Islands Lost Again to Radiation
Coatinned from Third Page
Tan and his land overndes the concept of nationality.
“To say, ‘I'm Marshallese,’ that is a
Joreign concept,” Kiste sad “Weslermera named those islands the Marshalis. So ‘Marshallese’ has less
meanmg than ‘I'm Biluman' And
among themselves, they speak not of
bemg Bikinians, but say, ‘I'm a
n
of this parucular piece of land’ Land
is an expression of who | am—of individual idenuty.”
Or. a3 fellow anthropologist Jack.
Tobin, another academic expert with
tong expenence un the Marshalls, expressed it:ts
“In those islands, a man without
land is no man.”
By a split vote of the atoil's teaders,
the Bikimans chose to go to Rongenk
Atoll, 123 mules east of ther home
aloll The Navy, which put out press
reieases at the ume indicating that
“uve nauves were delighted” by the
move, was only slighily more restraned a year later in its official history of Crossroads, “Bombs at Bikins.”
“The Bikunans, convinced that the
(A- bomb) tests would be a contribubon to world peace, indicated their
willingness to evacuate,” the Navy
hustorian wrote.
and churned out of the blue-green lagoon, the people gathered on the
main deck [0 sing traditional songs of
farewell The next morning they were
untoaded at Rongerik.
On the morning of July {. a 5-29
bomber called Dave's Dream dropped
a “nominat yield” 20-kiloton (the
equivalent of 20.000 tons of TNT)
atomic bomb over theflcet of 70 obsolete U.S. and captured Japanese and
German warships moored just off Bikami Island. It expioded 500 feet atave
Uhe fleel, sinking five ships, twisting
and crushing otherslike cheap toys—
and initiating the radiation poisoning
of Bikim.
Among the 42,000 observers of the
awesome blast was Chief Juda,
watching as a guest of the Navy from
the deck of the amphubious command
\
asaS
eae
They
stand.
Severe food shortages developed
during the winter of 1946-47. In
spring of 1947, fire destroycd a third
of Rongenk’s coconut trees. The people pressed for a return to Bikini. but
a radiological survey indicated thatit
was too “hot’ for permanent accupancy and would be for many ycars.
they
could bear up under the
hardships of Rongerik.
BEN,TM
It wasn't quite thal way, according
t Tobin, emeritus professor of anthropology at University of Hawau.
“They did not go willingly,” Tobin
swd “They were foreed to go... They agreed because tncy had Lo,just
as Uncy had agreed lo do things when
ue Japanese had bayonets in the
back groynd.
“Put yourself in thew shoes: You've
deen told what to do by the Japanese
for a quarter-century. . . and told by
the Japanese military the Americans
were weak. So when the Amencans
wiped out the Japanese. . . all those
Amencan ships appearing, the natural reaction. . . would be to go along
with what they are told.”
On the afternoon of March 7, 1946,
the 166 men, women and children of
Bikins were loaded aboard Navy LST
1108. As the awkward landmg craft
hacked off the beach at Bulani island
uw tcat camp at Kwajalein. In September, the Bikintans voted to resettle on
Kal, and in November, they were finally settied on Kili and began building a new and bigger village than
they had had on Bikini
Kil was without question better
thought
scemed to be little to Bikini itself. The
trees were sti standing, still bearing
coconuts. But the radiation, invisible,
was not something he couid under-
than Rongerik. But it also was small
and, worse yet. it had no lagoon. The
island was constanily pounded by the
Pacife, Fishing was far more difficult
ship Mt. McKinley, severai miles
away. The Navy used more than 10,000 mstruments to record Lest data.
Chet Juda’s reaction was not recorded. The next day he rejoined his
peopie at Rangerik.
In October, the Navy announced
that the Bikinians would de relocated
on Ujclang. But two monthslater, the
Pentagon announced a new series af
Nuclear tests would be held, this ume
at Eniwetok, another atoll in the
Marshalls. The Eniwetok people
would go to Ujelang instead of the Bikinians. The Bikinmans had to wail.
Andrew Jakco remembered the
Rongenk period well. “I was a big
man then,” he said, “but I got sainny.” He held up the ttle finger of his
feft hand. “Skinny hike this. One old
woman dicd from hunger... . Fora
year and a half, we did not havo
enough food. (somctunes) got our
food by cutting open the coconut tree
and eaurg the heart of the tree. This
killed the tree.”
Jelacnk Jakeo, Andrew's 48-ycar-®
old brother, was a leen-ager on Ren-genk. “It was termblc,” he rememRonzerk was a disaster. IL was loo bered. “We ate things that were nol
small There was too little food And, Rood. gathered coconurs that fioatca
according lo legend, it was haunted in from the sca. Bad food, we got sick.
by an evti witch named Liborka, who Arms and \cgs sweiled up, ind we got
isoned the fish of Une lagoon. In bislers on the arms and we had diaract, certain fish of the lagoon were thea.”
ysonous which was why Rongenk
Late in January, 1948, the Navy
ad been uninhabited for years.
dispatched anthropologist Leonard
Bul it was clase to Bixini and the Mason, now of the University of Hapeople had chosen it for that reason. wan, to investigate. He found the exThey thought they could bear up un- ies at the point of starvation, living
der the hardships until they went on raw flour diluted with water.
back to ther home atoll. That, they
In strong terms. Mason recomwere convinced, would be in a couple mended that the peopie be removed
of years al most.
from Rangerik as soon as possible. He
Chief Juda had returned from the also recommended Kili Island, alfirst bombtest (the second, an under- though he admitted it had many diswater shot, was held July 25, 1946} lo advantages, as the best available
tell his peopie unat while there had place to relocate the Bikamans.
In March, 1948, they were moved to
been great damage to the ships, there
than at Bikim. Supply ships could
neither land food nor lake away copra
dried coconut, the only cash crop—
for months at a time because of the
heavy surf Sometimes six months
passed before a ship could unicad.
Jn an attempt to relieve the isolauon, the Navy turned over a 40-fool
power whaleboat to the Bikimang IL
sank in high seas in 1951.
th the same year, the Navy turned
over admimustration of Micronesia—
and the problems of the Bilunians—to
the civilians. A high commissioner
was appointed by the Prendent to
work with and through the U.S Departmentof the Intenor.
Matters did not improve mght
away. But under pressure from the
United Nations, the high commissior er pushed a communily developme:.¢
plan lo improve agricuilure on Kilt
In addition, the Trust Termury
turned over a copra trade baai to proPlease Tura to Pege 9, Col. 1