hdd insi Dé GL MPSES. » On Rongelap, a tiny atoll in the Marshall Islands, a determined one-year- old named Lakoj Anjain was learning to walk. Fifteen miles northwest of Rongelap, radioman Aikichi Kuboyama was enjoying a modest predawn breakfast aboard the Japanese fishing vessel, Lucky Dragon. lt was March 1 , 1954. ‘Suddenly, the western skies exploded with yellow light. The Pacific Ocean mirrored the eerie spectacle as the blinding light became red, then orange. Kubo-- yama bolted out of his cabin and joined the crewmen of the Lucky Dragon as they stared in awe of “Another sun rising in the West!" Lakoj Anjain and the 63 other residents of Rongelap heard the thunder and watched the strange clouds over the horizon. None of them had seen anything like this before. The United States had exploded its first hydrogen bomb — 15 megatons strong — on near- by Bikini atoll. Several hours later, a white ash fell like snow from the sky and covered both \the islanders and the crew of the Lucky Emoy the hospitality ofjapan worldwide. 3 Dragon. John Anjain, Lakoj’s father described the ash: ‘In the afternoon, some- 1972 they ‘took Lekoj away again, They Said they wanted to examine him. They thing began falling from the sky upon our took him to America, to a big hospital island. It looked like ash from a fire. It - near Washington. Later they took me to fell on me, it fell on my,wife, it fell on this hospital because they said he was our infant son. -We were very curious very sick. My son Lekoj died after [ -about this ash falling. from the sky. Some arrived. He never .saw his island .again. “people put it in their mouths and tasted He returned to our home in a box. The it. One man rubbedit into his eyes to see ’ doctors say he had a sickness caljed leukeif it would -cure an old ailment.”’Aikichi mia, They are quite sure it was from the Kuboyama and his fellow crewmembers bomb. But J] am positive. I saw the -ash ‘Teacted similarly. None of them had seen fall-on him. I know it was the bomb.! anythinglike this before. “ saw him die.” As the world was soon to lear, the Congress recently appropriated Marshallese of Rongelap, Rongerik and - $100,000 in death benefits for the family Utirik and the crew of the Lucky Dragon of Lakoj Anjain and offered reparation were the first humans to be exposed to to other islanders.. But, as Larry Pryor H-bomb fallout. Although the Marshallese asks in “Nuclear Waste: The Pacific Provwere treated in relative obscurity, the ing Grounds,” “How much is enough? If Japanese fishermen were the subjects of Rongelap had been a community near the atomic testing ground in Nevada,. front page stories worldwide. Six months after the blast Aikichi some attorneys argue, the settlements Kuboyama died #id became the world’s would be higher.” , first H-bomb victim. Eighteen years after Who decides the price of a life? the blast Lakoj Anjain died of leukemia. His father recalls the death of his son: “‘In Bok Kaa) \ ‘Hospitality is a highly _ refined art in our country. So wherever and whenever you fly with us, you'll be an honored guest. Whetherit's a short hop or a long haul, you'll appreciate the graceful service of our hostesses in the air and the | helpful service of our-staff on ‘the ground. Let the tradition of service which JAL is respected for worldwide go with you, worldwide. _ Wenever forget how important you are. JAPAN AIR LINES o FEBowes mere we