Posted on 03/01/2014 2:34:29 PM PST by Kid Shelleen
A memorial ceremony was held Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary since the crew of the Fukuryu Maru No. 5, a tuna boat from Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, and many other people were exposed to radiation from a U.S. hydrogen bomb test on Bikini Atoll near the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean.
The ceremony, held in Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, was attended by people exposed to radiation, including Matashichi Oishi, 80, one of the surviving crew of the Fukuryu Maru No. 5, and local government officials. They have reaffirmed their determination to pass on the stories of the damage caused by the radiation to later generations
(Excerpt) Read more at abc.net.au ...
So the conclusion is that mild radiation exposure contributes to a long lifespan.
Sounds like it.
Remember, rhese were the people who were destined to make it to 100
The best result from this has been Bikinis.
Hopefully Laz agrees.....
My late brother in law was on a US vessel at Bikini during the tests, and he died an early death at age 58.
WHAT? I coulda sworn I read/heard that no one could go near the Bikini’s for a quadzillion years due to the nuke tests. Ohhhh. Glow in the dark marine life. Me likey. LOL! Of course if the “lyin’ king” told me if “I liked my Bikini I could keep my Bikini”, I would most surely have believed. NOT!
I survived a meningitis at nineteen and a stroke at thirty one. Nobody has ever been guaranteed a long life even if their families were long lived.
Exposure to muppets is linked to death at a very young age, however.
The Islanders are going about this thing all wrong. They probably never saw the Peter Sellers The Mouse that Roared movie in which the Grand Dutchy of Fenwick declares war, invades the US, gets beat and get gazillions of reparation dollars. At least that was the plan. Funny stuff. I don’t recall hearing a cuss word anywhere either. Hmmmmmm.
My uncle was on a plane which was circling the test site, as he was for all of the island tests. He was in bunkers for the on-land tests.
He died at a normal age, I’ve forgotten just how old, but with a severe case of Graves (thyroid) disease.
I doubt if he would have changed a thing.
My brother in law was a photographer at most of the tests.
My daughter, wife, and I were on Bikini Atoll from the end of February to almost the end of March 2006. 30 days in the land of massive radiation :) . No ill effects whatsoever, one of the 11 sail boats with us had a Geiger counter and background radiation was just slightly higher than normal. There were some areas that bulldozers had moved surface soil and vegetation into piles that were a little hotter, but not much. Bikini was resoiled and replanted with Coconut trees, very orderly like an orchard. The only danger that still exists is in drinking the coconut water. Still Cesium Isotopes in the ground soil. Not bad for adults, but not good for growing children. And the sea life was spectacular and very edible. The Bikinians could go home but the 1 to 2 hundred million they get from the US every years keeps them away. Got to dive on the HIMS Nagato and the USS Saratoga that were sunk from the first two fission tests, AWESOME DIVE!!
My late brother in law was on a US vessel at Bikini during the tests, and he died an early death at age 58.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
I was on an APA from 1957-60 that went through the A Tests in 1946 and an LST from 1960-62 that had been a participant of the 1954 tests - Operation Castle -
Apparently the ship was on loan to MINPAC and part of the job was to retrieve the Mines that were placed in the area (I guess to see how they would withstand the blast etc).
After the blast the ship moved the villagers - lock, stock and barrel to a new location.
Remember for BOTH of those test eras the norm was to turn away from the blast and make sure your eyes were covered....
I always wondered how much radiation may have been absorbed and since the APA was launched in 1943 and the LST in 1953 both had asbestos...but I personally have had no problems and don’t notice a significant rise in the deaths of those from the 1954 test...other than figuring the youngest were around 17 and the oldest up into their 40’s so a good number dying now are probably mostly attributed to the ‘year of birth’. Though many were probably affected, particulary those who were ‘outside’.
I’d give me left arm to do those dives. What were your impressions of both vessels?
All they would have to do is import about a hundred queers and And an NBC film crew and they could get billions out of Reid and Obama and Boehner. Better hurry though!
I prefer the Nobikini Atoll...
< /BobClampett >
Too bad my ears will only allow me to snorkel. Regardless, I’ll bet there was some real nice water to dive in. Hmmmm. Gets me to thinkin’. I got a buddy about to retire that has a 43’ Island Packet down in San Diego. Hmmmmmm. “Hey Bob. Wanna go on a 3 hour tour?” LOL
My mother’s second husband was at Bikini Atoll. He knew many on there who suffered from radiation poisoning.
He said they went onto the island not long afterwards. There was a goat they had put in a cage on the island and after went in and the goat was still alive but badly burned from the bomb, incredible as that sounds, that is what he said.
His friend had a hand that blew up like a catcher’s mitt and cracked...he was being seen at the V.A.
The V.A. denied all these guys suffered from radiation poisoning, but they had them coming back for a ‘study’.
Another thing is when the bomb was detonated they on the ship were on deck, and told to cover their eyes.
He said he did and could see the bones of his hand, the skeleton, through his closed eyelids.
They washed the men’s clothing on board in water taken from the sea, and then the men were passed through a line where they were measured for radiation with a wand. The clicks were multiple and audible.
But...the V.A. said they did not suffer from radiation poisoning. They received an extra addition to their check, per month, for their troubles, which he always said what was it for, if he did not suffer from radiation poisoning?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.