Spring 2001 Mailbox
Spring 2000 Mailbox
Summer 1999 Mailbox
Spring 1999 Mailbox
 | || Articles || Mail Box || Notices & News || Bios || Viewpoints || || Home Page || Email: Harold Wainscott || || Atomic Veterans History Project || |
| The Wetokian Web Issue | Mailbox | Winter 2007 |
From: Donwhitman1@aol.com
Subject: Fwd: Operation IVY--1952
To: Donwhitman1@aol.comHappened on to another IVY guy (Navy). My letter to him is forwarded to you. I still think the local time at Eniwetok was 1 November, but still only 31 October back in the USA. 'til again, Don W
His Essay....
I was a First Class PO (E-6 weather) aboard USS Estes, a Navy flagship for Operation "Ivy" at Eniwetok atoll (Mike H-test with an A bomb "trigger"& two a-bombs). I was on the signal bridge with the Scientists, military big wigs & hangers-on for the H-bomb. An AF LtCol took me with him to record angles on the cloud using a pelorus (a sighting device to obtain bearings on given spots for navigation purposes). To this day I see no reason for me to be up there (other than allowing the LtCol (& I) to have a very good vantage point. We wore HEAVILY smoked glasses but were warned to close our eyes until informed by loudspeaker that it was safe to look. Wearing the smoked glasses with my eyes closed I still experienced a bright glare for several seconds. It was a VERY impressive experience & the instant 8 mile wide, multi colored monster skirted cumulo-nimbus cloud was even more so. One could see the shock wave travel across the water toward us. The scientist biggies were apparently all surprised at the size of it & acted like fans at a football game. When the H-burst-cloud subsided, an overcast, mid cloud deck took its place & we got some mildly (?) radio-active rain. I inadvertently stepped into a puddle in front of the balloon shack & acquired a low level Geiger counter reading from one shoe. All hands carried a Dosimeter card which could be checked for radiation exposure.
I was working ashore at that time of the first A-bomb test as section leader of a split AF/ Navy section.. I was off duty & sitting on the beach with my back to the "shot" site sans smoked glasses. Loudspeakers gave us explicit orders as well as the countdown. The whole atoll "vibrated" at the blast. I felt like I was on a quivering flag pole. I returned to Estes for the BIG ONE.
The book "Dark Sun" by Richard Rhoads started with hydrogen "device" Mike & also the later tests, including the Russian monster bomb. The word device is used since Mike was not “droppable” as a bomb. I was at NAS Pensacola Officer training (for x-enlisted) in 1961 at the time & happened by the base weather office. One of the watch standers took me to their micro-barograph (atmospheric pressure recorder). Much like a seismograph trace, the recorder chart showed passing of shock waves as they traveled around & around the earth. I don't recall how many of those passages were recorded or if they continued to appear in the office micro-barograph.
Like many old folks I have paper thin skin & a problem with sub-dermal capillary bleeding or tearing at the least bump & I really wonder if that instant radiation from those test bombs damaged the exposed skin on my arms. I was wearing a T-shirt with white uniform trousers or a short sleeved chambray shirt with dungarees at those times. I am 78 years old & so far so good.
In retirement I worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Seattle. One of my co-workers was Marine Sgt Major ret. John Bankovich. He was assigned to a Marine Unit TAD (TDY) to the Southwest US Atom testing area. On at least one occasional his unit was located in a slit trench several miles from ground zero (exact distance unknown to me). Shortly after the burst the Marines marched up to the burst site. Were they Guinea pigs? John was in good health & suffered no radiation problems I know of. He was in his seventies when he passed away with a heart attack.
Heard rumor that some Navy weathermen assigned to the atomic testing area in the SW died of cancer.
Frank Baillie
Email: xwxguynavy@wavecable.comFrom: Donwhitman1@aol.com
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007
Subject: Operation IVY--1952
To: xwxguynavy@wavecable.comHello, Frank...
Hi, guys, I was at Ivy. RADM Kotsch, then a CDR or a Captain, was the senior Navy weather Officer on scene. Got a msg, part of which is added at end of my comments in the att file, which led me to do the essay. Ended up with msgs from two old Hydrographic Office people who had friends on the scene. Frank Baillie
In a roundabout way, the message from you above reached me through Dave Theophilus, a fellow Meteorologist (retired) from the National Weather Service. I was interested in learning more about our common experiences at Eniwetok in the early 1950's. I was on Kwajalein first, then back to Hickam AFB in Hawaii, then to Eniwetok from around June 1952 until March 1953. I was a weather observer at the base weather station in all three places.
We have a small group that gets together every other year for a few days to celebrate our common experiences--last one was June 2006 at the hazardous waste clean-up site west of St. Louis. The next one will be June 2008 in the San Diego area. We celebrated our 50th at Las Vegas with a spectacular tour of the Nevada Test Facility and radioactive waste storage area. Are you interested in such things? If so, I suggest you take a look at a web site we have supported. If you look at the photos, and find one of the softball team, I'm the tall guy in the middle of the back row. The address is:
http://www.aracnet.com/~pdxavets/wetokianSome of our weather station people were on board the USS Estes, too. Others of our group, myself included, were flown to Kwajalein for the test. The issue was whether or not it would be safe to remain on the island, and the answer was, 'evacuate.' We came back immediately afterward, and were there for the King Shot, which soon followed.
I have enjoyed reading your essay, and have read both books (Atomic & Hydrogen) written by Richard Rhodes. He is a Kansas City native, now living on the East Coast, but comes home now and then. Several times I have been to hear his talk/lecture when here, and been able to chat with him about our common interests involving Operation IVY.
I, too, have a number of health issues that might be related to our experiences at Eniwetok--not the least of which was the loss of a lung to cancer. Others include blood disorders. We all had some serious exposure to gamma radiation --and no one can be sure to what extent.
I'm pleased we have made the contact, and appreciate Dave sharing your message with me. Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again. After leaving the Air Force, I used the G.I. Bill to attend the School of Meteorology at the University of Washington, and lived those years on Capital Hill in Seattle. I suspect you know that area well, yourself. I'm now 75, and retired from the National Weather Service 20 years ago when I reached 55.
'til again,
Don Whitman
Kansas City
Email: Donwhitman1@aol.com
|
| || Articles || Mail Box || Notices & News || Bios || Viewpoints || || Home Page || Email: Harold Wainscott || || Atomic Veterans History Project || |