Operation Castle, Wigwam, and Dominic
US Atomic Veterans
Joe Stallings
Joe Stallings sent email about his duty at Operation Castle, Wigwam and Dominic.
From: Joe Stallings j_p_stallings@yahoo.com
To: "Keith" pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Atomic Veteran (Operations Castle, Wigwam and Dominic
Date: Wed, 24 May 2000
Keith: In 1953 and 54, I was assigned to the Marine Detachment aboard the USS Curtiss (AV-4), at that time it was the flag ship of the Atomic Energy Commission. We Marines worked with the FBI as Security Guards over the Hydrogen Bombs stowed aboard the Curtiss and as Security Guards controlling access to the barges where the bombs were prepared for detonation. |
Photo from Joe Stallings.
Click on the picture for a larger view.
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All
Marines aboard the USS Curtiss had both "Top Secret" and "Q" clearances.
While the Curtiss and the Marine Detachment were involved in all of the
Atomic Tests in the Pacific, I was only involved in Operation Castle at
Bikini Atoll and Operation Wigwam off the California coast.
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Photo from Joe Stallings.
Click on the picture for a larger view.
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Photo from Joe Stallings.
Click on the picture for a larger view.
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After my tour of duty aboard the Curtiss, I was again very privileged to be
assigned to Embassy Duty. After training under the FBI at Quantico,
Virginia, I was assigned to the American Embassy in Paris, France, for one
year and one year at the Embassy in Madrid, Spain, where my knowledge of
Spanish was put to some use. As an Embassy Security Guard, I once again had
a "Top Secret" clearance, and for a short time in Paris, a "Cosmic"
clearance in order to handle classified materiel for NATO.
I had joined the Marine Corps in June of 1953 in order to take advantage of
the Korean GI Bill in order to go to college. The simple fact was that I
had been a Franciscan Brother for the previous seven years, and after living
those seven years with the Vow of Poverty, I didn't have a red cent to my
name. I thought that the Marine Corps would be my ticket to college, and
signed up little knowing what a fantastic tour and life changing experiences
lay head of me. I left the Marine Corps in April of 1959, from my last
assignment to the Marine Corps Cold Weather Training Center outside of
Bridgeport California, and enrolled at City College of San Francisco that
Fall.
I graduated from City College in the Spring of 1962 with an AA degree in
Hotel and Restaurant Management. My first job was as the Assistant to the
Food Production Manager at the then new Los Angeles Airport.
One of my
cooks told me that the Government was looking for people to work on
Christmas Island during the last above ground test series in the Pacific. I
couldn't resist it and signed up for participation in Operation Dominic, and
out I went once again with a "Top Secret" clearance, but this time as a
civilian.
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Photo from Joe Stallings.
Click on the picture for a larger view.
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I was lucky once again as Operation Dominic wound down and was not returned
to the States, but was reassigned the Pacific Missile Range at Eniwetok
Atoll. I lived happily my next four years of my life on Eniwetok, but then
bachelorhood wore very thin and I "pulled the pin" (quit) and returned to
California, got married and raised a family.
But that just could not be the end of this story. Three years ago, I got a
phone call from a Keith Cundy that the former Marines aboard the USS Curtiss
were getting together again at a Reunion in San Diego. We Curtiss Marines
have been attending that Reunion for the last three years. Moreover, we now
have our own exhibit in the museum at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San
Diego. We former Curtiss Marines still stand tall and Proud as well as
having done exceedingly well with our lives, and we are living proof that
"Once A Marine, Always A Marine"!
Semper Fi
Joe
From: Joe Stallings j_p_stallings@yahoo.com
To: "'Keith'" pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: RE: Picture package
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000
As to the Certificate
from Congress, each one of us at the 1999 Curtiss Marine Reunion (in Las
Vegas) received our own and a signed letter from Senator Lott. One of us is
a major contributor to the Republican Party, and it was he that pulled the
strings to get us all this great honor. Yes, indeed, everyone involved in
the Test Series deserves one of their own.
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Photo from Joe Stallings.
Click on the picture for a larger view.
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During our Reunion in Las Vegas, we and our wives were the guests of the
Nevada Test Site. We were given the deluxe tour. We road on a very modern
bus with a TV screen for every two rows of seats. As we traveled the great
distances from important site to site, our guide not only gave us a brief
history of the site but also played videos of the tests conducted there.
After all these years of videos and movies of the tests done there, it was
very impressive to actually stand on the spot.
This years Reunion in San Diego was my favorite, however. We were also
guests at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot during our first Reunion, but were
very disappointed to find that there was no mention of us Atomic Marines in
the MCRD Museum. Fortunately, our former commanding officer, Capt.. Brannon
was with us and explained that when we boarded the USS Curiss to sail to the
test site, we and our ship disappeared behind a Top Secret Clearance screen.
During the Tests, the USS Curtis was a "Ghost Ship", and for that reason, the museum knew nothing about us. On the spot, I donated a pair of high
density goggles to the museum and the other Marines living in the San Diego
are gathered photos and other objects for an exhibit, and during this year's
Reunion we were very happy to gather around the new exhibit (shrine) to all
of the Atomic Marines.
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Photo from Joe Stallings.
Click on the picture for a larger view.
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Joe Stallings
USMC - June 1953 - April 1959
Email: j_p_stallings@yahoo.com
Joe's Dominic Photos
Keith Whittle
May 25, 2000
[ Operation Castle ]
[ Operation Wigwam ]
[ Operation Dominic ]
