DaButt
Wednesday 17th September 2008 3:37pm
14,722 posts
Quote: Dolly Dagger @ September 17 2008, 9:22 AM BST
How did he feel about it all?
He was a 20-year-old soldier who was living in Las Vegas where beers were 5 cents and you could get a steak dinner for less than a dollar. What more could a guy ask for? And what guy doesn't love big explosions?
He started out as a smoke generator (tip up a barrel of diesel fuel and press the "make smoke" button when commanded) in the Chemical Corps, so he was happy when they changed his job title to radiological monitor. He had more training on the dangers of radiation than most of the participants, so he knew it was dangerous, but young men tend to feel invincible. And he got to spend almost a year wandering around the South Pacific atolls (and blowing them up) so he loved every minute of it.
He's 72 and in good health, so I guess the hotshot helicopter pilot who briefly flew him and his crew into the edge of the mushroom cloud didn't shorten his lifespan at all. But several of his buddies developed rare cancers and the government has admitted that they were probably radiation-linked and they've been receiving disability checks for decades. My father recently petitioned for and was granted full Veterans Administration medical benefits; he did so in case he ever finds himself in need of full-time nursing care. That way my mother will be spared the exceptional cost of the treatment and will be able to live the rest of her life without worrying about medical bills.
I'm helping my father put together a website for his old Army unit. He's been able to track down about half of the 50 men and they're planning to have a reunion. I've also decided to purchase a personalized brick at this museum in Las Vegas. It'll make a nice Christmas present.
http://www.atomictestingmuseum.org/
