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SOUTH PACIFIC ATOLL Ashlander recalls, regrets presence at nuclear bomb test He suspects radiation caused ongoing health problems, but Army says exposure was minimal By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 23, 2014 @ 8:21 pm By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 23, 2014 @ 8:21 pm » RELATED CONTENT • Ashland natives deployed aboard same carrier • Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki » Social News When the U.S. tested nuclear weapons in Eniwetok atoll in the South Pacific in 1951-52, Joe Acosta of Ashland was there — although he had no idea what was going on or that he was being exposed to radiation that, he says, would dog his health for the next 64 years.  Now 82, Acosta, a retired baker, says he and fellow Army soldiers were stationed on Eniwetok after atom bombs were set off in 1951 as part of Operation Greenhouse, leaving the area radioactive.  During the hydrogen bomb test called Operation Ivy in 1952, Acosta says he and fellow soldiers were taken by ship about 25 miles from the blast, given no protective equipment except goggles and told to stand, facing away from the blast.  “We were told to close our eyes. We felt a big whoosh from an implosion that sent the fallout into the upper atmosphere, then a big bam and a light so bright, it was like a thousand times brighter than the sun, then a big heat from radiation on exposed parts of our skin. It hurt like a bad burn,” said Acosta, telling the story in the home of his daughter in Ashland, where he lives. “We still didn’t know what it was. They didn’t tell us. They confiscated any photos and read our mail to make sure there were no details of where we were and what we were doing.” In the ensuing years, he suffered many health problems and was unable to get much medical help from the Veteran’s Administration, which, he says, reported all his records were lost in a fire, so it couldn’t be established he was at the nuclear site. He did get meds from the VA. No physician ever told Acosta that his symptoms came from radiation. However, he says almost all his teeth fell out and his skin yellowed in the in the five years after the blast. Other symptoms were a golf-ball size lymph node removed from arm pit and swelling and an open wound in leg, in the '50s, hearing loss in the '60s, asthma and osteoarthritis in the '70s, strokes in the '80s and throat and prostate cancer in the '90s — all before age 65. After 64 years of trying to establish his presence at the Pacific Proving Ground during nuclear tests, Acosta recently received a copy of a letter to the VA from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency in Fort Belvoir, Va., confirming he was a participant in Post-Operation Greenhouse in 1951 and in Operation Ivy, in 1952. The letter, dated Sept. 4, 2014, and signed by Lt. D. N. Mannis of the agency’s Nuclear Test Personnel Review, also established the maximum doses of radiation Acosta could have received externally and to his prostate. The dosages in the letter are similar to those to which astronauts on International Space Station missions are exposed, which are slightly above the dose that can cause an increased risk of cancer. “It’s been a long 64 years without help (from the VA), let me tell you,” Acosta said. “I don’t want to attack the government ... but two things are important to me, to get disability so I can have a happy-go-lucky life and the other is for my good buddies in the Army, though most of them are dead.”  Acosta has never been in touch with his comrades from the test zone and doesn’t know it they had health problems but, he adds, “Their families don’t know how and why they died. This is not just my fight; it’s their fight too. I feel guilty I’m still alive and they died without recognition.”  Acosta says “we went there as guinea pigs,” adding he has “very little trust” in the VA and doubts the story about his records being lost in a fire, since the Defense Department finally was able to confirm his service in the hazardous Proving Ground.  Acosta has paid for his years of extensive medical care out of his own pocket and, with a military disability classification, would like to get remuneration and VA care for his continuing issues with strokes, heart problems and cancer, he says. He has a local VA Patient Advocate now and plans to seek help with the Medford offices of Oregon’s senators and congressman to get the process rolling. By John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 23, 2014 @ 8:21 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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