In 1946, test bombs “Able” and “Baker” detonated in the central Pacific, on the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Less than 20 miles away, Niles’ John Stephens was standing aboard the USS Rockingham, shielding his eyes with his hands. The seaman first class, who was then a teenager, had volunteered to be part of the Manhattan Project’s final weapons testing phase operation, called “Crossroads.”

At that distance, John was close enough to witness the atomic force, which fired a column of water into the air and left a mushroom cloud plume in its wake.

John was among many World War II veterans who unknowingly risked their lives during the testing.

Now, the veterans’ families are hoping for some recognition of those who were involved in atomic testing that left them exposed to deadly radiation. 

John is not here to speak for himself. He died after a battle with lung cancer in 1993.

John’s wife, Rosalie and son, Joseph, both of Niles, believe that the cancer and radiation exposure during the atomic testing are linked.

The family is now hoping that a bill called the Atomic Veterans Service Medal Act, which has yet to pass the U.S. House of Representatives, can offer some form of recognition to John. According to Keith Kiefer, of Minnesota, the national vice commander for the National Association of Atomic Veterans, the bill will be up re-introduced in a couple of weeks.

Since 1995, Joseph has been digging into his father’s history, reading through documents that show experience, while doing research on the topic. Joseph also said he started calling congressmen and local representatives, including U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, with the hope that they would understand the importance of the bill.

“If it was not for Joe, his son, this would probably be forgotten,” Rosalie said.

Rosalie meets Joseph

John met Rosalie after his time in the service. She was one of 15 children and lived on the family farm in Dowagiac. The family grew vegetables, including corn, and raised cattle, chickens and pigs.

“It was a different life with all of us,” Rosalie said in an interview from her home near the shore of Barron Lake.

John met her through one of Rosalie’s brothers. He asked her out and they went to see a picture show — a romance grew from there.

The couple would eventually moved to their home on the shore of Barron Lake in 1956 in Niles. There they raised five children. Rosalie described John as a “water bug” who loved spending time on the lake. 

They were married for years, until lung cancer took John’s life in his 60s.

Operation “Crossroads”

John was 16 years old when he enlisted in the Navy with his parents’ permission. He was trained at the Great Lakes Naval Boot camp, before shipping off to California.

In 1946, John was offered the chance to participate in a secret operation called “Crossroads” in the Bikini Atoll Marshall Islands — a coral atoll surrounded by 200 square miles of water.

If John participated, he was promised that he would get credit for two years served in the Navy, while actually only serving one.

“He was not told what the operation was,” Joseph said. “They were going to Hawaii first and then the Bikini Atoll. What 16 year old would not want to go to Hawaii and get a year knocked off his service?”

Operation “Crossroads” was headed by Vice Admiral W.H.P. Blandy. The tests, which were part of the Manhattan Project, aimed to study the impacts of atomic bomb detonation on a series of empty vessels stationed at the ocean location. After the bombs were deployed,  John was among the men studying the aftermath.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s website on the Manhattan Project, residents of the Bikini Atoll were evacuated for the tests, and congressman, journalists and scientists were invited to come and observe the testing.

John wrote about the experience in a statement addressed to the Veterans Administration in Detroit. The typed letter is dated March 23, 1989.

“In response to your letter of Nov. 14, 1988,” John wrote, “to the best of my knowledge the following statements are true and correct.”

John wrote that he was stationed aboard the USS Rockingham APA 229, where he served as a seaman first class with joint task force one.

“My duty place was the deck force, first division and I was to check for radiation on the ship decks (on the Japanese Ship NAGATO),” John said.

He said that he witnessed two test bombs, “Able” and “Baker” dropped July 1, 1946 and July 25, 1946. When “Able” was deployed, the Navy crew was 18 miles from ground zero. When “Baker” dropped, the crew was 11 miles from ground zero, according to John’s letter.

Following the detonations, John described the procedure.

“We washed our clothes in the ocean water after the test,” John stated. “We also went swimming on Bikini after the test. At the time of each explosion, I was in the open, aboard ship, above deck.”

Additionally, John described how, during the explosion, he wore no protection against radiation and was clad in jeans, T-shirt and his navy hat.

The crew remained in the area for about 19 days.

The year before, on Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. unleashed two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing thousands.

After the service

John served one year in the Navy and five years in the reserves.

“My dad was a very proud man, he loved the Navy,” Joseph said.

While his father did not talk much about the time he spent on the test site, he liked to reminisce with his brother, Jim.

After his time in the service, John went to work at the Simplicity Factory, and would work in the dairy service and Kreamo Factory, among several other jobs.

State of health

In 1947, John said he went to the Navy Hospital after he became sick with a fever, weakness and aching feeling all over.

In 1989, John was diagnosed with lung cancer.

“He was sick a long time. It seemed like forever,” Rosalie recalled.

In his statement, John said he was an average cigarette smoker, but his family believes that this was not what led to his death.

In the final paragraph of his letter, John talked about his declining health.

“Please excuse the lateness of this letter,” he wrote. “My physical condition during the past winter had been less than par and I just was not up to putting the information together.”

In 1988, President Ronald Regan signed the “Radiation-Exposed Veterans Compensation Act of 1988,” H.R. 1811. The act adjusted the law governing eligibility for disability benefits for veterans who engaged in on-site testing on, were stationed in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, between Aug. 6, 1945 and July 1, 1946.

John wrote to the Veterans Administration, to prove his exposure to the radiation on the test sites, but it took awhile for recognition of this to come, which was a frustrating process for the Stephens family, they said.

“I was not angry, but I was upset,” Rosalie said.

It was not until after he died that Rosalie began receiving compensation for his death in 1995.

Hope for recognition

The Atomic Veterans Service Medal Act was introduced twice to the House and has not been enacted.

The bill would give Rosalie a medal in John’s honor, recognizing him for his service with the atomic bomb.

Joseph chokes up when he talks about the importance of the medal.

“I think my mom deserves that,” Joseph said. “My dad was a very honest and honorable man. He would not take anything he did not thing was deserved.”