Books and Magazines About Atomic Bomb Testing

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BOOKS AND MAGAZINES ABOUT ATOMIC TESTING

Atomic Para The first Atomic Guinea Pigs at the Nevada Test Site were troops from the 11th Airborne Div., 188th Airborne Infantry Regiment battalion combat team, they participated in the Buster-Jangle series of atomic tests. The combat team are watching the 21.5 kiloton "Dog" atomic detonation on November 1, 1951, at Yucca Flats -- part of the Nevada Test Site -- during an operation at Camp Desert Rock.

At the test site, troops began observing the explosions from the AEC-approved distance of seven miles, but eventually thousands of GIs found themselves within two or three miles of ground zero. Some even experienced atomic detonations from little more than a mile away. Most troops rode out the blast in trenches. The ground began to tremble and the trenches started vibrating, becoming snake-like.

It was a popular theme during the atmospheric nuclear testing among prominent commentators like syndicated columnist David Lawrence, whose wisdom appeared in the Washington Post and other leading newspapers. "The truth is," he wrote in spring 1955, "there isn't the slightest proof of any kind that the 'fallout' as a result of tests in Nevada has ever affected any human being anywhere outside the testing ground itself."

By then, children and others living in downwind areas in St. George, Utah and other towns east of the Nevada Test Site were beginning to develop leukemia. As time passed, people in affected areas suffered extraordinarily high rates of cancer and thyroid ills. Functioning in tandem, the news media and the federal government continued to deny that nuclear testing was a health hazard.

In August 1980, nearly three decades after the Nevada site opened for nuclear business, the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations concluded: "All evidence suggesting that radiation was having harmful effects, be it on the sheep or the people, was not only disregarded but actually suppressed."

That assessment was no surprise to thousands of downwind residents, who grew up in southwestern Utah under the shadow of the test site. After watching many of their relatives, friends, and schoolmates die, most people had no interest in pretending that the U.S. government did not kill them as a direct result of atomic testing.

MAGAZINES

Life Magazine, 12 November 1951, page 37. Wherever you look there's danger in Las Vegas, Nevada. This article is entitled "The new atomic weapon for the GIs."
Life Magazine, June 1980, page 32. "The terrible price of the A-Tests." The downwind people east of the Nevada Test Site paid a heavy price because of high radioactive fallout they received during the atmospheric atomic testing conducted at that facility.
The National Geographic Magazine, May 1946, page 97. Entitled "American Pathfinders In The Pacific." The U.S. starts to plan the use of Bikini Atoll for atomic tests.
The National Geographic Magazine, July 1946, page 97. Entitled "Farewell to Bikini." The United States moved the natives from Bikini Atoll in preparation for the upcoming atomic tests to be conducted there.
The National Geographic Magazine, April 1947. Entitled "Operation Crossroads," the first atomic bomb testing on Bikini Atoll. There are 10 illustrations of the atomic tests and a map.
The National Geographic Magazine, June 1953, page 839. Entitled "Nevada Learns To Live With The Atom." This is the beginning of the atmospheric atomic testing program in Nevada using American Troops.
The National Geographic Magazine, June 1992, page 70. Entitled "The Nuclear Graveyard," In Bikini Lagoon, life thrives in a nuclear graveyard, blasted to the bottom like a steel guinea pig, the U.S. submarine PILOTFISH was among 21 vessels sunk during two atomic tests at the end of World War 11.
United States Nuclear Test Publication. July 1945 through September 1992 --- DOE/NV-209 (REV. 14). This document lists chronologically and alphabetically by name ALL nuclear tests and simultaneous detonations conducted by the United States from July 1945 through September 1992. You may order this publication from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161. Phone: (703)487-4650 Phone: (703)274-6847 Phone: (703)274-7633 --- This document has 96 pages.

BOOKS

Atomic Bombs
by: John Coster-Mullen
The definitive history of the only two nuclear weapons used in a war. Well-researched and written. Highly recommended to anyone seeking to expand their knowledge of the technical side of "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" atomic bombs. This informative book has many unclassified documents and drawings from Los Alamos National Laboratory that provides technical information how the Little Boy and Fat Man atomic bomb were constructed in the early period of atomic bomb development and deployment.
American Ground Zero by Carole Gallagher. The Secret Nuclear War, Atomic testing in Nevada. A must read for all victims of atomic testing.
Under The Cloud by Richard L. Miller. This very well written book has much information for Atomic Veterans about all the nuclear testing programs in the Pacific and Nevada.
Justice Downwind by Howard Ball. America's atomic Testing program during the 1950s, atomic testing in Nevada.
The Myths of August by Stewart Udall "This a timely and important book about atomic bomb testing. Stewart Udall describes how since the end of World War II a small 'cleared' elite group of nuclear scientists and bureaucrats has used the cloak of secrecy to limit public and Congressional oversight of America's nuclear policies. The tragic results, such as nuclear testing on unwitting Military participants and Americans citizens living downwind from the Nevada Test Site, are only now receiving much public attention. The Myths of August makes a persuasive argument that excessive government secrecy erodes the foundation of a democratic society."
GI Guinea Pigs by Michael Uhl and Tod Ensign. How the Pentagon exposed our troops to dangers more deadly than war and how the U.S. military wantonly exposed thousands of its own men to toxic levels of radiation. Pertains mostly to The Nevada Test Site.
Bombs In The Backyard by A. Costandina Titus. If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky,that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One ... I am become death, the shatterer of Worlds. Pertains mostly to The Nevada Test Site atmospheric testing.
Countdown Zero by Thomas H. Saffer and Orville E. Kelly. Orville E. Kelly founded the National Association of Atomic Veterans. This book is dedicated to the National Association of Atomic Veterans and those who took part in and suffered from the effects of the seventeen-year undeclared war from 1945 to 1962. Pertains mostly to The Nevada Test Site atmospheric testing.
Atomic Soldiers by Howard L. Rosenberg. American victims of nuclear testing experiments. Atomic Soldiers tells what became of men who were made pawns in a long-ago dress rehearsal for nuclear war and raises questions about both atomic weapons and nuclear power that are crucial to the future of our society. Pertains mostly to The Nevada Test Site atmospheric testing.
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns by Robert Jungk and James Cleugh. If you want to learn more, not only about the scientists who developed the atomic bomb, but the issues surrounding its use and further development you can't to better than this book.
Killing Our Own, by Harvey Wasserman. The Disaster of America's Experience With Atomic Radiation. Fifty years after the first mushroom cloud overshadowed the Nevada desert, military contractors and their allies are eager to spread the news about the latest technologies offering "an added angle of safety." In 2001, Star Wars is back on the media horizon. It's never too late to make a killing.
Editor's Note: The photo at right is entitled Vegas Vic, named for the cowboy sign that welcomes folks to downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The Photo was taken in the fall of 1951 at the start of the nuclear tests. Most of the atomic tests were conducted 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas at a dry lake bed called Yucca Flat. Note the mushroom cloud in the photo, detonations at the test site broke many windows in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Effects of Nuclear War, Congress Of The United States ... Office of Technology Assessment ... Washington, D.C., USA. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

The Effects of Nuclear Weapons, Revised Edition, Reprinted February 1964. The United States Department Of Defense ... For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

U.S. Atmospheric Nuclear Tests

From 1946-62, the U.S. conducted 19 major operations involving GIs in nuclear atmospheric testing. The chart below provides specific information about each.
AR = Army
AF = Air Force
MC = Marine Corps
NV = Navy
CG = Coast Guard
PPG = Pacific Proving Ground
NTS = Nevada Test Site
Note: Personnel who participated in more than one test series are counted more than once.

Operation       Location    Year  Branches Involved  Participants

Trinity         New Mex.    1945  AR, NV, CV         628
Crossroads      PPG         1946  AR, NV, MC, CG     43,474
Sandstone       PPG         1948  AR, NV, MC, AF     12,449
Ranger          NTS         1951  AR, NV, MC, AF     319
Greenhouse      PPG         1951  AR, NV, MC, AF, CG 8,290
Buster-Jangle   NTS         1951  AR, NV, MC, AF     9,518
Tumbler-Snapper NTS         1952  AR, NV, MC, AF     10,018
Ivy             PPG         1952  AR, NV, MC, AF, CG 10,450
Upshot-Knothole NTS         1953  AR, NV, MC, AF     18,889
Castle          PPG         1954  AR, NV, MC, AF     16,966
Teapot          NTS         1955  AR, NV, MC, AF     10,207
Wigwam          PPG         1955  AR, NV, MC, AF     6,815
Redwing         PPG         1956  AR, NV, MC, AF, CG 12,623
Plumbbob        NTS         1957  AR, NV, MC, AF     13,527
Hardtack I      PPG         1958  AR, NV, MC, AF, CG 16,843
Hardtack II     PPG         1958  AR, NV, MC, AF     1,091
Argus           S. Atlantic 1958  NV                 4,525
Dominic I       S. Pacific  1962  AR, NV, MC, AF     22,548
Dominic II      NTS         1962  AR, NV, MC, AF     3,788

Chronological List of Nuclear Tests

Atomic test publications listed below may be ordered from:

United States Department of Commerce
The National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Ph: (703)487-4650
Ph: (703)274-6847
Ph: (703)274-7633

_____ Project Trinity, 1945-1946. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1982. OCLC 09318765. NTIS# ADA128035. detonation of the world's first nuclear device during July 1945, in New Mexico. [Approximately 1,000 individuals including some naval personnel visited the site between the detonation and the end of 1946.].

_____ Operation Crossroads, 1946. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, c1984. OCLC 11238477. NTIS# ADAl46562. [2 detonations conducted by JTF-l during June-July 1946, at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, Pacific Ocean. At least 36,262 Navy and 550 Marine Corps personnel, as well as 251 ships, participated.].

_____ Operation Sandstone, 1948. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, c1983. OCLC 10437826. NTIS# ADAl39151. [3 detonations conducted by JTF-7 during April-May 1948, Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands. At least 7,759 Navy and 182 Marine Corps personnel participated.].

_____ Operation Ranger: Shots Able, Baker, Easy, Baker-2, Fox, 25 January-6 February 1951. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1982. OCLC 08681722. NTIS# ADA118684. [5 detonations conducted at the Nevada Proving Ground, involving at least 6 Navy and 1 Marine Corps personnel.].

_____ Operation Greenhouse, 1951. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, c1983. OCLC 10038770. NTIS# ADA134735. [4 detonations conducted by JTF-7 during April-May 1951, at Enewetak. At least 2,900 Navy and 80 Marine Corps personnel were involved.].

_____ Operation Buster-Jangle, 1951. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1982. OCLC 09434685. NTIS# ADA123441 and NTIS# ADA078556 and NTIS# ADA006092 [7 detonations conducted from October-November 1951 at Nevada Proving Ground, involving at least 800 Army, 319 Navy and 188 Marine Corps personnel.].

_____ Operation Tumbler-Snapper, 1952. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1982. OCLC 08919253. NTIS# ADA122242. [8 detonations conducted during April-June 1952 at Nevada Proving Ground. At least 556 Navy and 2,042 Marine Corps personnel participated.].

_____ Operation Ivy, 1952. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency Agency, c1982. OCLC 9379520. NTIS# ADA128082. [2 detonations conducted by JTF-132 during October-November 1952, at Enewetak. One of the events, designated Mike, was the first thermonuclear or hydrogen bomb. At least 5,258 Navy and 178 Marine Corps personnel participated.].

_____ Operation Upshot-Knothole, 1953. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1982. OCLC 08844633. NTIS# ADA121624. [11 detonations conducted during March-June 1953 at Nevada Proving Ground. At least 773 Navy and 2,275 Marine Corps personnel participated.].

_____ Castle Series, 1954. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, c1982. OCLC 8578417. NTIS# ADA117574. [6 detonations conducted by Joint Task Force (JTF) 7 during March-May 1954, at Enewetak. At least 8,633 Navy and 303 Marine Corps personnel were involved.].

_____ Operation Teapot, 1955. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1981. OCLC 08321437. NTIS# ADA113537. [14 detonations conducted during February-May 1955 at Nevada Test Site. At least 541 Navy and 2,305 Marine Corps personnel participated.].

_____ Operation Wigwam. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, c1981. OCLC 7846258. NTIS# ADA105685. [a single deep underwater detonation conducted by JTF-7 during May 1955, in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 500 miles southwest of San Diego CA. At least 6,567 Navy and 110 Marine Corps personnel as well as 30 ships participated.].

_____ Operation Redwing 1956. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, c1982. OCLC 10057819. NTIS# ADA134795. [17 detonations conducted by JTF-7 during May-July 1956, at Bikini and Enewetak. At least 5,654 Navy and 253 Marine Corps personnel were involved].

_____ Plumbbob Series, 1957. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1981. OCLC 07980554. NTIS# ADA107317. [24 detonations conducted during April-October 1957 at Nevada Test Site. At least 574 Navy and 2,148 Marine Corps personnel participated. Naval aircraft included 4 model ZSG-3 airships, an HSS-1 helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft].

_____ Operation Hardtack I 1958. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, cl982. 0CLC 10133349. NTIS# ADA136819. [35 detonations conducted by JTF-7 during April-August 1958, at Bikini and Enewetak. At least 9,736 Navy and 219 Marine Corps personnel were involved.].

_____ Operation Argus, 1958. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, c1982. OCLC 9094922. NTIS# ADA122341. [3 high-altitude detonations conducted by TF (Task Force) 88 during August- September.].

_____ Operation Wigwam. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, c1981. OCLC 7846258. NTIS# ADA105685. [a single deep underwater detonation conducted by JTF-7 during May 1955, in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 500 miles southwest of San Diego CA. At least 6,567 Navy and 110 Marine Corps personnel as well as 30 ships participated.].

_____ Plumbbob Series, 1957. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1981. OCLC 07980554. NTIS# ADA107317. [24 detonations conducted during April-October 1957 at Nevada Test Site. At least 574 Navy and 2,148 Marine Corps personnel participated. Naval aircraft included 4 model ZSG-3 airships, an HSS-1 helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft].

_____ Operation Hardtack I, 1958. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, c1982. OCLC 10133349. NTIS# ADA136819. [35 detonations conducted by JTF-7 during April-August 1958, at Bikini and Enewetak. At least 9,736 Navy and 219 Marine Corps personnel were involved.].

_____ Operation Argus, 1958. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, c1982. OCLC 9094922. NTIS# ADA122341. [3 high-altitude detonations conducted by TF (Task Force) 88 during August September 1958, over South Atlantic Ocean. Nine ships and approximately 4,500 men were involved.].

_____ Operation Hardtack II, 1958. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1982. OCLC 09697075. NTIS# ADA130929. [19 detonations conducted during September-October 1958 at Nevada Test Site. At least 33 Navy and 2 Marine Corps personnel were involved.].

_____ Projects Gnome and Sedan: The Plowshare Program. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1983. OCLC 09495005. NTIS# ADA130165. [27 nuclear detonations conducted between 1961 and 1973 at Nevada Test Site, Colorado, and New Mexico. At least 82 Navy and 1 Marine Corps personnel participated.].

_____ Operation Dominic I, 1962. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, c1983. OCLC 10240984. NTIS# ADA136820. [36 detonations inc. Polaris and ASROC tests conducted by JTF- 8 during April-November 1962, in Johnson and Christian Island areas, and a single detonation 371 nautical miles southwest of San Diego CA. At least 18,163 Navy and 659 Marine Corps personnel participated.].

_____ Operation Dominic II. Shots Little Feller II, Johnie Boy, Small Boy, Little Feller I, 7 July17 July 1962. Washington: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1983. OCLC 09448877, NTIS# ADA128367. [4 detonations during July 1962, at Nevada Test Site. At least 81 Navy and 89 Marine Corps personnel participated.].

Additional Aid for Atomic Veterans Proposed

Veterans exposed to radiation during their military service and diagnosed with cancer of the bone, brain, colon, lung, or ovary will have an easier time applying for and receiving compensation for their illnesses if proposed changes to VA regulations are approved.

Former VA Acting Secretary Hershel W. Gober proposed adding these cancers to the list of illnesses presumed to be connected to the military service of "atomic veterans," thereby lessening their burden of proof when seeking compensation.

Veteran groups and organizations have advocated fair and just compensation for veterans who were exposed to radiation during their military service. These atomic veterans are just as worthy of compensation for their disabilities as any other disabled veteran. They have earned the nation's gratitude and deserve to be treated fairly by our government.

The proposed changes apply to veterans who participated in "radiation-risk activities" while on active duty, during active service for training, or inactive duty training as a member of a reserve component. Those activities include the occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, internment as a POW in Japan, or onsite involvement in atmospheric nuclear weapons tests.

In 1988, Congress established a presumption of service connection for 13 different cancers in veterans exposed to ionizing radiation. Later changes brought the number to 16. Under provisions of the Radiation-Exposed Veterans Compensation Act (Pub. L. 100-321), veterans are presumed to be service connected if they participated in a radiation-risk activity and later developed one of the following diseases: leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia), cancer of the thyroid, breast, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, gall bladder, bile ducts, salivary gland, or urinary tract, multiple myeloma, lymphomas (except Hodgkin's disease), primary cancer of the liver (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated), or bronchiolo-aveolar carcinoma.

Presumptive Diseases
Radiogenic diseases listed below qualify for disability compensation. They include these cancers: leukemia (except chronic lymphocytic leukemia) multiple myeloma lymphomas (except Hodgkin's disease) liver (unless cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated) thyroid breast esophagus stomach pancreas pharynx small intestine bile ducts gall bladder urinary tract salivary gland

The proposed changes would also expand the definition of "radiation-risk activity" to include exposure to radiation related to underground nuclear tests at Amchitka Island, Alaska, prior to Jan. 1, 1974, and service at gaseous diffusion plants in Paducah, Ky., Portsmouth, Ohio, and Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The VA's proposed changes would bring veterans benefits up to the same standards used for civilians under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, as amended last year.

Many Sercive Organizations were outraged and appalled that veterans exposed to ionizing radiation are being ignored by the federal government which now plans to offer compensation to thousands of contract workers for illnesses resulting from exposure to toxic and radioactive substances. Congress has been urged to enact legislation to make it easier for veterans exposed to atomic radiation in the service to receive disability benefits and much-needed health care. Only about 500 claims have been approved by the VA out of more than 18,000 claims filed based on exposure to ionizing radiation. DO NOT FILE YOUR CLAIM WITH THE VA, FILE IT WITH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE..!!

Last year, the federal government announced plans to provide compensation for illnesses connected to radioactive exposures to contract workers employed at nuclear weapons facilities over the past 50 years. The compensation plan was modeled after existing compensation programs for federal workers and gives contract workers the right to claim lost wages and medical and rehabilitation costs for illnesses related to exposure.

The civilian compensation plan has been viewed as treating veterans exposed to ionizing radiation by a different and inequitable standard. "Thousands of veterans have been sickened and disabled as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation, but they are denied compensation by a web of bureaucracy that effectively eliminates any chance of restoring their lives.

HOW TO ORDER GUIDE BOOKS AND CLAIMS FORMS FOR COMPENSATION

GUIDE BOOKS AND CLAIMS FORMS published by the United States Department of Justice lists all diseases covered by various laws, call the phone number below today and have the free packett sent to you. This is the Toll Free telephone number for the U.S. Department of Justice Nuclear Veterans Radiation Exposure Compensation Program:

CALL THIS NUMBER NOW: 1-800-729-7327

NOTE: Victims of nuclear testing can download the forms for compensation online. Persons who qualify are: Atomic Veteran, Onsite Participant, Downwinder, Uranium Mine Employee, Ore Transporter, Uranium Mill Employee.

DOWNLOAD THE CLAIMS FORMS from our home page on this Web Site.

No Amount of Radiation is Safe

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