Editor's note: John Waelti's series on the American Atomic Veterans continues with today's column.
Spring 1957 - Sheep and goats were dying in Utah and Nevada from mysterious diseases - their offspring frequently born without wool or hair. Local ranchers believed this to result from radioactive fallout from nuclear testing. An Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) report on radioactivity in these animals was labeled "top secret."
The Eisenhower Administration faced a dilemma - how to continue nuclear testing while defusing increasing public pressure against it.
After WWII, J. Robert Oppenheimer was deeply troubled by the human suffering caused by the bombs he helped create. Now that war was over, he opposed ever more destructive weapons. Many of Oppenheimer's followers were of the same opinion.
The successful Soviet nuclear explosion in 1949 convinced many scientists that the U.S. had no choice but continue development and they returned to Los Alamos. Edward Teller, long a vigorous proponent of the more powerful hydrogen bomb known as the "Super," was unhappy with the Los Alamos effort. They were concentrating on mass-producing existing weapons rather than working on the Super.
With the assistance of Berkeley's Earnest O. Lawrence, a scientist who was theoretically and philosophically in accord with Teller, he convinced Congress and the AEC that a second nuclear weapons lab was needed. In 1952, the AEC approved the new radiation laboratory at Livermore, Calif., with Lawrence as director and Teller as associate director.
The labs at Los Alamos and Livermore were at odds from the start. He Los Alamos lab was highly structured, and concentrated on existing technology. The Livermore lab, more open and unstructured, concentrated on the Super. Many of the scientists at Los Alamos still felt allegiance to Oppenheimer even though he had not left. The rift between the two labs widened as Teller became more openly critical of Oppenheimer during the 50s.
The two labs also differed with respect to public relations. The Los Alamos lab was less open to visitors and saw no need to lobby Washington. Not only were Teller and the Livermore lab more in line with dominant political thinking, but they actively lobbied the AEC, Congress, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In 1954, Teller and AEC Chair Strauss collaborated to discredit Oppenheimer by declaring him a "security risk," resolving a dilemma for Eisenhower (See May 13 Times column).
By 1957, the atomic tests in Nevada had led to another dilemma for Eisenhower - nuclear fallout. When Los Alamos Director Norris Bradbury stated that they had not yet created a "clean bomb," Teller spotted his opening. In a conference with Lawrence and the President (June 23), Teller insisted that Livermore had a bomb with minimal radiation, an achievement not accomplished by Los Alamos. It needed to be tested, and the military was interested in exercises with troops and equipment, simulating combat conditions.
April 1957 - A newly commissioned Marine Lieutenant, Thomas H. Saffer, is assigned to F Company, 2nd Bn., 5th Regiment, 1st Marine Division. A Pfc. from New Glarus, Francis Beers, is a member of H Company, 2nd Battalion.
June 1957 - The 2nd Battalion, selected as the nucleus of the Marine Corps Provisional Atomic Exercise Brigade to practice combat maneuvers using atomic bombs as offensive weapons, arrives at Camp Desert Rock, Nev.
June 23 - Battalion officers and staff NCOs are summoned to a briefing and informed that they will witness the detonation of a 14 Kiloton (in fact, it was 34 Kiloton) bomb named Priscilla, to "get the feel" of an atomic blast prior to leading the 2nd Battalion for their field exercise.
June 24 - Two miles from Priscilla, hanging from a helium-filled balloon, is a line of trenches to be occupied by the Marine officers. Underneath the bomb are tanks and trucks to see how they will be affected by the blast. In front of the trenches are mannequins and in back of the trench is a uniformed mannequin. At 0615, a loudspeaker barks, "Gentlemen, proceed to your trenches."
The loudspeaker continues, "Face left, put your gas masks on, and replace your helmets. Kneel on your left knee, and remain in this position. Do not stand ... Place your left forearm over your eyes. Close your eyes tightly, and do not open them."
The countdown - three, two, one; at zero the lieutenant feels intense heat on the back of his neck, a brilliant flash, and with his eyes tightly closed he sees the bones in his forearm. Seconds later, a thunderous roar - sound and pressure, frightening and deafening. As the earth gyrates violently, he is thrown from one side of the trench to the other.
A light brighter than the sun penetrates the thick dust, the sound wave bouncing off a mountain, and returns. The shower of dirt and dust makes it impossible to see the next man to him.
The shaking subsides and they emerge from the trench to see a multi-colored fireball ascending rapidly. The uniform on the mannequin behind the trench is aflame. The sunlit day becomes gray-black, and a whitish gray ash falls on their uniforms.
Vehicles rush by and men carrying picks and shovels exit the vehicles and run to the trench. Marines and some observing Canadians have been partly buried by debris from the blast.
The tanks and vehicles directly under Priscilla are no longer there - vaporized or blown completely away.
It was horrible, frightening - even Korean War vets are badly shaken. Lt. Saffer never wants to go through this nightmare again. But this was only Priscilla, the dress rehearsal with officers and NCO - prelude to the main event, Diablo, that will include 2100 Marines, including Pfc. Beers.
Standing at ground zero, a figure in white safety gear points to his Geiger counter and gestures for the Marines to leave at once. Their uniforms look as if they had been speckled with beige paint. It's high time to get decontaminated.
Next Week: Pfc. Beers, Diablo, and Hood.
- Monroe resident John Waelti can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
Spring 1957 - Sheep and goats were dying in Utah and Nevada from mysterious diseases - their offspring frequently born without wool or hair. Local ranchers believed this to result from radioactive fallout from nuclear testing. An Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) report on radioactivity in these animals was labeled "top secret."
The Eisenhower Administration faced a dilemma - how to continue nuclear testing while defusing increasing public pressure against it.
After WWII, J. Robert Oppenheimer was deeply troubled by the human suffering caused by the bombs he helped create. Now that war was over, he opposed ever more destructive weapons. Many of Oppenheimer's followers were of the same opinion.
The successful Soviet nuclear explosion in 1949 convinced many scientists that the U.S. had no choice but continue development and they returned to Los Alamos. Edward Teller, long a vigorous proponent of the more powerful hydrogen bomb known as the "Super," was unhappy with the Los Alamos effort. They were concentrating on mass-producing existing weapons rather than working on the Super.
With the assistance of Berkeley's Earnest O. Lawrence, a scientist who was theoretically and philosophically in accord with Teller, he convinced Congress and the AEC that a second nuclear weapons lab was needed. In 1952, the AEC approved the new radiation laboratory at Livermore, Calif., with Lawrence as director and Teller as associate director.
The labs at Los Alamos and Livermore were at odds from the start. He Los Alamos lab was highly structured, and concentrated on existing technology. The Livermore lab, more open and unstructured, concentrated on the Super. Many of the scientists at Los Alamos still felt allegiance to Oppenheimer even though he had not left. The rift between the two labs widened as Teller became more openly critical of Oppenheimer during the 50s.
The two labs also differed with respect to public relations. The Los Alamos lab was less open to visitors and saw no need to lobby Washington. Not only were Teller and the Livermore lab more in line with dominant political thinking, but they actively lobbied the AEC, Congress, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In 1954, Teller and AEC Chair Strauss collaborated to discredit Oppenheimer by declaring him a "security risk," resolving a dilemma for Eisenhower (See May 13 Times column).
By 1957, the atomic tests in Nevada had led to another dilemma for Eisenhower - nuclear fallout. When Los Alamos Director Norris Bradbury stated that they had not yet created a "clean bomb," Teller spotted his opening. In a conference with Lawrence and the President (June 23), Teller insisted that Livermore had a bomb with minimal radiation, an achievement not accomplished by Los Alamos. It needed to be tested, and the military was interested in exercises with troops and equipment, simulating combat conditions.
April 1957 - A newly commissioned Marine Lieutenant, Thomas H. Saffer, is assigned to F Company, 2nd Bn., 5th Regiment, 1st Marine Division. A Pfc. from New Glarus, Francis Beers, is a member of H Company, 2nd Battalion.
June 1957 - The 2nd Battalion, selected as the nucleus of the Marine Corps Provisional Atomic Exercise Brigade to practice combat maneuvers using atomic bombs as offensive weapons, arrives at Camp Desert Rock, Nev.
June 23 - Battalion officers and staff NCOs are summoned to a briefing and informed that they will witness the detonation of a 14 Kiloton (in fact, it was 34 Kiloton) bomb named Priscilla, to "get the feel" of an atomic blast prior to leading the 2nd Battalion for their field exercise.
June 24 - Two miles from Priscilla, hanging from a helium-filled balloon, is a line of trenches to be occupied by the Marine officers. Underneath the bomb are tanks and trucks to see how they will be affected by the blast. In front of the trenches are mannequins and in back of the trench is a uniformed mannequin. At 0615, a loudspeaker barks, "Gentlemen, proceed to your trenches."
The loudspeaker continues, "Face left, put your gas masks on, and replace your helmets. Kneel on your left knee, and remain in this position. Do not stand ... Place your left forearm over your eyes. Close your eyes tightly, and do not open them."
The countdown - three, two, one; at zero the lieutenant feels intense heat on the back of his neck, a brilliant flash, and with his eyes tightly closed he sees the bones in his forearm. Seconds later, a thunderous roar - sound and pressure, frightening and deafening. As the earth gyrates violently, he is thrown from one side of the trench to the other.
A light brighter than the sun penetrates the thick dust, the sound wave bouncing off a mountain, and returns. The shower of dirt and dust makes it impossible to see the next man to him.
The shaking subsides and they emerge from the trench to see a multi-colored fireball ascending rapidly. The uniform on the mannequin behind the trench is aflame. The sunlit day becomes gray-black, and a whitish gray ash falls on their uniforms.
Vehicles rush by and men carrying picks and shovels exit the vehicles and run to the trench. Marines and some observing Canadians have been partly buried by debris from the blast.
The tanks and vehicles directly under Priscilla are no longer there - vaporized or blown completely away.
It was horrible, frightening - even Korean War vets are badly shaken. Lt. Saffer never wants to go through this nightmare again. But this was only Priscilla, the dress rehearsal with officers and NCO - prelude to the main event, Diablo, that will include 2100 Marines, including Pfc. Beers.
Standing at ground zero, a figure in white safety gear points to his Geiger counter and gestures for the Marines to leave at once. Their uniforms look as if they had been speckled with beige paint. It's high time to get decontaminated.
Next Week: Pfc. Beers, Diablo, and Hood.
- Monroe resident John Waelti can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
