Nuclear tests, aftermath their story
Mike Driscoll, 66, of Spokane, points to the area of the Pacific
where his ship, the USS Yorktown, stood witness to a nuclear test in
1962. He wonders if some of his health problems stem from some kind
of nuclear exposure. The Spokesman-Review (JESSE TINSLEY The
Spokesman-Review )
John Stucke
Staff writer
November 11, 2008 Mike Driscoll is solving a puzzle that has
bothered him for 46 years. Could his health have been affected
by exposure to atomic bomb testing? The insight the Spokane
Navy veteran is gathering is as personally momentous to him as his
time aboard the USS Yorktown. He joined the aircraft carrier in 1961
after enlisting in the Navy out of high school.
The crew were told they were taking part in a test, but none knew
the details. It became clear when a nearby destroyer became the
first surface ship to fire an antisubmarine nuclear rocket.
Four decades later, Driscoll suffers from health problems that many
Americans have, including a thyroid condition for which he takes
medication. He's now connecting with fellow veterans and using the
Internet to review declassified documents about his ship and its
missions. Driscoll is not looking for a payout – he doesn't
know for sure his health issues are related to the test – but he
wonders how the exposure to fallout from bomb tests is affecting
others. Some may not even know they were part of it.
Several levels below the flight deck of the USS Yorktown, lying
prone and bracing for impact, Driscoll wondered what was happening
in May 1962. Today he knows. He classifies himself an "atomic
veteran." 400,000 atomic vets Veterans Affairs lists
400,000 U.S. military and civilian men and women as atomic veterans.
This includes about 195,000 service members who occupied Hiroshima
and Nagasaki following the atomic bombing of the Japanese cities.
And it includes another 210,000 U.S. military and civilian personnel
who participated in nuclear weapons tests from 1945 to 1962.
While the VA says it is nearly impossible to determine definitively
if radiation poisoning from nuclear testing is responsible for
veterans' health problems such as leukemia, cancers and cataracts,
it does recognize exposure may have affected the health of those
involved in the testing and states that veterans can participate in
a program to test radiation levels.
Recalling a 'whump'
Driscoll carried a small, green Navy-issue
memo pad in his pocket and kept meticulous notes. Of special
interest now are his journal entries in May 1962. Driscoll
wrote about the Yorktown leaving Long Beach and sailing to
open ocean. On May 11, sailors had to surrender their
cameras. At about 1 p.m. a nearby destroyer, the USS
Agerholm, became the first surface ship to fire an
anti-submarine nuclear rocket. The depth charge armed
with a 10-kiloton warhead plunged into the deep water about
400 nautical miles southwest of San Diego, then exploded.
An impressive spray dome was captured on film from ships
participating in what was called the Swordfish test. It was
a small part of the country's extensive and devastating
series of nuclear weapons tests called Operation Dominic.
Within the overall operation, the U.S. military detonated 36
bombs. Most were atmospheric bombs at remote South Pacific
locations like Christmas Island and Johnston Atoll. Some
were exploded at the Nevada Test Site northwest of Las
Vegas.
The sailors aboard the nearby warships during the 1962 test
readied themselves. Driscoll remembers a "whump." "It
was incredible that something could have such force," he
recalled during a recent interview, describing the event as
if something had violently lifted the Yorktown and slammed
it back down. |
I
was in Radio One when condition zebra was set
throughout the ship. When the bomb exploded the
Yorktown was like a cork in a storm.
It seemed to raise several feet out of the water
and then slammed down knocking out lights in
Radio One, and showering us with asbestos dust
from the overhead wire bundles.
I
personally have had no ill effects from the
tests, but I'm sure many have. I count myself as
an atomic veteran due to Operation Dominic. I'm
proud to have served aboard the Fighting Lady
|
|
Radiation's effects
Richard Sprute, of Spokane, talks about his World War II
experiences, but doesn't care to recall the terrible aftermath of
the atom bombs dropped on Japan.
He arrived at the Japanese port of Sasebo on Sept. 22, 1945, on the
USS Kingsbury. That was about six weeks after the atomic
bombing of Nagasaki and the subsequent Japanese surrender.
Many sailors took bus rides from Sasebo to Nagasaki in a sort of
ghoulish tour. "They said there was nothing left," said Sprute, 84,
who added that he had no desire to go. "I just
wasn't interested. Sasebo was totally devastated and I didn't want
to see any more of that."
Shipmates who did go to Nagasaki were upset.
"I think they considered the whole thing as regrettable, even though
that was at a time when there was still a lot of anger toward the
Japanese," he said. Sprute doesn't know of anyone on his ship
who was sickened by radiation exposure from visiting Nagasaki but
believes it could have happened. "There didn't seem to be any
kind of knowledge or awareness that you could be in a radiation
area," he said. Critics, including some veterans groups, say
the U.S. military used people as guinea pigs as scientists and
leaders performed test after test to learn the effects of nuclear
bombs.
Driscoll is left with more puzzle pieces, knowing he will not fit
them all together. But he is writing about his experiences and
hopes the legacy of nuclear weapons is not lost on generations
coming after World War II and the Cold War. "We must never use
these weapons ever again," he said. "We must educate the world about
this period in our recent, memorable past (about) what was done."
