RECOGNIZING Atomic veterans Walking into ground zero
By Daniel Israel Photos courtesy of the Pelliccio family
R
alph Pelliccio, a lifelong Bayonne resident, is what is known as an atomic veteran, essentially a guinea pig during the testing of atomic or nuclear weapons by the U.S. government in the 1950s. “I was what they called a guinea pig for the atomic bomb test, part of Operation Upshot-Knothole in April of 1953,” Pelliccio said. The operation involved a series of 11 nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site. Pelliccio, who served in the Army as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, took part in the test dubbed “Dixie” on April 6, 1953. “It was an airburst, and we walked within ground zero,” Pelliccio said. “They dropped the bomb over a desert, and it was like walking through powder when we got closer.”
Into the trenches While Pelliccio was present at the test as a member of the Army, other branches of the military were there, too. “There was quite a few, because we had guys from the Navy, the Marines, the Army,” Pelliccio said. “It had to be 1,500 of us, maybe even more.” Pelliccio was a paratrooper, but he did not parachute from a plane during the test. “We were bused in from where we were, [Camp] Desert Rock,” Pelliccio said. “We climbed into trenches about 6 foot deep. The day before, we had classes.”
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Ralph Pelliccio in his service uniform.
Pelliccio said that when the plane with the bomb took off, there were speakers set up so that the pilot could communicate with the participants as to where he was and how long until the bomb was going to be dropped. He said the pilot counted down to zero, and the bomb dropped. “When the bomb was dropped, and the mushroom came up, we got out of the trenches,” Pelliccio said. “You could see the blast coming across the desert. Once it got close, they blow horns for us to jump back into the trenches, which we did. You could see the blast blew over us. You could see it was pretty powerful.”
Afterward, Pelliccio and the other participants walked the perimeter of the site. “We walked within 500 yards of ground zero,” Pelliccio said. “It was an airburst, it wasn’t a ground burst.” Air bursts of atomic or nuclear weapons typically produce less radioactive fallout than ground bursts. But due to the burst, Pelliccio and the other servicemen were coated in dust or ash from the blast. “That’s even a comical thing because the only thing we did was just dust each other off,” Pelliccio said. Pelliccio said they wore regular gear, except for patches that were taped to the palms of their hands as part of the test. He thought they were intended to measure radiation, but he doesn’t fully remember except that they were collected at the end of the test. Following the walk to ground zero, Pelliccio said the test was over and they headed back. “They had a Geiger counter, and we got back in the buses for a review on what we’ve seen,” Pelliccio said.
Residual radiation? After the tests, Pelliccio said he was sent a copy of how much radiation that he and others incurred that day, which was “under the safety limits.” Pelliccio has not suffered any health issues as a result.
