Bikini Diary: Proud To Be Chosen by Alice A. Parson Alice Parson has written a fine tribute to her brother Ed Alton, veteran of the 1946 Crossroads tests. Ed kept a diary he titled " My Trip of the Atomic Bomb Tests, during his tour at Bikini. He was stationed aboard the USS Benevolence and the USS Haven with the Radiological Control Section. Alice surrounds her brothers Diary with a brief history of the opening of the Atomic Age and the organization of Operation Crossroads. Her thorough analysis of the radiation exposure to the sailors at Crossroads is followed by many first person narratives found on this website. Illustrated with over two dozen photographs, Bikini Diary: Proud To Be Chosen is an excellent story of a sisters devotion to her brother and the history of his duty at Operation Crossroads. Contact Alice Parson by email to order a copy of her book. Below is an except from her book. BIKINI DIARY: PROUD TO BE CHOSEN Operation Crossroads, 1946 For the reporters and the public, the story of Operation Crossroads was the heat, blast, and tally of sunken ships, but the real story was the power of that invisible, deadly radiation to which thousands of participants were exposed - many overexposed unknowingly. But the radiation emissions were being monitored cried the nay sayers. Not so comes back the answer from many of the participants. From the radsafe monitors comes the complaint that the Geiger Counters frequently malfunctioned and failed on many occasions to respond accurately. The Geiger Counter, coming to Bikini before being thoroughly tested, could only measure gamma radiation with any degree of reliability; its measurement of beta radiation was misleading; and worst of all the X-263 or Geiger Counter, had no ability to measure plutonium's deadly alpha emissions which erupted with the Baker Test. The few instruments that could detect alpha radiation did not operate outside the controlled laboratory on the Haven. In an interview Colonel Warren conducted six months after Operation Crossroads he said of the Baker Test, "...literally astronomical quantities of radioactive material had become intimately mixed with the sea water, mist and spray which accompanied the formation of the giant mushroom of water which rose from the lagoon." The film badges, although issued to about one seventh of the 42,000 Crossroads participants, could only announce exposure after the fact and resulted in overexposure to many uncontrolled situations such as water and air contamination sometimes so widespread it went undetected. "The situation was made worse because few of the 42,000 men were even aware of the hazards and the need to take radsafe precautions." Colonel Stafford Warren, sensing the impending disaster, stopped work on many of the target and nontarget ships because of the lingering radiation. He wrote to Admiral Blandy decrying the lack of adequate monitors, a condition that had existed even from the beginning, having to use untrained and insufficient numbers of radsafe monitors. The ignorance and many times indifference of officers and men to fully recognize the danger of radiation contributed to Operation Crossroads participants regularly being overexposed to the radiation hazard. By August 9, 1946, an end to the nonsense of measure it and record it became an absolute necessity. Wide spread exposure to radiation had occurred both on the target and nontarget ships, the lagoon waters, and the very air the men were breathing. And by August 15th Colonel Warren had called an end to Operation Crossroads. [ Operation Crossroads ] [ Home Page || What's New || Email || Family Mail Call || Notes and Hints ] [ Atomic Veterans, Atomic Test Series and Dates ] Information about the National Association of Atomic Veterans [ The NAAV Story || NAAV Medical Data Base Information ] Atomic Veterans History Project ©1999 For use of the material found on this web site, please send us an email with your request.