The Wetokian: The Journal of the Atomic Weathermen

DEDICATED TO:
George R. Wilson,
friend and colleague,
who
still brings joy
to those who knew him at Eniwetok,
and those who knew him before and after,
and those who didn't,
and those who never will.
And for
his observant labors
which,

in that time and place,
lent credence to the day and hour
The Bomb would vaporize Elugelab,
and change everything.
And also to
those, like George,
who
labor intently
to find the kind of bomb it takes
to erase ALS.
And, of course,
to those
with
ALS everywhere
who deserve a better break,
and among whom the world is losing
so much
greatness.
DW 18Jan99

George R. Wilson served in the Air Weather Service, the meteorology branch of the U.S. Air Force, during the Korean War. In that time, his assignments included a one-year stint as a member of staff at the weather detachment on Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands. The area served at that time as a proving ground for development of nuclear weapons.

On November 1, 1952, George was one of those who witnessed the world's first test of a thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb. He was on duty aboard the command ship ESTES when the bomb was detonated. Officially known as the MIKE shot of Operation IVY, it's success ensured the future development of a "super bomb" proposed by many of that era.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS -- Lou Gherig's Disease) claimed the life of George Wilson on October 24, 1992, at Rocky River, Ohio.

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