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JOHN WILLIAM JENKINS |
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Jenkins tells of Bikini Bomb
John William Jenkins of Bonne Terre was in the
Navy serving on LST 222, Ex-Japanese Cruiser Sakawa and the USS Chevalier. He served in the Pacific Theatre and attained the
rank of BT3. He relates the following story.
"At age 24, I was a veteran of two wars,
World War II and Korea. In spite of the
classification our government chose to name it, Korea was war.
"My story has to do with the crossroads
operation. The dropping of a test atomic bomb
at the atoll of Bikini in the Pacific Ocean.
"The LST22, my boat, was decommissioned in
Tokyo Bay after the peace was declared. It,
like many others of its kind was turned over to the Japanese to bring their troops home
from the islands after their defeat.
"I was transferred to the ex-Japanese
Cruiser Sakawa, which was slated to go to the Bikini atoll, for the first of its kind
atomic bomb test over water.
"Our 125 man American crew replaced 1,100
Japanese crewmen who had been aboard during the war. Along
with our crew, we had 11 Japanese officers, who remained aboard to show us and teach us
how to run the Japanese ship.
"After about a month of learning, we went
on a shake down cruise with the Japanese aboard as instructors. All went well and we were ready to start our voyage
to Bikini by way of Eniwetok. I believe the
natives of Bikini had been moved to Eniwetoke and Kwajaiian in anticipation of using their
island for the bomb drop.
“All went smoothly on our trip until we
ran out of fuel and were dead in the water for about 36 hours, until a tug came out from
Eniwetok and towed us in. It is not really a
good feeling being in the middle of the ocean with no power.
The weather remained calm though and we made it ok.
“On to Bikini after refueling. The lagoon of Bikini was completely filled with
ships of every nation, but primarily US, British, German and Japanese. My ship was one ship away from the target ship, our
own battlewagon USS Nevada.
“On the morning of the drop, I was one of
eight crew members who had slept aboard and were to secure all water tight hatches before
we were taken off and put aboard the Mt. McKinley which was control ship for the Crossroad
operation.
“On board the Jap Cruiser we had pigs,
monkeys, goats, chickens, guinea pigs, rats and mice, all in cages or tied securely. These were animals to be tested for radiation after
the bomb drop.
“The Mt. McKinley steamed about 15 miles
out from the lagoon and we all sat on the deck waiting for the bomber to come over on its
way to Bikini. Over loud speakers, we were
kept informed of each minute of operation, until the drop was made. I’m sure most of the people my age have seen
movies of the mushroom cloud caused by an atomic bomb blast, but I must say it cannot
compare with the great awe and awful feeling of the actual sight and seconds later the
sound of the bomb.
“I’m sure I was one of many that day,
that had to reflect on what we really had discovered or invented for the total destruction
of mankind. We can all thank God that the
likes of it has not been used since, as a device of war and hopefully, never will.
“As we steamed back into the lagoon that
afternoon, we all were crowding the rail to check on our individual ships and their
condition. Mine was listing to port and 36
hours later sank from sight as all our crew members cheered.
“My job was done and I started home the
next day, glad I did not have to go back aboard with all the protective clothing we eight
were issued. A set of Army green shirt pants,
a ball cap, a pair of shoes and a pair of orange fuzzy gloves. When I see today all the gear the people wear who
are cleaning up dioxin supersites, I’m truly grateful I didn’t have to go back
aboard that ship with all its contaminants.
“I arrived home via Pearl Harbor and
Lambert Field and was glad to be here.”
{The
Daily Journal, St. Francois Co., Wednesday, April 26, 1995}