National Atomic Veterans Day, July 16, 2017
Between 1945 and 1963, the United States conducted 235 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific Ocean and the Southwestern U.S. In appreciation of the approximately 250,000 American service men and women who witnessed and participated in these tests, Congress designated July 16, 1983 as “National Atomic Veterans Day.” Read the full text of the…
USS “Fall River” shipmates at Operation CROSSROADS reconnect 71 years later
July 1, 2017 – Seventy-one years to the day after the Test Able atomic bomb test at the Bikini Atoll, former USS Fall River shipmates Bill McGee and Paul Dowling reconnected by telephone, thanks to Paul Dowling’s daughter, Paula. “My dad was at Operation CROSSROADS in 1946,” wrote Paula in an email to Bill in…
KTVU Fox 2 Interview by Leigh Martinez
Just in from KTVU Fox 2 (the broadcast station) … The atomic veterans story, which Bill was interviewed for in May, will air on Thursday, June 29, on KTVU Fox 2, in the 5-6 pm news hour. Set your DVRs… (Note: We have not seen the edited version.)
USS “Fall River” shipmates at Operation CROSSROADS meet up 71 years later
April 5, 2017 – Bill had a nice visit with former Fall River shipmate, Bob “Chris” Chrisman. In 1946, Chris and Bill did duty on the heavy cruiser USS Fall River (CA-131) at Operation Crossroads, the first postwar atomic bomb tests at Bikini in July 1946. Chris had just celebrated his 94th and his son, Rob,…
Mail Call – Dick Camp, USS “Fall River” shipmate at Operation CROSSROADS 1946
January 25, 2017 Dear Bill, I read your book, Operation Crossroads – Lest We Forget! stem to stern the same day it arrived. It sure brought back memories and some I didn’t know about, like the beer shack and the warm beer. I have a grandson who did a lot of homework on the…
Mail Call – John Stambaugh, USS “Fall River” shipmate at Operation CROSSROADS, 1946
January 2, 2017 Dear Mr. McGee: I had been following with keen interest your five-part series in the U.S. Navy Cruiser Sailors Association magazine about the USS Fall River (CA-131) and its participation in Operation CROSSROADS in 1946. We both came aboard the new heavy cruiser in January 1946 in Norfolk, Virginia—I was a Quartermaster,…
Book Review – MARK BARNES, WAR HISTORY ONLINE
A big thank-you across the Atlantic to Mr. Mark Barnes for his review of Operation Crossroads – Lest We Forget! Read the full review here WAR HISTORY ONLINE … Available on Amazon
Book Review – PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Just in … Review by PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
National Association of Atomic Veterans Convention, Las Vegas, Sept 14
Bill and I went to Las Vegas for the annual convention of the National Association of Atomic Veterans (NAAV) … a non-profit Veterans Service Organization founded in 1979 for the purpose of assisting America’s atomic veterans secure proof of their exposure to ionizing radiation while on active duty. The National Atomic Testing Museum, an affiliate of…