For the first 18 years of my marriage, I knew little about my husband’s time in the Navy and his service in the nuclear blasts in the Pacific Proving Grounds.
As an atomic veteran, Mike was sworn to secrecy about his 1962 participation in Operation Dominic. In Operation Dominic, the United States detonated 36 nuclear weapons near the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, known at the time as Christmas Island. Mike participated in 21.
I lost my husband to metastasized bladder cancer this past January, a “presumptive illness” according to the government, and a disease associated with exposure to toxic ionizing radiation.
During Operation Dominic, my husband’s protective equipment was a pair of darkened goggles to protect his eyes. He and most of the men he served with had nothing more between them and the powerful explosions that sent radiation into the air, water, flora, and fauna for miles around.
In the early years of our marriage, Mike spoke of radiation mostly when he had to have an X-ray — he was opposed to any additional radiation. Though suspicious, he did not understand the health consequences of radiation until decades later, well after we experienced three miscarriages and before we conceived our daughter. Multiple miscarriages are a gut-wrenching struggle shared by many of the atomic veteran families I have met.
When my husband was diagnosed with bladder cancer, we were able to apply for help through the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which helps those hurt by the nuclear arms race during the Cold War. Through RECA, he received a token financial compensation that was important to him as recognition from our government that he had been harmed and as an effort to compensate him for his suffering.
For the last 18 years of his life, Mike was very involved with VP-872 squadron reunions and the National Association of Atomic Veterans, where he got to share his story and connect with other veterans.
Recognition of the service and sacrifice made by atomic veterans was incredibly important to him, both for his fellow veterans and for the impact ionizing radiation may have on subsequent generations.
Equally important to Mike was that his fellow atomic veterans know about the benefits and help for which they are eligible. But RECA is at risk. It is currently set to sunset June 2024, leaving atomic veterans like my husband without an opportunity to claim their earned compensation.
The Senate has passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would extend RECA for another 19 years and strengthen the program so that more people are covered and have the opportunity to get help.
Now that Congress is back in session, legislators will negotiate the final wording of the National Defense Authorization Act. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the other members should ensure the act includes language extending RECA to allow additional time for those harmed by nuclear weapons tests to apply for benefits.
Mike was 78 when he was diagnosed with cancer — time is not on the side of our atomic veterans.
Congress should stand by the veterans who, often unknowingly, sacrificed their health, and the peace and health of their families, to keep our country safe. The least we can do is provide partial restitution to veterans who developed serious illnesses due to their radiation exposure.
I urge you to contact your senator and congressman or congresswoman to ensure the RECA amendment remains in the final National Defense Authorization Act to be voted on in the next few months.
Karen Bosch Cobb lives in Friant, the town north of Fresno.
