Operation Redwing
1956
US Atomic Veterans
Al Whayland
Al Whayland sent an email to the Portland, Oregon Atomic Veterans web site as a veteran of Operation Redwing.
From: Al Whayland - PA
Al_Whayland@gmaccm.com
To: histgaz@aracnet.com
Subject: Operation Redwing
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997
To Whom It May Concern:
I served on Eniwetok Atoll from March 15,1956 to May 30,1957 and, of course, participated in Operation Redwing. I was Signal Corps, teletypewriter repairmen, Admin. Det. II and worked in the Communications Center and also in the repair shop near the air strip.
I have pictures taken that were santioned by the M.P's at the time.You had to sign a camera out and they reviewed the pictures before distribution. This was after the bomb testing operation was over. I have pictures of the Wetok Chapel, picnics on Japtan, our baseball team that was runner-up in April or May, 1957, parade pictures, and other interesting shots. I don't have a picture of it, but it was not a jap carrier beached on Japtan, but instead, a freighter. An awesome sight anyway.
Eniwetok Atoll, Christmas Eve, 1956
Operation Redwing over, many personnel had been reassigned back to the states in Operation Santa Claus, just before Christmas. We all received some sort of gifts from, I guess, the Red Cross, and the ball field outside of the mess hall was set up with carnival like booths. This also included a dunking platform. For x cents you were given a ball to throw at a target on the dunking stand. If you hit the target a person, usually an officer, was dumped into the water. It was my only Christmas away from home ( three year tour of duty ), but the morale was high, even without Bob Hope, for many of us, as we were relatively short timers with an R&R in Japan just ahead. I and five others actually spent 30 days there 2/5/57 to 3/5/57, but that is another story, and one I have never forgotten.
From: Al Whayland - PA
To: "'histgaz@aracnet.com'"
Subject: Wetok Event
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998
A friend of mine since all of the days on the rock, John Batton, was the movie projector operator at one of the two outdoor movies. We had been all getting our fill of our wives/girlfriends, ect. writing to us about Elvis Presley. (More than a little jealous). His first movie was coming to the Rock, "Love Me Tender" and the morning it arrived, John, who had authority to pick it up at the airport, and a hand full of others including myself requsitioned an LCT. I had the authority to do so myself since I had to go to Japtan and Parry Island to clean their teletype equipment.
We were also taking their milk and mail to them. As soon as we got to Parry, we took their movie projector. loaded the Elvis film and projected it on a refrigerator door. We couldn't
wait until that evening to watch the movie and see what this guy Presley looked like. It was tough keeping our mouths shut when we got back to Wetok as we felt we had a one upsmanship over the other guys. I never hear an Elvis song or see his picture that I don't think of that event.
Al Whayland
Al_whayland@gmaccm.com
Keith Whittle
December 22, 1997
Operation Redwing