Operation Upshot/Knothole
US Atomic Veterans
David W. Schumaker Sr.
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2004
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
From: David Schumaker Sr dschusr@earthlink.net
Subject: Desert Rock V
I was one of twelve officers who volunteered to witness
Upshot-Knothole , Annie or Badger, in February 1953 in a seven-foot deep
trench only 1200 yards from the burst. Brigadier General Wilbur "Bigfoot"
Brown was commander of the Marine Provisional Brigade. I was the newly
minted Division Atomic Weapons Employment/Defense Officer, having graduated
from the Weapons Employment Course at Sandia Base in April 1952. I arrived
after the main force and upon reporting was advised by General Brown that
Eleven Army officers had volunteered to witness the burst from the trench
and was more or less forced to volunteer to be the Marine Corps
representative. The twelve of us got together the night before and made
our computations and decided that it would be safe, so we were bussed to
the location early the next morning. We were each given a badge, a pencil
size dosimeter and a Geiger counter. We were spread out along the trench,
so were very much alone.
I had prepared a blank triangular desk-name sign and thumb tacked
a stencil "D.W. Schumaker" to it. This I placed on the top of the trench
facing the tower. After the explosion the stencil had been burned away, but
the name was burned into the wood. A souvenir I still have. The only Atomic
Bomb manufactured name sign in existence?
When the explosion occurred we were covered with rocks and sand
blown into the trench. I immediately tried to look into the dosimeter, but
was too shaky to read it! The Geiger counter was sounding like a run-away
machine gun. We didn't get to see much of the effects against the animals
and equipment because the radiation was too high for us to remain in the
area and we were immediately bussed away. I just celebrated my 85th
birthday, and so far have suffered no ill effects from the experience. I
did undergo extensive tests by the VA at the behest of DOD a number of
years ago, with negative results.
I later witnessed an aerial burst about a month later, but don't
remember just what date or which shot it was. After those shots I served
as the Atomic Weapons Employment/ Defense Officer for the Third Marine
Division as it was deployed to Japan.
David W. Schumaker
Colonel, USMC Retired.
Charlottesville, Virginia
Email: dschusr@earthlink.net
Keith Whittle
April 20, 2003
Operation Upshot/Knothole