Date: 17 Mar 99
From: Tim Schultz yumpinyiminy@netscape.net
To: Keith pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Dad
Dear Keith,
I am sorry to inform you that my father Gerald [Jerry] Schultz passed away
on 3-17-99. Anything I can help you with as far as continuing his stories
please let me know. I have only begun to delve into this mess our government
has bestowed upon these wonderful men. Please keep in contact and inform me of
any news or information regarding ATOMIC VETERANS.
Sincerely,
Tim Schultz
Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999
From: Tim Schultz tks@cyberhighway.net
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: American Heroes, Husbands and Dads
My name is Tim Schultz the son of Gerald Schultz. Dad was involved in the 1951
Operation Ranger as well as being a part of the 1952 (Ivy) Rawin group on Eniwetok. Today, March 7, dad celebrates his 68th birthday. He recently had been diagnosed with leukemia, and has also had skin grafts for topical cancer. I am in awe of what men like my father were assigned to as duty for the sake of our country. And these men are truly HEROES. I would like to thank you for your efforts on their behalf, and am submitting one of my father's stories regarding Project Ranger.
Thank You,
Tim Schultz
In January and February of 1951, I was on temporary assignment to work on the atomic bomb Project, "Ranger," at Frenchman Flats, Nevada. Two other enlisted men and I worked in Meteorology. Our job was to obtain data of wind speed and direction of vapor jet streams. Our shelter, a wooden framed building, and equipment were located approximately 6-1/2 miles from the drop zone. During the first four A--bomb drops..other than being quite spectacular we survived, as did our building, without difficulty.
On February 5, 1951, at 2230, the red phone rang. It was a direct line to the atomic energy commission located in Las Vegas. The voice on the other end advised us to immediately take a balloon run and another at 0200 the following morning. I questioned the request because the next drop was not scheduled for another two days. A change was made and we were told that this bomb was going to be the biggest ever to be dropped and exploded from a bomber.
At 0245 I picked up the red phone and called in our data. The information we supplied would determine if wind conditions were favorable to minimize the chance of fallout over populated areas. Later the phone rang again informing us that the bomber had taken off from Alamogordo, New Mexico and would arrive over the drop zone at 0547.
At 0530, after a brief discussion, the three of us mutually decided to take our chances of being outside rather than remaining in an old wooden building. The temperature outside was 20 degrees, the sky was crystal clear with a million stars lighting up the azure landscape surrounding us. A lone coyote howled to its mate over a far ridge. Other than that, there was the complete silence of a winter night.
At approximately 0540, we spotted a blinking light coming in from the east at about 35,000 feet. All other commercial airlines within a 100 mile radius were banned from flying through the test site. We were certain that this was our bomber. We watched with anticipation as it got closer and closer to us. At exactly 0547, The plane started a right bank turn. I made the comment, "The plane may be making a dry run." My statement was premature. The pitch of the plane's engines, the immediate increased whine and sharp right climb told us that the release had been made.
From that moment on, time stood still. We three were fully aware that the largest atom bomb ever to be set off was falling very close to where we were huddled. We also realized that a one-degree error in the navigators calculations would mean that the bomb would land directly on or near us. The Atomic Energy Commission had no idea if it were possible that the splitting of the atoms from this size bomb could start an atmospheric chain reaction and obliterate the entire world. We wondered if what God created in the beautiful world would soon be destroyed by man.
The sound of the plane gradually decreased and again silence returned. No one spoke. Subconsciously I made an act of contrition and realized a rapid increase in my heartbeat. Suddenly it happened. The pitch black of night turned into a blinding light 100 times brighter than the sun. We were all wearing protective eye gear but instinctively I raised my arm to shield my eyes. In doing so, l looked up and could see the plane trying to escape the inevitable shock wave that was moving rapidly towards it.
The epicenter of the blast was the color of white incandescent heat rapidly changing to a bright orange, then to a firey crimson fading to a purple glow. The entire landscape around us was Iit up in an eerie unrealistic light from horizon to horizon as far as the eye could see. The light was so intense that THERE WERE NO SHADOWS.
As the mushroom cloud began to rise--still glowing brightly--I dropped to one knee. As I did so, the first positive shock wave struck. The concussion was equal to a 100-pound bag of sand hitting me in the chest. I was knocked backward quite some distance but was able to stay on my feet. My fur-lined flight cap was blown off my head. The tremendous explosive sound was deafening, unlike any other man-made sound ever created.
The earth shook for several minutes. I turned quickly away from ground zero and watched the shock wave traveling across the land like a giant earthquake. The ground rolled outward like waves in a lake disturbed by a thrown rock. The desert Joshua trees shook and swayed. dust flew everywhere. I turned back to the blast zone to see and hear two large bolts of lightening that the heat and electrons generated by the splitting of billions of atoms.
By this time, Jack Richards became so shaken, he ran back toward our building. He got about six feet from the door when the negative shock wave hit him in the back slamming him into the door, severely cutting his wrist on the broken window. The rumble continued for another 3 to 4 minutes, gradually diminishing as it moved across the land.
The following day, newspapers reported that the light and shock waves were seen and felt as far as San Francisco (425 miles away) and in Boise, Idaho and Los Angelese. Plateglass windows in stores in Las Vegas were blown out 100 miles from ground zero.
Upon inspection of our building, doors and windows were blown out as well as the wall facing the blast site. We thanked God that we survived and hoped that we would never again have to experience something as devastating as we had just gone through.
At the time we were chosen for this project, we were not given a choice nor were we warned on the dangers we would be exposed to. No x-ray badges or Geiger counters were supplied to measure the amount of radioactivity that we received.
For the past tem years I have worked through the National Association of Atomic Veterans in trying to locate Jack Richards and Lewis Woods, the men I worked with. To this day, I have been unsuccessful in determining if either are still alive.
Gerald [Jerry] Schultz
Submitted by his son, Tim Schultz
Email:tks@cyberhighway.net
Keith Whittle
March 9, 1999.
Operation Ranger