projectiles into this tiny area; by late the next day, the island was secured. On 19 February, Eniwetok Bland was invaded and, after unexpected opposition, secured on 21 February. The Eniwetok expedition cost 195 Americans killed or missing and 521 wounded. The Japanese garrison had 2,677 killed and 64 taken prisoner. The people of Eniwetok suffered at least 18 killed. (Richard, 1957, V.I, pp. 125, 342.) . A Naval Construction Battalion arrived at Eniwetok Atoll immediately after D-Day and set about developing it into a Navy and Marine Corps air base and fleet anchorage. On Eniwetok Island the Seabees built an airstrip 6,800 feet long and 400 feet wide, two taxiways, facilities for major engine overhaul, housing, piers, and storage facilities. The first plane landed on the field on 11 March, and after 15 April, permanently based bomber squadrons flew missions from there. A seaplane base capable of supporting one squadron of patrol bombers, a marine railway, and a boat repair shop were built on Parry Island. At Engebi aviation facilities, including a fighter strip 3,950 feet by 225 feet, and a pier were constructed. U.S. Naval Base Eniwetok, built at a cost of over $23 million, was commissioned on 10 May 1944. On 18 February 1944, a Marine Corps civil affairs officer and one enlisted man landed on Engebi Island with the headquarters unit of the invading task group. The thirty inhabitants had all moved to unoccupied islands along the eastern fringe of the atoll and were hungry and in need of medical attention. The people were gathered into a temporary camp on Engebi and given food and medical supplies. On 19 February a landing was made on Eniwetok Island where 50 Marshallese were found and given shelter. Food was sent ashore and its distribution assigned to the two chiefs, Johannes of Eniwetok and Abraham of Engebi. A bomb crater was enlarged by the engineers and a tarpaulin erected over it to provide shelter from the sun. The people were given blankets, clothing, rice, and cooking utensils. As other Marshallese were found, they were brought to the shelter. On 23 February a landing was made on Parry Island where 17 Marshallese were found and moved to Eniwetok island. The Marshallese at Eniwetok spent that day collecting and salvaging Japanese food, clothing, soap, and dishes which they divided among themselves. The Marshallese at Eniwetok camp were moved to Aomon on 24 February. The chief and his people had selected the site, a former village island, where a few houses and some trees werestill standing. The next day the Marshallese on Enjebi were transferred to Aomon and eventually 117 people were gathered in the camp. The camp on Aomon continued as the residence site for the people of Eniwetok until late in 1947, except for a short period in 1946 when they were temporarily relocated to Meik Island of Kwajalein Atoll during conduct of Operation Crossroads at Bikini. Upon return from Meik Island, the contingent from Engebi moved to a new camp on Bijire at their own request, as this island was owned by the people of Engebi whereas Aomon was ownedby the people of Eniwetok. 1.2 SELECTION AND EVACUATION OF ENEWETAK ATOLL FOR NUCLEAR TESTING Plans for atomic tests under controlled conditions were being discussed by military and political leaders in the weeks following the end of World War II, Detailed plans for testing were developed by the Joint Staff and approved by President Truman on 10 January 1946. The first tests were known as Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Planning and conduct of the atomic tests of 1946 was a joint military enterprise relying heavily‘on support of the scientific community. Testing was conducted under the control of the newly created Joint Task Force One. The search fora site for the test operation had been started even before the task force was created. The specifications set out by the planners called for selection of a site within the control of the United States, uninhabited or subject to evacuation without imposing unnecessary hardship on large numbersof inhabitants, within 1,000 miles of the nearest B-29 aircraft base (in expectation that one atomic device would be delivered by air), free from storms and extreme cold, and offering a protected anchorage at least six miles in diameter and thus large enough to accommodate both the large fleet of target vessels and the additional vessels that would have to be used in support of the operation. Also required were distance from cities or concentrations of population, winds predictably uniform from sea level to 60,000 feet, and predictable water currents not adjacent to inhabited shore lines, shipping lanes, or fishing areas--all in recognition of the need to reduce or eliminate the possibility of radioactive contamination of the fleets or inhabited areas.