Eniwetok Clean-up
U.S. Atomic Veterans
James Savage
James Savage sent email about his duty at Eniwetok.
From: SAVAGEJHS@aol.com
Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2001
Subject: Duty in Eniwetok, Marshall Islands
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
I served with U. S. Army during the period Oct 79--DEC 79 on the radiation
cleanup detail. I poured concrete on Reunit and Medrain; picked up metal from
the reefs to be put in the concrete dome and cap. I went to other islands but
I cannot remember their names.
I was assigned to C. Co. 65th Engr. Bn., Schofield Barracks, HI. Then
transferred to and assigned to A. Co. 84th Engr Bn (Fwd) (Prov). I worked
from Lojwa (a Lojwa Animal), the daily boat trip, on Reunit until the Cactus
Dome was completed (pour and form build crews) and the side crypt was filled
with hot metal that we had picked up from the reef. Then I was moved to
Eniwetok to work on Medrain with the seals removing the remnants of the
trucks and other equipment that had been run into the channels between the
islands. This metal was loaded on maggies (LMUs) to be taken to Reunit or to
the deep water in the center of the lagoon and deep sixed. On Medrain I
operated Dozers, Dump trucks, the crane, transit trucks, buckets loaders and
batch plant. I was in Eniwetok from October 79 through December 79.
I don't remember seeing any films on the testing that occurred in the
Eniwetok Atoll. I have numerous photos from the early days of the
cleanup project to project completion. I even have a Christmas card of the
Reunit Island and Cactus Crater Dome project. I knew that Reunit had to be a
pretty hot island for the government to decide to use it for radioactive
contamination storage with what we were told then of 25,000 year half-life. I
know that some of the TV crews came down and did documentaries while we were
there also.
James Savage
Ammon, Id
savagejhs@aol.com
Keith Whittle
March 18, 2001
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