38 RADIOLOGICAL CLEANUP OF ENEWETAK ATOLL November 1946, President Truman announcedthat the U.S. was prepared to place the islands undertrust. The agreement establishing the TTPI as a strategic area trusteeship was approved by the U.N. Security Council on 2 Description and History: 1526-1972 limited food potential on Ujelang has made it necessary to import more commodities than might normally be required on Enewetak.66.67 ‘‘Inem jen jab inebata bwe ankilan Anij.”’ April ,,1947 and byPresident Truman on 18 July 1947. Under the agreement, most of Micronesia was placed under the administration, legislation, and jurisdiction of the United States.62 The Departmentofthe ‘ Interior became the executive agency of the UnitedStates, relieving the (But we do not worryforit is the will of the Lord.) In this way wasthe attitude of the people of Enewetak expressed.®8 LIVING ON UJELANG Navyofits interim control. The United States was to take all appropriate measures to advance the interests of the people of the TYPI and, additionally, the U.S. was authorized to establish military bases in the TTPI. Concurrently with the establishment of the TTPI, action was being taken ,by the AECto establish a nuclear test site at Enewetak Atoll. The AEC had studied several possible locations including island sites in the Indian Ocean, Alaska, and Kwajalein Atoll, as well as in the continental U.S. Bikini Atoll islands were neither large enough nor properly oriented for construction of a major airfield and support base. The AECselected Enewetak Atoll and, upon approvalof the proposal by President Truman, requested that the Military Services prepare the Enewetak Proving Ground and providelogistical support. On 18 October 1947, JTF-7 was activated under the command of Lieutenant General John E. Hull, USA,to prepare the proving ground and to conduct the next series of nuclear tests, Operation Sandstone. The selection of Enewetak as a proving ground necessitated the removal of the people once again, this time to Ujelang Atoll to the southwest of Enewetak.®3 On 21 December 1947, 136 dri-Enewetak were transported to Ujelang to begin their long residence on that Atoll. Ujelang lies 124 miles southwest of Enewetak. It had been inhabited by Marshallese, but a typhoonin the late 1800’s swept over the atoll and killed all but a few of the inhabitants. The survivors moved to the southern Marshalls, leaving the atoll deserted. During the German and Japanese colonial eras, the atoll was developed _aS a commercial copra plantation, with a small groupofislanders from the Eastern Carolines serving as paid laborers. In World WarII, it was again abandoned. When the U.S. obtained the TTPI, Ujelang became available for the relocation of the populationsof other atolls.64.65 Ujelang is much smaller than Enewetak, containing less land and less agoon areas. [he fagoon ts only 25.4/ square miles in extent, compared with Enewetak’s 387.99 square miles. The land area is 0.67 square miles or 428 acres, of which only 274 acres are usable. Enewetak has 2.75 total square miles, or about |,761 acres of land. From these figures, it is possible to see that the potential for the production of food at Ujelang from the reefs, lagoon, and land was considerably less than that at Enewetak. The Neri 6 ee 39 A village for the people of Enewetak was constructed by the U.S. Navy on the main island of the atoll. Figure 1-35 is a map ofthe atoll giving the village location. A brush clearing program also had been in progress at the time they arrived on the atoll. The coconut trees planted by the Germans and Japanesestill were bearing, and breadfruit and pandanus seedlings had ' been brought in and planted. Ujelang was provided a water system, including numerous rain catchments, a church, a council hall, a school, and a dispensary. Supply ships brought in tools, clothing, and food to supplement the meager natural resources. There was, however, no U.S. official remaining on the atoll, and there was no means of communication with the outside world.69,70 The people continued to practice nonintensive agricultural operations while utilizing the environment extensively. Coconut was converted into copra for cash sale; and consumer goods were purchased with the proceeds. Interest payments were received from trust fund provided by the TTPI. Rice, flour, sugar, canned meats, and other canned goods originally were additions to the traditional Enewetak diet, but they hadall become staple items over the years. Marine resources were extremely important in the diet of these people, with fish, clams, lobsters, turtles, and sea birds, as well as land animals (domesticated chickens and pigs), continuing to provide the required protein. Coconuts, pandanus, breadfruit, and arrowroot werestill the principal vegetables used. Bananas, papayas, and squash were not prominent in the diet because they did not grow well in Ujelang (although better than on Enewetak).7!./2 Figures 136 and 1-37 show scenes of the village on Ujelang. Perhaps the most profound effects of the experience of residing on Ujelang have been in two directions, each related to the style of living of he neannia » Oi C ary: Ts: bh 5 inp 4 Lb o Do} La relationship with other people. On Enewetak, family groups lived scattered along the lagoon shore on watos running, in most cases, from lagoon to ocean. On Ujelang, dwellings were close together and, aside from the area immediately surrounding the house, the land appears to have been held in common. /3./4