Bikini Atoll--Namu Is. personnel: Same 14. Date: Aug. Weather: 20, Pt, ENS, i, wee |Pree OS eeere. Locality: 1954--Thurs. cloudy--some rain. Water conditions: Calm. We left the Amen-Romuk anchorage at 0804 and arrived at Namu at 0650. We are anchored about one-half mile offshore in clear, On our way from Amen we passed by many broken light blue water. structures. The reefs were covered with iron pilings driven in like a picket fence. Yuro Island, where in 1945-7-& and 9 we used to have picnics and swim in the beautiful little pool is now a barren sand spit. Not a living plant appears to have grown in the past six years since the tests. The area is one of complete desolation. On arrival at Namu the entire party, who collected plankton, went ashore. except for Gary Lewis Namu Island looks battered, with many changes since we last visited it. Messerschmidia cover part of the island with open grass-covered areas. are everywhere. Nesting terns, fairy, noddy, crested, Birds fly overhead and young birds and eggs are in evidence everywhere. Fish were collected on the northwest shore of the island in about the same area as the ceep pool where we used to swim and collect Tridacna clams. The pool is gone now: a sand flat with only a few large rocks replaced it. S4