In 1954 I was with the Air Force in the Marshall Islands. I went to Eniwetok from the 57th weather recon squadron at Hickam Field and was a 25150 in the Rawin section on Eniwetok. We were there for Operation Castle, the Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Test.

Reading all the stories in the Wetokian brings back many memories and thoughts of friends, Duffy's Tavern, the dogs, the squad tents and even today when I see or smell wet canvas l have to walk a block to the bathroom.

Speaking of bathrooms, one night Stan Sigler and I were going to work on the night shift and we went in the john and one of the observers. l think it was Judd Shannon put a moray eel in the sink. We asked what he was going to do with it and he said he was going to put it in the toilet and give somebody a thrill in the morning.

I remember taking a landing craft to a close by island and having steak, fries and plenty of bee, and also taking the dogs to the movies at the outdoor theater. Our dogs would get in fights with the navy detachment dogs. I remember a cowboy movie we saw at least a dozen times. Every time this Indian was killed everybody would count. That same Indian was killed over and over.

Some of the guys in the Rawin section were: Stan Sigler, Paul Hank, A. J. Ingram, William Powell, Norm VanDusen and myself. I was there before most of these guys. Chuck Butkus was there when l first arrived. I believe he was the records checker. The first guy I worked with was Don Hansen. The weather forecaster at our airport in Dayton, Ohio, said Don died in the Bahamas, at a weather station on the Down Range missile site.

I was on Eniwetok for Shot Bravo. When everything went haywire the guys from Rongerik were evacuated to Hickam Trippler Hospital. The natives were taken to Kwajalein. That was when the Japanese fishermen were showered with fallout.

Later I was on Rongerik. I don't know the time frame but believe it to be the next shot. How I got there was quite an experience. I was asleep in my tent when somebody woke me up and told me to be down on the dock in an hour. They said I wouldn't need much because I would only be gone a few days. I think I was gone something like six weeks. The date I got back to the Rock was May 7 1954. I remember because my birthday is May 6.

I was on the dock in an hour and a boat took me out to the destroyer USS Phillips. Somewhere between Eniwetok and Rongerik we transferred to a patrol craft 1546 out of Pearl. There were six weather guys and two army guys who took pictures of the ionosphere during the shots.

It took about 24 hours to get to Rongerik. On the destroyer I went up to the bridge and was sitting in the captain's chair. He came out and we talked for quite a while before he went back inside. A swabbie came out and told me not to sit in the captain's chair anymore. The patrol craft 1546 took us to Rongerik. A swabbie took us in on a boat. The huts kitchen and make shift shower were just as the guys before us left it. The walk in freezer was loaded with food. There must have been 300 fuel drums. There was a weapons carrier with bad brakes. There also was a duck (amphibious vehicle) that was a mechanical mess. It had flat tires and the rudder didn't work. One day going back out to Ihe P.C. l got down in the well, in the rear of the duck to steer it. We ran right into the patrol craft. The officer on deck yelled "Are you trying to sink this S.O.B ? All that's holding the water out is the paint."

We tried to make some kind of cherry or fruit drink in the shower. I think the foam must have been two feet deep. Don't remember if it was any good to drink.

The first time we went on the island, we asked the swabbie if he wanted to spend the night. He said his commander wouldn't let him because the island was hot. He asked his officer "What about the Air Force guys?" and his commander said, "They're not my responsibility."

When we got on Rongerik, M/Sgt. McPeak had a Geiger counter and it went crazy so we knew the island was hot. I have often wondered, if Rongerik was too hot for the first group why was it ok for us. The hut where guys slept looked like they left everything. They must have left in a hurry.

One thing we did that made it more pleasant was to get 40 cases of beer off the carrier Bairoko. Forty cases of beer for 6 guys meant we didn't drink much of the water.

The Rawin section was a little distance from our quarters because we used the weapons carrier to get there. We would eat and drink on the island. If I remember right, there was a small wooden outside shower. I think salt water. We were on and off Rongerik a number of times. The patrol craft received fuel and bread from the carrier Bairoko.

When we left Rongerik we went to Kwajalein. I left the group to return to Eniwetok. The patrol craft went to Pearl. I tried to get a hop back to Eniwetok but couldn't. I didn't have any orders to get there and I had not had orders getting me to Rongerik. They radioed my C.O., Capt. Davis and he came over in a C-47 to get me.

One thing I remember when I went to Kwajalein was going to the club and having to show l.D. I was 21 that day and the guy at the door said, "Congratulations, yesterday you couldn't drink here." The guys I was with were from the 6th mobile Weather out of Tinker (I think). I was with them because I replaced one of their guys who got coral poisoning in his foot. I think his name was Cicorze from Chicago. The other guys with me were M/Sgt. McPeak, S/Sgt. William H. Hawley, A/1C Sanderson, A/1C Aman Detroit, and one other.

I sometime wonder what affect this has had on my life and health. My son died at the age of 2 years, 8 months from a congenital disease called Atrision of the Bile, which is a liver ailment. I have had some health problems.

Recently, while talking to an old friend, Daniel Molthen from the weather station in Greendale, Wisconsin, I learned he flew through Russian and Chinese test clouds when he was in the 56th weather recon in Japan.

Richard L. Weaver
Email: tjayweav@aol.com

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