The Wetokian: Captain Kuhn

Remembering
Captain Kuhn
Half-a-century passed since MIKE,
and we think of you, Capt’n Kuhn--
Big Noise from Winnetka,
'The Old Man' at twenty-nine.

We shared the view of mushroom clouds
from fireballs brighter than the sun.
And saw an island vaporized
in the name of keeping peace.

In that torrid place where sea and sun
changed all that was to monochrome,
your compensating attitude
brought streaks of color to our gray days.

Our sun-faded Jeeps and rattletrap trucks
liberated us from the Army's wont to walk,
and were icons of tremendous social worth
in the culture of that time and place.

One-by-one you gave us wings
to view the world from an L-13,
and to ponder the mile-wide hole in coral reef
that once was Elugelab...

You touched our minds and gave us views
we never might have seen,
that molded our psyche for later thoughts
concerning the unseen gamma rays.

We gather now in numbers
less than a full shift complement then.
And recall your whiskey baritone
of assertive voice, never in doubt.

We think of you, Capt'n Kuhn,
your name oft mentioned when we meet.
Your flame of life yet flickers in us,
and we remember!

Donald Whitman, 2002

Eniwetok, Marshall Islands -- circa late summer 1952
Photo taken at Base Weather Station, Detachment #2, 57th Strat. Recon. Sq., shortly before the MIKE Shot of Operation IVY. Pictured are: (right) Capt. John T. Kuhn, Det. Cmdr., and (second from left) M/Sgt. Harry I. Mosher, Forecaster and First Sgt. Others in the photo are unknown. The weather station was located in the operations building.

Capt Kuhn

John T. Kuhn -- circa mid-1980s
In Retirement. Following John's nearly 20 years as an air force pilot and meteorologist, he entered the National Weather Service at Chicago. Assignments later included Cincinnati, Anchorage, New York City, and Washington, D.C. He retired from the position of Aviation Safety Officer and Chief Pilot for the NWS, thereafter serving as expert witness in litigation involving aircraft accidents where weather was factor.

Captain JOHN T. KUHN, Commanding Officer
Det. #2, 57th Strat. Recon. Sq., APO 187
Operation IVY, 1952

After serving as an Air Force pilot in the sweep across Europe to defeat Germany in WWII, John Kuhn was assigned to meteorology training at the war's end. He became a 'flying' meteorologist, and subsequently assigned to be the Detachment Commander at Eniwetok during 1952, the year of preparation for, and the detonation of, MIKE shot, the world's first test of a Hydrogen Bomb.

While Captain Kuhn accepted no less than our best work, he was particularly sensitive to the things that made living and working bearable in a restrictive environment such as Eniwetok--fair and equitable treatment, relaxed military atmosphere, good and plentiful food, our own vehicles for travel about the island (although it was less than two miles long), and a dozen little things that helped keep morale and spirits high for the duration. When it came time for detonation of the thermonuclear device, Captain Kuhn ensured that everyone in the unit was provided protective gear in order to observe the fireball first-hand in that historic and world-changing event.

In retirement, John and spouse, Virginia, moved to an older, Victorian style home at Janesville, Wisconsin; and he continued working part-time as Expert Witness for the U.S. Justice Department in matters of weather-related (or, alleged) aircraft accidents that reached the courts. Tragically, he died suddenly in 1991 while on an extended visit he and Ginny were making to England--one of John's favorite places.

Donald Whitman, 2002

|| Articles || Mail Box || Notices & News || Bios || Viewpoints ||
|| Editorial || Email: Harold Wainscott ||
|| Atomic Veterans History Project ||