Islands Lost Again to Radiation
Coatinned from Third Page
man and his land overndes the concept of nationality.
“To say, ‘I'm Marshallese,” Lhat is a
foreign concep.” Kiste sad “Westerncrs named those islands he Marshails. So ‘Marshallese’ has less
Teanng than ‘Tm Bilunian' And
among themsclves, they speak not of
beng Bikunians, but say, ‘I'm.a-person
of Gas parucular prece of !and.' Land
is an expression of who I ama—of indi-
vidual idenuty.”
Or, ax fellow anthropolomst Jack.
Tobin. another academre expert with
long expenence in the Marshalls, expressed it:
“In those islands, a man without
land is no man.”
By a split vote of the atoli's leaders,
the Bikimans chose to go to Rongenk
Atoll, 123 miles east of ther home
alolL The Navy, which put out press
releases at the ure indicating thal
“uve nauves were delighted” by the
move, was only slightly more restrained a year later in its official his-
and churned outof the biuc-green la-
goon, the people gathered on the
main deck to sing Lraditional songs of
farewell. The next morning they were
unloaded at Rongenk.
On the morning of July 1, a B-29
bomber called Dave's Dream dropped
a “nominal yretd"” 20-kiloton (the
equivalent of 20.000 tons of TNT)
atomic bomb over the fleet of 70 obsolete US. and captured Japanese and
German warships moored just off Bikin Island. It exploded 500 feet above
the ficet, sinking five ships, twisting
and crushing others like cheap loys—
and initiaung the radiation poisoning
of Bikini.
Among the 42,000 observers of the
awesome blast was Chief Juda,
‘watching as a guest of tne Navy {rom
the deck of the amplubious command
seemed to be Intle lo Bikin ilself. The
trees were sill standing, still bearing
coconuts. But the rad:suon. invisible,
was Not something he could understand.
Severe food shortages developed
dunng the winter of 1946-47. In
spnng of 1947, fire destroyed a thod
of Rongerik’s coconut trees. The people pressed for a return to Bikini, but
a radiological survey indicaled that it
was too “hotfor permanent occupancy and would de for many ycars.
'
In October, the Navy announced
that the Bikinians would be relocated
on Ujelang. But two months Jater, the
Pentagon announced a new serics of
nuclear tests would be held, this ume
at Eniwetok, another atoll in the
RSs2
tory of Crossroads, “Bombs at Bulani.”
They thought they
could bear up under the
hardships of Rongerik.
“The Cikimans, convinced that lhe
Ra, Salen oa
bon w world peace, indicated their
willingness to evacuate,” the Navy
bstanan wrote.
ship Mt. McKuniey, severai miles
away. The Navy used more than 10,-
{A-bomb) tests would be a contribu-
Kh wasn't quile that way, according
to Tobin, ementus professor of anthropology at University of Hawa.
“They did not go willingly.” Tobin
sud “They were forced to go....
They agreed because they had to, just
as Uncy had agreed to do things when
ube Japanese had bayonets in the
back groynd.
“Put yourself in their shoes: You've
deen told what ta do by the Japanese
for a quarter-century . . . and told by
(he Japanese mulitary Lhe Americans
were weak. So when the Amencans
wiped out the Japanese . . . ail those
Amencan shups appearing, the natur-
aj reaction . . . would be to go along
wilh what they are told.”
On the afternoon of March 7, 1946,
the 16 men. women and children of
Bikini were loaded aboard Navy LST
1108. As the awkward landmg craft
backed off the beach at Buuni island
» ict camp at Kwajatemn. in Septem.
ber, the Bikinians voted to resettle an
Kih, and in November, they were finally settied on Kili and began buildng a new and digger village than
they had had on Bikini.
Kili was without question better
than Rongemk. Butit also was small
and, worse yet, it had no lagoon. The
island was constantly pounded by the
Pacific. Fishing was far more difficult
000 mstruments to record test data.
Chief Juda's reacuon was not re-
Marshails. The Eniwetok peopic
would ga to Ujclang instead of lhe Bijuntans. The Brians had to wait
Andrew Jakco remembered the
Rongenk pened well. “I was a big
man then.” he said, “but I got skinny." He held up the ulttle finger of his
feft hand. “Skinny like this. One old
woman died from hunger... . Fora
year and a half, we did not havo
enaugh food, (somctunes) got our
food by cutting open the coconut tree
and eaung the heart of the tree. This
kuiled the tree.”
corded. The next day he repined his
Jeladnk Jakeo, Andrew's 48-ycarpeople at Rongerik.
old brother, was a teen-ager on Rongenk. “It was termdlc,” he rememRongenk was a disaster. [t was too bered. “We ate things that were not
small There was loo litle food And. good, gathered coconuts that fioatca
according to legend, 1 was haunted in from the sca. Bad foad, we got sick.
by an evil witch named Liborka. who Armsandlogs swelled up, and we got
poisoned the fish of the lagoon. In blisters on the arms and we had diarfact: certain fish of the lagoon were thea.”
posanous whieh was why Rongenk
Late in January, 1948, the Navy
dispatched anthropologst Leonard
id been uninhabited for years.
But it was close to Bixini and the Mason, now of the University of Hapeopie had chosen it for that reason, ‘Wau, to investigate. He found the exThey thought they could bear up un- les at the point of starvation, living
der the hardships unuit they went on raw flour diluted with water.
In strang terms. Mason recomback to their home atoll. That, they
were convinced, would be in a couple mended that the people be removed
from Hongermk as soon as possibie. He
of ycars al most
Chief Juda had returned from the also recammended [Gh Island. alfirst bomb test (the second, an under- though he admitted it had many diswater shot, was held July 25, 1946) to advantages, as the best availsole
tell his people that whole there had place to relocate the Bikinians.
In March, 1948, they were moved lo
been great damage to the siups. Lhere
than al Bikint Supply ships could
neither land food nor take away cOpra
dried coconut, the only cash crop—
for months at a time because of the
heavy surf. Somctimes mx months
passcd before a ship could unload.
In an attempt to relieve the isolaon. the Navy lurned over a 40-foot
power whaleboat to the Bikimane It
sank in high seas in 1951.
tn the game year, the Navy turned
over administration of Micronesia
and the problems of the Bikunians—to
the avilians, A high commusnoner
was appointed by the Prendent to
work with and through the U.S De-
partment of the Intenor.
Matters did mot tmprove mghi
away. But under pressuré from the
United Nations, the high commusnor -
er pushed 3 communuty developme:t
plan to improve agriculture on Kul:
In addition, the Trust Termtory
uuarned over a copra trade bost io pro-
Please Tura te Poge 9. Col. 1