MY ATOMIC LIFE
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A considerable part of the Cold War was covert.
​

Over 400,000 veterans served without fanfare or appreciation. Cold War Veterans have been denied respect, remembrance, and recognition for too long.  At age 12 I was brought into Oak Knoll Naval Hospital to meet with a small room full of the Chief's doctors, specialists and surgeons. I knew something had been not quite right with his health for some time, but no one was talking around the house. Not unusual for a household Q-Cleared above Top Secret.  The bomb they dropped on me that day, aside from the severity of my father's conditions, was that I was now considered an "Atomic Child". They showed me a certificate and explained that The Chief had been a part of Top Secret tests while at sea and had been exposed to radiation there.  That is where my trip down the rabbit hole began...  ​
​   
 “When she thought it over afterwards it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural”  ― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 

TO REQUEST A SITE PASSWORD

childrenofatomicveterans@gmail.com

OVEREXPOSED

Born under a veil of secrecy to parents warned not to have any more children...  

I'm a Next-generation (NextGEN) offspring of a radiologicly exposed Atomic Veteran.  My Father, "The Chief", who served as a crytographer and Chief Radioman on the Naval Command Flagship USS ESTES, and multiple other Joint Task Forces, witnessed multiple atomic, hydrogen or thermonuclear tests at the Pacific Proving Ground (PPG) atolls; Marshall Islands, Bikini Island.  He began his 'atomic' assignment when he was assigned to the naval training center closest to the converted DoD Manhattan Project compound in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in 1949 to prep for the tests and through to the day he died, he was a monitored test subject to varying degrees.  Stationed at Treasure Island Naval Base, and treated at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital and Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory (NDRL) at Hunter''s Point, my father became an integral part of the governments well documented human radiologic experiments due to the nature of his exposure, while I became part of the fall-out.

​What leads me to organize and expose this experience and share this story, first and foremost, it is by way to shine a light on an effort to get recognition not only for those exposed at Pacific Proving Grounds (PPG) events and for those of us who didn't sign up or enlist for this human radiolgic experiment - the genetically challenged offspring. Secondly, it is to continue to explore learning about who The Chief was and what the new realities mean for me.  The Chief was never declassified in his lifetime - having died following 20 years in the care of great military physicians and surgeons who studied and cared for him. With the continuity of care and the understanding of, and respect from, non-civilian providers in a highly skilled Naval Hospital who provided uninterrupted care for his needs.  Due to the severity and nature of his reconstructive surgeries, one of which bordered on involuntary sexual reassignment, The Chief felt he could never step into civilian healthcare environment and be understood, respected or cared for properly.  His experience was unique,  To this day, we continue to live with the fallout... I started this research over 13 years ago in earnest when I filed a RECA claim, and launched the weabsite to begin to document this journey - in June of 2016 - I have now been diagnosed with yet another residual condition... a lymphoma type cancer. while my story continues to unfold...

Theirs is a love story.  His, one of commitment and devotion to his shipmates and his country.  Hers, one or romance, devotion and unconditional love and sacrifice... as a wife and a mother. Mine is one of bizarre protocols in uncharted territories carrying family secrets for over 40 years.  It was an amazing adventure to be raised by these two people. They were progressively fierce individuals, stunning as a couple, and following his participation in the dozens of atomic blasts off-shore, the two of them were certainly living like the world was going up in a mushroom cloud tomorrow and they wanted to see more of it before that ever happened.  All of our lives were "Atomic" now - not in some distant future. The health issues handed from Father to Daughter created a bond between that began at the first signs I was able to potentially reproduce, at age 12. The Naval doctors sat us all down and told me why I should not be allowed to have children due to genetic defects and damaged DNA due to his exposure at the PPG. Some of what bonded The Chief and I would become family secrets I would carry over 4 decades.
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Who's your Daddy?

The Chief was a career military officer, senior crytographer and radio/signal tech specialist chosen to oversee Joint Task Force 7 Command Ship communications for all branches of the military.  He was part and parcel to the development of the sophisticated listening and transmitting devices on the USS ESTES, newly appointed for the operations on which top brass, scientists and dignitaries were to be welcomed.   The top scientists and minds of the day were often aboard. ​The Chief was never declassified in his lifetime.
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Overexposed

A WWII Radio Celebrity during the war, Jeanne was the first female news broadcaster for Press Wireless (PreWi) broadcasting near Radio City Music Hall in Times Square. She and The Chief met on air and shared Morse Code messages while she was bringing news to troops around the world. Two critical years from 1949-1951, The Chief spent at the AEC Oak Ridge facility in preparation for and then the next 6 plus years participating in the 30-60 thermonuclear and hydrogen bomb tests.   
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Fallout

In the early 1960's, facing mounting health mysteries, living for the moment became paramount.  While they had been aware since my birth, it was in that military hospital that The Chief and I became bonded in a way that was uniquely our own. Because the Chief and his wife were advised not to have any more children following his multiple exposures, my conception was not a planned event. Being born into a family already cleared above Top Secret was unique enough, arriving with unknown health complications to be assessed was quite another.   
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Naval Gazing 

Tests & Atomic OPs
The Chief was attached to Joint Task Force 132 (JTF-132) and Joint Task Force 7 (JTF-7) both of which brought the USS Estes repeatedly to the Pacific Proving Grounds (PPG) for the tasks she was specifically designed for. Eniwetok, Bikini Islands, commonly known as Marshall Islands, Bikini Island, and simply, The Atolls.
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Medical Repercussions

I am one of the few who actually have the mostly intact medical records of my father.  No fire or flood at the records facility to slow me down! The list of The Chief's diseases and related conditions are staggering, including that he was the 2nd ever in the world of cancer-related penilectomy that changed the course of all of our lives. 
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The Afterglow

I was told of The Chief's exposure at age 11 by the military doctors and shown his Certificate from Operation Ivy.  I was told his "sickness" was from the radiation.  
It was not until I was over 50 and filing a RECA claim on his behalf that I would come to discover the real level of his involvement, the extent of his multiple exposures, and the variety of risks to his
and to my own health.
 

FALLOUT

And the beat goes on...
My recent diagnosis and treatment has refueled my desire to raise awareness of the plight for those of us who are living with and suffering the unintended consequences of human radiation experiments.

Strange Attractors

From Fractals to Fine Art Forensics, Cold War Art Movements to the CIA - from generation to generation, high science, high minded creative, technical and critical thinking have defined
​our family.   

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