Chapter I — Background ern part of Micronesia, roughly half way ~“ century, Protestant and Catholic missionaries were allowed to settle in the Islands, which opened the door to colonization and to exploitation of the copra industry. Germany occupied the Marshall Islands in 1885 but this did not cause nearly as much disruption in the life of the Marshallese as occurred when the Japanese a large ocean area (about 280,000 sq. miles) that includes also the Marianas and the to the League of Nations. Clandestinely, the To appreciate more fully some of the events that occurred during the medicai examinations of the Marshallese people, I first briefly describe the Marshall Islands, their history, and people. The Marshall Islands are located m the east- between the Hawaiian Islands and Australia, in Caroline Islands. The total land area is about half that of Rhode Island. There are thirty-four coral atolls and single islands in twochains, Ratak (sunrise) and Ralik (sunset) lying between four and fourteen degrees north of the Equator. An atoll is a ring of low-lymg coral islands surrounding a lagoon. The islands have formed on the submerged rimsof extinct volcanic craters. The waters aboundin fish and marine life. The sandysoil of the isiands supports growth of the ubiquitous coconut palms and other plants including pandanua,breadfruit, arrowroot, and, to a lesser extent, bananas and papaya. With the fish and marine life, these plants provide sourcesoffod, took the Islands in 1914. Following Worid War I, the Japanese held the Islands under mandate Japanese began fortifying the islands, and building landing strips to develop military supremacyin the Pacific. The life of the Marshallese was regimented to help achieve these purposes. World WarII brought hardship and misery to the Marshallese, some of whom were wounded and killed in naval bombardments, particularly during the invasion of Kwajalein and Enewetak; some were executed by the Japanese military. Many Marshallese made heroic efforts to aid the American forces. Following the War, in 1947, the Marianas, Caroline, and Marshall Isiands captured from Japan were formed into a Trust Territory of eee for how oe and matsyand.more - .-the palmgfor export. The sagt ath teas scarcity of waterAnt thesalt spray errine by the trade epee of Winds limits the ther vegetables and flowers. _— Jaeno hern Marshall Islands, rainfall is fizringthe six-month dry season, and’: because there are few wells, the Marshailese depend almost entirely on catchments from the roofs. In the 16th century, exploration ofthe Pacific was beginning and in the 18th and 19th centuries ships from Russia, England, and America landed in the Marshall Islands. The Marshall and Gilbert Islands were named aftey English sea captains. During this period,tradingships visited the Marshall Islands in search of products that might be of commercial value (peari shells, sea cucumbers, sandalwood, and sea otter skins (B-1); copra (the dried meat of the coconut) soon becamethe mostprofitable local product. There were severai bloody encounters between ship’s crews and the Marshailese which made colonization hazardous at this time. However, around the middle of the 19th IGOR 152 he its hesdquartecswere —Weerea at | Honolulu, then at Guam, and later at Saipan. Administration in the six districts was located in the district centers. In the Marshall Islands, the center was at Majuro atoll. A Congress of Micronesia was formed with representation from the various districts to work with the High Commissioner and his staff. After the war, the United States began further testing of atomic bombs. In 1946, Bikini atell was chosenfor the first atomic test because ofits relative isolation from inhabited areas. The following year, the need for deveiopmental testing resulted in the formation of the Pacific Proving Ground, with Enewetak aa the base of operation (B-3). The Bikini people were persuadedto leave their atoll “for the good of mankind”. The subsequent attemptto resettle this population, whofinally ended up on tiny