38th Engineer Battalion
(Special)-Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP)
When
I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s I did not know what my father Jack
Dempsey Busby did when he served in the U.S. Army in the mid 1940s. It was not
until after MY retirement from the U.S. Army Military Police (MP) that my dad
mentioned his MP unit was assigned to guard the storage areas, handling,
transportation and security for the Atomic Bomb at Oak Ridge Tennessee, and
Sandia Base, New Mexico as well as the transportation of the Atomic Bomb fro
Oak Ridge to Sandia Base and from Sandia Base for actual test of the Atomic
Bomb in a mission classified as Operation Crossroads!
Further conversation with my father found he served in the
U.S. Army MPs as a Technician Fifth Grade in the
Regular Army assigned
to Oak Ridge Tennessee and later at Sandia Base, New Mexico from 1946 to 1948.
After Dad left basic training at Fort Sam Houston near San Antonio Texas he
completed MP advanced individual training at Fort Belvoir, Virginia and was
then assigned as an MP serving with the 2761st Engineer Battalion (Special) at
Oak Ridge, Tennessee and later with the 38th Engineer Battalion (Special) at
Sandia
Army Base located east of Albuquerque.
In the 1940s the MPs were assigned to individual units and
fell under operational control of those units, so dads MP unit was actually the
38th
Engineer Battalion (Special).
Dad
showed me many pictures of him and his fellow MPs taken of them at Oak Ridge and
Sandia Base while he served with the 38th Engineer Battalion
(Special) formerly the 2761st Engineer Battalion (Special) that became a special
weapons unit and later became part of the newly created AFSWP Field Command,
My father Jack Busby was one of many MPs who provided security for
nuclear weapon parts while stored, moved, and set up for testing and was
present at Operation Crossroads which was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted
by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. The
purpose of the tests was to investigate the effect of nuclear weapons on
warships. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Crossroads
Between my sister Carla Busby Miler and Me we managed to get dad
to tell us the following story about his time as an MP protecting the Atomic
Bomb,
The Manhattan Project and the Atomic Energy
Commission as my Dad remembers it when he served with the 2761st Engineer Battalion
(Special) at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and later with the 38th Engineer Battalion (Special) at
Sandia Army Base
New Mexico.
Dad joined the U.S. Army in Waco, Texas and
left for Army basic training.
Dad was warned when he was in basic training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas and later at MP advanced individual training at Fort Belvoir, Virginia "not to volunteer for anything", but he and about nine others decided to volunteer when volunteers were sought while he was still in training at Fort Belvoir.
Dads group of 9 boarded a train at Ft. Belvoir, VA and traveled for a couple of days before ending up in Knoxville, Tennessee.
He thought this was going to be a very good assignment until they were then put in army trucks and were taken to the wilds of Tennessee way out in the middle of nowhere.
Dad was warned when he was in basic training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas and later at MP advanced individual training at Fort Belvoir, Virginia "not to volunteer for anything", but he and about nine others decided to volunteer when volunteers were sought while he was still in training at Fort Belvoir.
Dads group of 9 boarded a train at Ft. Belvoir, VA and traveled for a couple of days before ending up in Knoxville, Tennessee.
He thought this was going to be a very good assignment until they were then put in army trucks and were taken to the wilds of Tennessee way out in the middle of nowhere.
When Dad arrived at the Army facility that had
obviously just been built there was nothing there but the Army facility and it
was still under construction.
The mission that Dad and the others volunteered for was the Manhattan Project and they were right smack dab in the middle of the building of the atomic bomb!
Dad and the others were assigned to be MPs who would patrol the perimeter and guard the gates of the complex as well as storage areas he would later find out stored Atomic Bombs.
These MP's were at what was to become Oak Ridge, Tennessee. When Dad arrived the Army facility did not have a name, the name was added to the gates several days after Dad started working.
Soldiers and families of Engineers and scientists worked at the plants on the facility developing and building the Atomic Bomb, they lived in special housing at the site. No one who worked at the facility was allowed to leave without special permission and almost no one got special permission.
Dad loved the assignment but did feel a little isolated with all the hills, forest and mountains everywhere.
Dad spent a fun 12 to 13 months in the hills of Tennessee and then received orders to be reassigned to Sandia Base, NM below the mountains of Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Dad flew on a special aircraft to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1947 and later on to the Army Post referred to as Sandia Base. Whenever atomic bomb parts were shipped or information on the Atomic Bomb was exchanged, two of the MP's would travel with the bomb parts and those who built the bomb to the other bomb development sites in the U.S. and other undisclosed locations. Often, two MPs would go to the mountains near Sandia by car or truck and spend the night with those who went for special meetings or to assist in security for the area.
The MP's, workers and bomb parts were transported by plane from the Army Post below Los Alamos, New Mexico, to the eventual atomic bomb test sites.
The MP's and others along with the bomb parts then traveled to San Francisco, California by plane, then on to Johnston Island by ship way out in the South Pacific; then Kwajalein and finally to Eniwetok of the Marshall Islands for the test drop of the bomb which was dropped from a tower.
The mission that Dad and the others volunteered for was the Manhattan Project and they were right smack dab in the middle of the building of the atomic bomb!
Dad and the others were assigned to be MPs who would patrol the perimeter and guard the gates of the complex as well as storage areas he would later find out stored Atomic Bombs.
These MP's were at what was to become Oak Ridge, Tennessee. When Dad arrived the Army facility did not have a name, the name was added to the gates several days after Dad started working.
Soldiers and families of Engineers and scientists worked at the plants on the facility developing and building the Atomic Bomb, they lived in special housing at the site. No one who worked at the facility was allowed to leave without special permission and almost no one got special permission.
Dad loved the assignment but did feel a little isolated with all the hills, forest and mountains everywhere.
Dad spent a fun 12 to 13 months in the hills of Tennessee and then received orders to be reassigned to Sandia Base, NM below the mountains of Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Dad flew on a special aircraft to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1947 and later on to the Army Post referred to as Sandia Base. Whenever atomic bomb parts were shipped or information on the Atomic Bomb was exchanged, two of the MP's would travel with the bomb parts and those who built the bomb to the other bomb development sites in the U.S. and other undisclosed locations. Often, two MPs would go to the mountains near Sandia by car or truck and spend the night with those who went for special meetings or to assist in security for the area.
The MP's, workers and bomb parts were transported by plane from the Army Post below Los Alamos, New Mexico, to the eventual atomic bomb test sites.
The MP's and others along with the bomb parts then traveled to San Francisco, California by plane, then on to Johnston Island by ship way out in the South Pacific; then Kwajalein and finally to Eniwetok of the Marshall Islands for the test drop of the bomb which was dropped from a tower.
Dad is the one who told us about Eniwetok but
later research determined he must have been talking about Operation Crossroads
which took place at Bikini Island but who knows if the records or my dad’s
memories or both are correct on the locations.
The island of Eniwetok was only three miles long and about a mile wide. Most of the soldiers lived on the ships and worked on the island getting the bomb ready for testing.
One day while Dad was standing guard at the base of the atomic bomb tower and all the other personnel were in the mess hall for lunch Dad realized that there were sparks flying in the room at the top of the tower, and there was a cracking noise.
Dad cranked the crank phone after hollering up to the tower to see if anyone might be up there. He let the person who answered the phone know of the danger of the situation and everyone came boiling out of the mess hall.
The MP Captain did a lot of hollering at Dad and wanted to know why he had not called sooner. Dad responded that he called as soon as he was aware of the danger. There were many plain-clothes detectives on the base to check out the situation, too.
Dad was sure that whoever left a torch on and unattended in the tower had some hollering in his direction...
Dad and others left the island later that day on ships and anchored allegedly at a safe distance to observe the testing of the Atomic Bomb and watched through special glasses as the bomb dropped, and even though they were on a ship 30 miles out, the waves created by the blast reached the ships.
The island of Eniwetok was only three miles long and about a mile wide. Most of the soldiers lived on the ships and worked on the island getting the bomb ready for testing.
One day while Dad was standing guard at the base of the atomic bomb tower and all the other personnel were in the mess hall for lunch Dad realized that there were sparks flying in the room at the top of the tower, and there was a cracking noise.
Dad cranked the crank phone after hollering up to the tower to see if anyone might be up there. He let the person who answered the phone know of the danger of the situation and everyone came boiling out of the mess hall.
The MP Captain did a lot of hollering at Dad and wanted to know why he had not called sooner. Dad responded that he called as soon as he was aware of the danger. There were many plain-clothes detectives on the base to check out the situation, too.
Dad was sure that whoever left a torch on and unattended in the tower had some hollering in his direction...
Dad and others left the island later that day on ships and anchored allegedly at a safe distance to observe the testing of the Atomic Bomb and watched through special glasses as the bomb dropped, and even though they were on a ship 30 miles out, the waves created by the blast reached the ships.
Later when Dad and the others went to the
island to check the damage they found the island stripped completely clean of
everything except for a concrete bridge, Dad and the others were told being on
the ships and the island before and after the test was safe,.
Other than the bridge there was absolutely
nothing living or dead remaining on the island, the only thing left was the
dirt on the island, no photographs of any kind were allowed.
On the way back to Sandia Base, something taken from the island was guarded on one section of the deck all the way back into Los Angeles, California, or San Francisco, California.
Marines and Army MPs worked in four-hour shifts to guard the room built on the deck to house the mystery item. Finally, Dad returned to Sandia Base at the completion of the assignment.
The Army has told soldiers like Dad for years they were not at risk by being so close to the detonation of the Atomic Bomb and the bomb testing sites.
Dad was with the bomb when it was being developed, built, transported, assembled, and was within 30 miles of the bomb when it was exploded, then was on the island after the bomb was exploded, and was with a mysterious object taken from the bomb drop site.
Do you think Dad and the others were exposed to enough radiation to cause Dad and the others problems later in life?
On the way back to Sandia Base, something taken from the island was guarded on one section of the deck all the way back into Los Angeles, California, or San Francisco, California.
Marines and Army MPs worked in four-hour shifts to guard the room built on the deck to house the mystery item. Finally, Dad returned to Sandia Base at the completion of the assignment.
The Army has told soldiers like Dad for years they were not at risk by being so close to the detonation of the Atomic Bomb and the bomb testing sites.
Dad was with the bomb when it was being developed, built, transported, assembled, and was within 30 miles of the bomb when it was exploded, then was on the island after the bomb was exploded, and was with a mysterious object taken from the bomb drop site.
Do you think Dad and the others were exposed to enough radiation to cause Dad and the others problems later in life?
All in
all it was a pretty intense assignment according to Dad.
No comments:
Post a Comment