was fun, but most of us didn't get to stay on the island when they blew it. When we came back they asked us not to swim in the water for a couple of days. They said that the vibrations from the blast could draw sharks in from many miles away. I can tell you there were plenty of them there anyways.
Speaking of blasts, one evening I was walking back from the Thursday night at the movies tent. (If I remember right , that was the night we had them) All of a sudden there was a loud squealing noise coming from this huge generator. Then the sparks began to fly, that was a cool fireworks show. I don't know what kind of power it put out but, this thing was like six feet tall eight feet wide and probably twelve feet long.
Night times were fun. We would get a fire burning on the beach. Grab our flashlights and head out into the water and catch lobsters. They were kinda tricky at first, since they moved backwards to escape. Once you had a few, on the fire they went. Fresh ( and free!) lobster, all you could catch, and the cheapest beer in the world. Bon-appetite!!!
Hey, Im gonna stop for now...it's taken me a month to write this...and send it out. If anyone wants to contact me about their times over in Enewetok, feel free. I'll write back, sooner or later. I have some photos, but I'm not much of a computer wiz. If I can't figure out how to send them out through e-mail....my daughter will show me. If you have any pictures to share, I'd love to see them. I'm always up for a trip back in time.
I don't know if I mentioned it, but to date, I don't think I have had any medical problems related to my time in the Marshall Islands. God willing...I never will. For those who have been effected, my thoughts are with you.
Tom Parrish
P.S.....Does anyone have a close up picture of the little concrete memorial we left on the island of Lowja. It was about four feet square with all the names of the advanced party on it, and the dates we were there? It was in front of the only palm tree we left standing on the island after we cleared it. I have a picture of it ,but it it real hard to make it out.
P.S.S....Did anyone inherit a homemade desk on Lowja? I built it one weekend when I didn't go back to the main island.
Tom Parrish
Email: tparrish245@msn.com
Keith Whittle
August 3, 2005
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