Operation Dominic I, Need duty rosters, ships logs, duty logs, anything - June 62-December 62

[Ronald W. Remington]

Looking for anything that might show I was on the USS Tolovana during Operation Dominic.  I was a Radar Tech, when we were ordered on deck, told to sit down and put our head between our legs as they set Nukes.  I am now terminal with AML Leukemia.  Any information would be helpful as the National Archives has sent all records to the VA for scanning during this time period, which means claimants cannot access any information until after February of 2020.  Nice people.

Ron

sirwilbur@rmailbox.info

[GBArmy]

Ronald I wish you well. Operation Dominic was another intelligent choice made by our military to use servicemen as guinea pigs in the early sixties. Still goes on today with anthrax  and other inoculations, burn pits, etc. I found this on a quick search: https://archive.org/details/OperationDOMINICNuclearTests1962  There are several related seraches articles attached to it. Proving you were on your ship and the ship participated in the atmospheric atomic tests would be an important factor in your claim. Also try to see in there are any navy ship associations you can contact. Also suggest putting "looking for"adds in several of the veterans service monthly magazines like the American Legion and VFW might get you some contacts. Time is most important to your situation, so work on it hard. Ms Berta on Hadit may have some ideas on your quest for ships logs info; maybe she has something to suggest.

Again, best of luck.

[Berta]

Yes, that is the fact as the VA is going over past denied claims from Blue Water Veterans to see if they served aboard ships within the 12 mile limit.

Were you on this ship after May 1971?

It is on the October VA AO Ship's list:

https://www.va.gov/shiplist-agent-orange.pdf

The ship has been conceded as exposed to AO on that date,, due to crew ashore Phu Quoc Vietnam...But I think you have a radiation exposure claim?

"In short, it is a seemingly fair statement that the Veteran's death in 1977 was due to AML, which may well have been due to exposure to ionizing radiation. The sole question then becomes under what circumstances he might have acquired such exposure. As for his time in service, he was in occupational duties aboard ships that may well have contained and otherwise dealt with the pertinent substances. In fact, there have been special presumptive provisions enacted with regard to specific ships during given times in certain theaters during, e.g., performance of atmospheric nuclear tests, in certain shipyards after stated operations, etc., including OPERATION DOMINIC II - PLOWSHARE which included a brief time when the Veteran was in fact in service in the Navy."

https://www.va.gov/vetapp10/files2/1013211.txt

I will try to find those presumptive provisions and post them here.

 

 

 

[Berta]

https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/radiation/diseases.asp  presumptives 

Leukemia is a presumptive.

and

https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/radiation/sources/radiation-risk-activity.asp

in part:

"The following groups of Veterans participated in what is called a "radiation-risk activity."

"Atomic Veterans," an unofficial term that refers to Veterans who:

• Participated in the occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan between Aug. 6, 1945 and July 1, 1946
• Were prisoners of war in Japan during World War II
• Participated in atmospheric nuclear weapons tests conducted primarily in Nevada and the Pacific Ocean between 1945 and 1962
  Read fact sheets on the tests from the Nuclear Test Personnel Review office.

Veterans who participated in underground nuclear weapons testing at:

• Amchitka Island, Alaska before Jan. 1, 1974
• One of the following gaseous diffusion plants for at least 250 days before Feb. 1, 1992: Paducah, Kentucky; Portsmouth, Ohio; or K25 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee."

[Berta]

Do you have your SMRs and 201 file?

Is this form in it ? DD 1141

https://sites.google.com/site/titan2vetshealthandwellness/warhead-radiation/dd-1141-ionizing-radiation-exposure

[GBArmy]

Berta, great post. I tell people all the time; there is no end to the amount of valuable info you can get on Hadit.

[Berta]

Thanks GBArmy- it appears to me that this vet might have 2 theories of entitlement-

The only problem I foresee would be if his diagnosis was decades after his service-and VA would deny on that basis-but that is when a strong IMO/IME comes into play whereby a doctor could state that there is no other etiology for the leukemia but for his exposure to radiation... or to AO if he falls in after the May 1971 date, as per  the VA AO ship's list.