7e The medical group arrived in Iwajalein a & March. It consisted \ of military and civilian asdical officers and technicians fram the Naval Medical Research Institute, the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and the 0, S. Eaval Radiological Defense Laboratory and was established as Project 4.1, 20 13 of Task Group 7.1 with Comancer BE. P. Cronkite, KC, USH, as Project Officer. Drs. G. ¥. Leroy and C. L. Dunham represented the Division of Biolcgy and Medicine, AEC, and were to act as advisors to Project &.1. A systematic organization was set up with a riew toward mo airg @ sick call, performing blood studies, taking histories, making physic eal examinations ami documenting the cases by means of records and photo= graphy. Yeildings were furnished for these purposes by COMNAYVSTAKRA and his Staticn Surgecn, Commander W. J. Hall, worked closely with the grap. The establisheent of the investigating group of Project 4.1 was essential aod desirable from several standpoints. All the zedical personnel were experienced in the field of etomic medicine having been participants in pre vious testing using biological caterial as well as having had full tine research projects along this line during interim periods. This allcwsa for pecper evalcation of human effects toward correlaticn with cata on arimals from woich a grest deal of cur ideas om hucan effects have been extrapclated. Parther, thay constituted an augmentation sedical group for treatment “if necessary in conjunction with station medical facilities. dn additional advantage was that alaost all of the personnel had worked together as a unit om previcas occasions. & Hene of the natives nor the Bongerik Americans had prelfainary or emarly aysteric ayustone consistent with radiation sickness from large dosage of external whole body isradiation. A reported case of vomiting and a fem cases of logs of appetite were oc significant considering the sudden change in environment and dist to which they were subjected. ‘To relieve the load on the station medical facilities, not knowing of the early arm Fival of the asdical group, the twenty eight Americans were returned to Erivetok to remain as octpatierts under the supervision of the Surgeca, asx Groas 7.2. vals. Elood counts were takes at approximtely three day inter- They remained asymptoastic altbough there began a depression of the waite blood cells of mild degree. They were returned to Ewajalein a 17 March. During the early days of March all patients remined free of sym temie symptoms attibutable te irradiation but there was a definite de crease in <be uhite tbed cell count aore carked ip the Rongelap grocp. the blood pictares of the Ailirgirae natives and the Rongerik Americens were quite similar which was reascrahle considering they were exposed to the same order of magnitude of radiation. ‘The Utirik group showed nothing particuler Sym a sedical standpoint and were considered as a virtually mortal satiwe population for ccazariscn porposes pending tics for obtaining base data from non irradiated natives. By the thirteenth and fourteezth day a tendency to epilate had become evident in the Rongelap natives icvolving mostly children it within a few days it had arpeared in adults. The epilation was both patchy and diffuse, confined mostly to the head and particularly in children the scalp assumed a spotty appearance due to depignentation of the skin. - C