Sorry about your uncle and all the other consequences, esp to the innocent. A former co-worker from NM recalls many illnesses in his home state.
I thank your family for your service and sacrifice.
BTW, an eldery friend who passed away a few years ago was in the Navy near Japan. He told me he saw the blast of the bomb exploding in Japan from 200 miles away. Wow!
The natives in NM told me that when the bomb went off at the Trinity site it was visible 90 miles away.
The sand beneath the device fused with the copper in the containment vessel and made a green sheet of glass at ground zero. The glass was removed because of the extremely high radioactivity.
The site is open for visiting 1 weekend per year, but is not much to see. A minor depression in the ground is about all that is left.
White Sands Missle range is a very interesting site. Had many friends who worked there.
I remember speaking with a WWII vet when I was younger, and he saw it in much the same way(who knows, they could have been on the same ship). He said that none of the sailors on board knew what it was.