· s err ill • USS PHILll' • DDE 498 '··· ' s 307 C - u FJ dt Post Ou1ce Su Frax1sco C urornia DDE498 VLM GWA wk H2-l Serial 001 5 Mar 1954 From To Commanding Officer Commander Task Group Subj Evacuation of Rongelap and Ailinginae Atolls on 3 March 1954 report of Ref a COMTASKGROUP 7 3 Disp 020848Z of March 1954 b COM JTF SEVEN Disp 021225Z of March 1954 Encl 1 2 3 7 3 Passenger lists of evacuees from Rongelap and Ailinginae Atoll Radiological statistics reported by monitor teams Rongel p and Ailinginae Atolls Location of ater cisterns Rongelap Isl and 1 In compliance with reference a the PHILIP got mderway from Bikini at 2145M on 2 March and arrived and anchored off Rongel ap Isl and in the 1 agoon at 0730M on 3 March A PBM-5A VP-29 aircraft No 2085 piloted by LCDR WELCH which previously had been dispatched from Kwaj alein anchored about 100 yards off the beach of the same i_sl and shortly before the PHILIP a nc ored Prior to anchoring the PBM in good radio communication with the PHILIP made a thorough reconnaissance flight around the atoll Also on departure the previous evening the Co - anding Officer of the PC 1546 offered much valuable navigational and general information which was of great help to the PHILIP 0 2 0 5 I 2 The beach party including the Com anding Officer Executive Officer Radiological Safety Officer and a three man monitoring team proceeded from the PHILIP in a motor whale-boat to the PBM and picked up Mr Marion 1TILDS civilian representative of the Civil Administration Unit Marsha 11s Trust Territories of Pacific Islands and Oscar DeBrum Marshallese interpreter The beach was such as to allow en easy close-in landing without danger to the boat 3 The party was met at the beach by John the Magistrate of Rongelap l'ioni to ring of the isl and cormnenced immediately On the be sis of initial readings it appeared obvious that evacuation was definitely in order The Commanding Officer U s s PHILIP presented Mr Wilds with the genJ ere l picture based on monitoring infom ation and on being infonned that '-' Commander Joint Tasl Force SEVEN had stated that the aotual evacuation i ' should be re uested by trust territory officials Mr Wilds was very COPIED D phatic regarding the need for evacuation Through the interpreter • IM_L RQ I -' 1 ENCLOSURE 1 - - i-9 l- l ✓ ·' b j fl -'1 T DDE498 VLH GVvA wk H2-l Serials 001 5 Mar 1954 it was explained that it was to the best interests of the Rongelap people to leave the atoll and that the PHILIP was there for that purpose Mr Wilds wns present during all the conversation with John the Magistra te and was of much assistance e s clso was LCDR V L MURTHA Executive Officer of the PHILIP whose ajuro Island Government background proved very helpful in oonvincing the Mnrshallese that they should leave 4 The information that•the people would leave R ngelap was passed very quickly Each person was asked to bring a small handbag as tho only baggage since the monitors readings indicated a high dosnge on sleeping mats palm baskets and other personal belongings It is considered very important that once the accepted le der is established end identified that all requests be made through him without exception This ·procedure expedited the entire operation s It was decided to utilize the PBH to tronsport the elderly and the sick to Kwaj elein John designated sixteen 16 persons and this party v e embarked in the aircraft in about an hour and a half after the party first landed These passengers are listed in Enclosure 1 which is fori •e rded herewith 6 Fortunately the J arsho llese were not reluct int to leave the island The magistrate explained that the people had been sick and he obviously deduced that e 11 of the people would soon be provided the necessary dica 1 care John was apprehensive about the safety of his boc t a 30 foot sloop The sloop w s tovred by the ship's who le bont to a better lee Two anchors w re dropped o nd the boat ppe u-ed to be in good holding ground 7 The forty eight 48 remaining 11 ' rshallese · -ere tr msported vi a two bip' s whale boats to the PHILIP Namas of evo cuaes are listed in 3nclosure 1 e De-contamin tion of the Marshallese com nenc d im iedi tely upon em• barkation Routes had been previously est ibl ished md tho de-con- lination teams on st tion ready to guide the passengers to the de-contru iinntion center after crew's washroom Clothing ws s placed in t · o G I c s u't and a fter n thorough shower clean clothes were reu ily nvail ble o t the exit The cr w donated sufficient white and dung re3 trousers dungaree P nd T shirts without whi' ch the de-contsn in tion could not have been as effective BEST AVAILABLE COPY COPIED DO£ j LANL RC JJ • 2 - r § q L bl I IJ t J 1 Ji I 9 14 £L DDE498 VLM GYiA wk H2-l Seritl 001 5 i ar 1954 9 Women and children were billeted in the torpedo room o nd the men provided temporary shelter under a c mvas tarpaulin rigged on the 01 level betv reen the stacks Cots were available as se its in both locations The after officer's he id El Ild washroom a short dist311ce from the torpedo room was designated for use by the women o nd children The men had the use of the after crew's head and washroom The separation of the M irsho llese was mandatory due to the limited sp ce avo il ible in the torpedo room A continuous 24 hour sentry watch nll petty officers was set at both locations to insure privacy end to assist in any requests made by the Mo rshallese 10 All children were provid'3d milk shortly after de-contan in l tion The the The Hot all Marshallese went through the regular mess line for meals and ho d same ration as the crew The m at course was the least popular majority of the party asked for more soup broo d and vegetables soup was most in demand Ice cream was the naturol favorite of the children • 11 The contaminated clothing was washed in the ship's laundry with strong soap solution dried pressed and returned within four hours c fter the party embarked 12 Sleeping accommodations although cro od were considered adequate T - elve 12 cots and two 2 stretchers W3re set up in the torpedo room n ld the remaining deck space covered with kapok life jackets The men s ept on the fantail under the deck e ming Life jo ckets proved to be cor ' fort i ble pallets l ld are excellent insul o tion c go inst vrn nn or d l Ilp dacks Tiith tb above nrrangeoents each person ho d a sleeping sp ice The PBM pl u -e Com rnander reported that he thought he so w somG people Enin etok Island Rongela p Atoll A pnrty including John nnd Osc ir De Srum the interpreter l mded on this island nt 031245H _ thorough· S-2 ' rch w s mo de but no Marsh ulase were loc ted The 1rs gistro te insured t 3 search party tho the was certain th i t there were no persons there sir ce n boat was not nc i rby onitor tenm readings indic tad an nvarnge of 3 02 Roentgens with a m iximum reading of 3 65 F oentg ns Monitor te st' tistics are included in enclosure 2 It was lucky that this isl and was not inhabi te 13 o 'l Six 6 s mpl3s of water to ken from wells on Rongclo p h-ive b3 m forn rded in co oliance with refarence b Apprcxim te loc' tions of mlls are indico ted- in enclosure 3 • ' 14 3 toPIED D0£ ANL RC b jl -'9 __ ✓ • _ I I 15_ - __ I I I I - ·j·-- c· L- I - I s 1 DDE498 VLM GriA wk H2-l Sorinli 001 6 far 1954 BEST AV l fllt rte COPY 15 The ship then procc3ded to Ailinginne Atoll The ogistrnto believed it possible that· n party was on Enibuk Island A party wns l'lllded conducted n thorough search but found no one The ship remnined in tho vicinity of Enibuk while the tvro who le boats procoodcd to Sifo Island A sloop w s sighted mchorod in the lngoon off Sifo lsl' ll'ld The p rty lnnded and John the M istrate once ago in explained the need for le ving Rongelap Eightuen 18 lbrshnllcse w0rc tr sported from this island Both this group and John assured the party that there were no Mo rsh llcse on any of the other isl ands o nd the ev cu tion w s consid3red compl3tod The sloop w s chored off tho isl md inn good lee The s9l le procedures for hendling the 18 ovo cuoes from Sifo were follo rod as describad in th proceeding po rugro phs The P -IILIP depo rted from Ailinginc e at 1800M on 3 Ma rch and nrrivad n t the lhv ' l Sto tion Kwaj o lein at 0830li on 4 Mo rch The Mnrshnlloso were disembo rked during the morning of 4 lfo rch nnd r-amovod to the lfovd Dispensary On nrrivo l the PHILIP wc s visitod by Com ' 'lo nd r Naval Stc tion Kwaj lein and represontntives of Commander Joint Task Force SEVEN 16 17 In spite of the willingness of tho people to l nve their homes there was understand blc concern over the safety of the two sloops left behind at Rongelnp o nd Sifo Those bo ts o ro a cor u ity assst for h uling copr nnd returning tho basic food stnplcs mddicines and clothing during the period thct Trust T3rritory field trip ships ra not v il ble Thsrc w s a considar ble linount of copra in drying shed on Enio ctok ond n s cllJr ronount on Sifo It w s most disho rt ning to the I a gistr te to leave the copra behind since ho himsolf had prcp 1rod the ccpr o Eni etok l st week All livestock including about one hundred chick3ns md ten pigs Y 3re c ba doned on Rengel ap Two dogs wer lso laft on the isl' nd Since the people were not giver nn csti tc of the dur tion of their ev icu- tion the concer i ov0r the above i toms will no doubt increr se as the e sencc from their homos grovlS longer It is rcco nended th t nircro ft periodic lly check the condition of the two sloops o t Rongele p 311d Sifo It is further rocom onded tha t so consider tion bo given to the tr' msf0r of livestock copra and personcl belongings on Rongelap Sifo ni etok There is n possibility th t these im ils could be of much v ue for sci ntific research 18 19 The M rsh lese w3ro excollen p ss3ngcrs most cooporo tivc nov 3r de o nding end axerr pln ry in conduct It w s a distir ct pl0nsure for the crew of tho F iILIP to ho ve bcen o fforded the opportunity to assist these quiet peopl 3 in the ev' 'lcu tion PIEDiDOE Kl HG 1 Copy to COPIED DD inCPncFl t l AiiL RC CJTF SEVEJ CTU 7 3 1 CTG 7 1 G 'IT JJ 9IU _ f 6 1 •41 • 'I •1 •- $ •· 9 - I- · l -• 1• I - -- - - _ ---- _- LIST OF MARSHALLESE EVACUATED VIA PBM FROM RONGELAP ISL AND ON 3 MARCH 1954 SEX NAME 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AGE Loman Male Kanena Male Female 66 75 83 Koma Mo le Femnle 63 Tibaj Male Bekiri Female Female Luinr Jelen a Jenet 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Betty 70 28 62 52 6 Rinok Female Female Almiro Female 17 19 Ellin Femcle 24 Luwetak Female 78 Jabwe Male Male Fem3 l e 30 48 Antok Anjar RG 326 t S ATo nc E 'iERGY CO DJISSION Local on LAN Culleciion_t ____i l O FoJtler -1 0P1ED7DOE rlaANl RC -- £4 Z ' t qf- 1 Page l of Enclosure l 59 -- • A LIST OF MARSIL LLESE EMB RKED ABOARD THE USS PHILIP DDE 498 FROM RONGELAP ISLAND ON 3 M CH 1954 NJ ME SEX AGE 1 No ptnli 2 Fkuiak Male Male Male Mo le M1le Male 49 43 37 36 44 31 30 20 15 12 7 3 4 5 s COPIED DO£ 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 2 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 • 45 46 47 48 ' lANL Ral' J_ ---- Belle Hninrick Zitikos John Beoj Jin Jerk m No rio Kitna r S akraio s Herry Elio Jebon Iroji Zinier Alet Dejen Lclcij Dik Joj Kiuaj o 1 1rtc Jedre lJweno rihi Zilo Nej lk Minn I i tswo Muje Rekko Zo tnk Zije 1inn Nerje Hetsi Jim' lCO Hruko Mweo Me- rry N aiki Joni to Ermitn Jemlik Kioj an Niktimos Biliet Ho le Ma le Mnle llale I ale Male Mo le I o le Male Mite Ma le Mo le Mo le Mo le l il e ale Femil o Female Female Fem le Female Female Female Femnlc Female Female Male Femo le Fem ue Fem 3 le Femo le Female Ferne le Female Femil e Femnle Femole Femnle Femnle Femo le Mn le Mo le --- 7 6 5 4 13 2 2 2 1 2 4 59 53 50 38 37 31 30 28 26 12 60 4 2 7 18 15 15 13 9 3 4 3 2 15 20 33 t'1 j· A LIST OF NJi RSHlu LESE EMBA KED ABOARD THE USS PHILIP DDE 498 FROM SIFO ISLAND ON 3 M RCH 1954 Nl'J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Jojea Bnul Jaken Koteo Janoor Torty Ape o Jonbok Jnbkeon Ka ban Bolking Biliem Nemeko John Kety Lija Amon Kojim SEX AGE lb le Male Ma le lfo le J ble Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Femnle Fama le Fama le Femc le Ferne lo 35 Page 3 of Enclosure l 2 42 4 57 55 13 10 1 19 2 12 16 2 16 37 25 35 -- RAD SAFE REPORT ' Evo cuo tion and Dooontamino tion of Ma rsha llese No tives I Do ta P- j Island READINGS Ave i i 1 1 C I' Z o Ron el etf c-1 ZO 1473 j Enibuk s·r 1900 3650 445 H8 14 c i 1 o ---- H Toto ls 4 Inho bited f ' l 'J r ' Eni 1 etok z in M HRJ Max • 412 Time of Re ngs 031045M Yos No 031245M No 031545M ' Yes 031715M 2 ---- 550 480 DECONTI INATION PERSONNEL Decontrunin 1 tion reo dings nre o s follows 1 Aver9 £e Rendings - ISLJ ND Rons jela E After Before Decontrunination Decontomino tion Sifo 60 M HR 25 MRl R 40 H HR 15 MRLHR NOTE #1 Clothin wns slibhtly cont' ll lin tad even after decontomin 1 tini procedures were employed due to its roubh surface and prolonb d exposure to radiation However moximum reo dings of less th' ll'l 50 ·'lR HR did not wnrr mt discarding women's clothing due to tho short time it wo s to be worn RG NOTE #2 Deconto mination upon les vin 6 the ship 326 US ATOlUC ENERGY t CO BilUS 'IJ - Locallon C o l l e c U o 6 Folder • ' s I _ C O P I E D - - 1 ANL RQ NC Enclosure 2 20-22 MR HR LOCATION C • • - _r vr t u r c 11 l WELLS SAil iPLlD J il-IARCH 1'1 4 R01 IM ISLAND 1 • RG 326 US ATOMIC ENERGY COMlll SSION Location I ANL Collectt t O C I - D Folder_F OUT _ _ _ -• EOTTLE #' _ _ _ _- -• USS PHIT IP___f ----- -• BOTTLE #2 i I - 1PEll - J · - BCYrTLE #l _ _ __ __ -- BOTTLE #4 _ _ _ --_ BCYrTLi - - - - - - - • BarTU C0P £Dfi #o_ _ _ _ Ez c l osure 3 I Ali I DOE 4t TT -- 1