OVEREXPOSED

A considerable part of the Cold War was covert.
20 million veterans served without fanfare or appreciation.  Cold War Veterans have been denied respect, remembrance, and recognition for too long.  At age 11 or 12, I was brought into Oak Knoll Naval Hospital to meet with a small room full of my father'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, that I was an "Atomic Child".  They showed me a certificate and explained that The Chief had been apart of Top Secret tests while at sea and had been exposed to radiation there.  That is where my trip down the rabbit hole began...   More >

Born under a veil of secrecy to parents warned not to have any more children...  I'm a 2nd generation offspring of a  radiologicly exposed n Atomic Veteran, "The Chief" who was on the Naval Command Flagship with multiple Joint Task Forces, and possibly as many as 64 atomic or thermonuclear tests at the Pacific Proving Ground (PPG).  From Oak Ridge in 1949 to  prep for the tests, through to the day  he died, he was a monitored test subject to varying degrees.  From Oak Knoll Naval Hospital to Naval  Radiological Defense Laboratory (NDRL) at Hunter''s Point, my father became an integral part of the governments well documented human radiologic experiments. 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 not only those exposed at PPG events, but from radiologic disasters globally, some ability to inform their healthcare providers in a consistent and informative way.  Secondly, it is to continue to explore learning about who The Chief was and what the new realities are 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, The Chief felt he could never step into civilian healthcare and be understood, respected or cared for properly.  
His experience was unique, To this day, we continue to live with the fallout...

Theirs is a love story.  His, one of commitment and devotion to his shipmates and his country.  Mine is one of bizarre protocols in uncharted territories and family secrets I would carry for 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.

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 best science and minds of the day of the day were aboard.  The Chief's and my life were forever altered by many of these Pacific Proving Ground events.  

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.   

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 hospital room 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 expected but unknown health complications to be assessed was quite another.  
More > 

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.

Medical Repercussions

I am one of the few who actually have the intact medical records of my father.  No fire or flood at the records facility to slow me down! The list of diseases and conditions is staggering, but the 2nd ever in the world of surgeries was the most devastating and changed the course of all of our lives.

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 exposures, nor the variety of risks to his or my health. The Chief was never declassified in his lifetime... More >

Medical Awareness
Sheet for Healthcare Providers of Atomic Veterans and their offspring.

I know very personally, the real need for this document for many of us was yesterday,  Atomic Veteran's and their offspring have known for the most part that specific risks for certain conditions and diseases exist.  
Collectively, we need a concise document for healthcare providers for insertion into all medical charts for consideration and continuity of care. 
Development began - Aug 2015.  
For more information >     

USS Estes 

"The Elegant Lady"... with her "Elephant Ears" communication systems was overseen by my father, from design and installation to deployment and decommissioning. The superpowers of the world were trying to 'listen' to what the US was up to at the Pacific Proving Grounds.

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 out family.  Below is just a sample of the amazing people, places, things and events that have been attracted into my orbit.

The Lost Squadron

The infamous "Lost Squadron" captured by Homer Henry in 36 rare photos from landing in Greenland to rescue.  
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Tinian Island

Rare images from Tinian island that surfaced in 2007 - taped into a B-17 manual, this was most likely his personal collection found after his passing... we call him "Shutterbuggy"   More > 

General Paul Tibbets
Mission Bolero II

Honoring the General on his 90th Birthday.  EPPS Aviation at Peachtree Dekalb Airport hosted in it's hanger a weekend long tribute to General Tibbets for his 90th birthday. 
Airshow and aviation celebrities
were on hand to honor the General.  More > 

P38 Rescue of
Galcier Girl &
​The Reunion Crew

Every event across this row is somehow deeply connected to me, either with friends, family or amazing instances where information or photos were put in my stewardship.  The Glacier Girl Reunion or the excavation crew that pull her from beneath 270 feet of ice was a heartwarming event. 
More > 

National Atomic Veterans Day - June 16th

National Association of Atomic Veterans, Inc.
N.A.A.V., Inc. 
A tax exempt organization
enigma
[uh-nig-muh]   
noun, 
  1. a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation:
      His disappearance is an enigma that has given rise to much speculation.
  2. a person of puzzling or contradictory character:
      To me he has always been an enigma, one minute completely insensitive, the next moved to tears.
  3. a saying, question, picture, etc., containing a hidden meaning; riddle.
  4. (initial capital letter) a German built enciphering machine developed for commercial use in the early 1920s 
      and later adapted and appropriated by German and other Axis powers for military use through World War II.