Nagasaki
1945
U.S. Atomic Veterans
Hank White
From: HANKWHITE@aol.com
Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001
Subject: Thanks for data
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Keith:
While a radioman first class with Commander Submarine Division 131 on board
the USS Euryale (AS22), I entered Sasebo, Japan on September 28, 1945 as part
of the occupation forces. At sometime between September 28, 1945 and October
15, 1945, Ensign Stanley Turco and I did shore patrol duty within 2 miles
Nagasaki, Japan. From our location atop a mountain west of Nagasaki we could
see the devastation left after the A-bomb dropped on that city.
During the day we were on shore partrol, we entered a catholic church, where
we me a Japanese Catholic priest who had two kimonas he wanted to sell.
Neither Ensign Turco nor I could speak Japanese, but both the priest and
Ensign Turco could speak French. Therefore, with the two of them conversing
in French, we contracted the deal. Incidently, my wife still has the kimona
after all these years.
Upon returning to the Euryale that day, we related our experience to fellows
in the radio gang, and some still remember our revelations.
On October 16, 1945, the Euryale set sail for Kure, Japan, which is east of
Hiroshima. The ship arrived a couple of days later,. where it dispensed
fresh water to Japanese water barges.
In 1997 I was diagnosed as having prostate cancer. To treat the prostate
cancer, my oncologist implanted gold seeds and followed the procedure with
radiation. During the operation to implant the gold seeds, my oncologist and
urologist discovered I also had low-grade (non-Hodgkins disease) lymphoma
cancer, a slow growing form of lymphoma for which there is no cure.
After talking with my oncologist, I learned that non-Hodgkins lymphoma can
result from the carcinogenic effects of radiation exposure. This brought to
mind my shore patrol duty near the Nagasaki bomb site, and filed a claim for
compensation with the Veterans Administration. After more than a year's
time, the VA disapproved my claim, but feeling certain my cancers stemmed
from the time I spent in Japan, I appealed the case and received a docket
number. Meantime, certain that Ensign Turco could confirm our shore patrol
experience, I asked the USS Euryale reunion group for assistance in locating
Mr. Turco. Unfortunately, Mr. Turco was not a member of the group, but I
remembered he had once told me his family had a funeral home in the
Providence, Rhode Island area during World War II. Using that memory, I
initiated an internet search, and located Mr. Turco's son. However, I
learned that Mr. Turco now has Alzheimer's disease and is unable to render
assistance.
Mr James Reisch of the USS Euryale Reunion Group recalls the day Mr. Turco
and I related our shore patrol experience. He wrote a letter to that fact
and now the VA wants to know if the Euryale was ever within 20 miles of Kure, which is SE of Hiroshima on the island of
Honshu. We anchored in Hiro Wan, which is the harbor for Kure.
Since I have the ship's log for the time we spent in both Sasebo and Kure, I
provided eopies of the information. I now await the results, and am seeking
information on the carcinogenic radiation fallout for the Kure area.
Thanks again for your assistance.
Henry A. White
Nagasaki, Japan 1945
Email: HANKWHITE@aol.com
Keith Whittle
May 21, 2001
Nagasaki