INTRO I don’t think the majority of americans realize that this even occurred. [00:00:13.15] We were told you don’t talk about this kind of stuff. [00:00:17.22] I said something’s wrong. My chest feels like it’s splitting open. I am trying my best to make sure that somebody listens to me [00:00:25.25] Here’s at least one person that is not going to shut up and die. ACT 1 I entered the Air Force in September 00:03:30 of 1960,//(00:04:10) And I w as then transferred to Moron Airbase in southern Spain. My wife and I were transferred to Moron Spain in ‘62. We were very happy there, I had it made, I got to travel a lot... [00:04:16.13] There was nobody shooting at us. This wasn’t Vietnam. We had friends who were really getting killed. Overall, I have to say the Air Force is a great way of life//but// 01:27:00 there were things that happened down there that I would just as soon forget about. TITLE? [00:00:40.19] On the morning of January 17th, 1966, I had reported for work at Maron Air Base, when sometime between 10:30 10:45, I received a telephone call that I was needed down at the base command post. [00:01:00:00] There was an aircraft accident, involving nuclear weapons. [00:01:06:03] The B-52 and the KC 135 were refueling and they crashed and there were four bombs aboard the b-52. [00:01:44.29] I was the first responder from Maron Air Base. When I arrived there, I merely had the clothes on my back//It was going to be a large scale operation because of the amount of wreckage that was strewn over such a large area//we knew we were going to need a lot more personnel at the scene. [00:01:18.02] So, we loaded up on the buses and pretty soon we were all headed south. [00:01:36.27] First of all, we couldn’t find the stinking place. There was no highway, into that village. [00:02:16.01] The people who came with us, they weren’t trained in this. You didn’t know where you were going? I didn’t know what we was doing, you know, we’s going to a plane crash. [00:04:50.06] I remember a couple of the officers holding up a map and talking about heavy radiation, It was theorized//that there was this stuff you can’t see floating around across the valley. 00:03:03.19] BUT//We weren’t told there was radiation. //That’s somehting that I never would have thought of. [00:01:54.29] The first weapon we located was just// off the beach. And we were told that there was another weapon in one of the local residents backyards. And then we were told another weapon was located outside the village. [00:02:24.14] And so we combed the area, looking for a bomb. Stick one arm out, and touch the next guy’s shoulder, then spread out a little further. [00:02:50.20] I was located in the open fields. There were a lot of other military guys with me. None of us were issued any protective clothing, we had no respiratory equipment.//I would say it was around midday that we had plotted the location of the weapons. We knew exactly where they were. [00:05:27.22] There were 55 gallon drums that were brought to the area and then we were using shovels to put the soil into the barrels. [00:05:43.10] Work process was on//24 hours a day, night and day. [00:05:53.05] It must’ve been pretty bad. Because I’ve seen a picture of that area. And it’s just drum after drum and it just goes on for...and I’m going holy cow! That ... I don’t know. It just makes me wonder. [00:04:31.18] As far as the village is concerned, it was decided, bring those people back home as fast as we can. [00:04:36.07] We were in the detection phase, immediately. Where was the contamination? [00:04:42.22] I think we washed five houses that were in that vicinity of bomb three and the crater that were really hot. [00:03:21.15] And as we were exiting the field, there was a guy standing there with a geiger counter. He said we need to check you for radiation. First time I heard of it. [00:03:34.13] The geiger counter went off with that crackling noise that it makes and the guy said, you got radiation on you. And the only way to get it off is to go in the ocean and let the salt water wash it off your clothes. [00:03:51.20] And I went in, and he said, at least we got it off your clothes. [00:03:56.08] The atomic energy tech said he had to confiscate my uniform because it was contaminated. And I had to scrub myself to look like a lobster. [00:04:08.01] This is not good. But these people they are the technicians they are the experts, they know what they’re doing. I’m going to do what they tell me to do. [00:05:07.03] We had been told that the local residents were reluctant or refused to eat their own fruits and vegetables, for fear that they were contaminated with radiation. [00:05:16.02] This was harvest time, and they were getting ready to go put those tomatoes on the market. And we then ate tomatoes. And we were filmed eating tomatoes. And we had tomatoes for breakfast noon and night. Oh god they were good tomatoes. Did it ever cross your mind that it was dangerous then? We didn’ t really know nothing about it. ACT 2 (00:00:29) I was commander of the Radiological Health Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. //We knew there was an accident. And when it became obvious that there was plutonium involved,// I felt // that we were going to have to tool up and do some analysis. [00:22:05] [00:27:07] //I made the recommendations and forwarded to my bosses and it was up to them to say yay or nay. Some said yes. Others said no. [00:27:19] And the nays won out. [00:07:31.07] I noticed a lump in my testy.. And it was cancerous. It was called seminoma. And. I was 28 years old at the time. [00:07:46.01] I got a cancer tumor in my bladder in 1979. [00:07:49.12] I retired in 1981 and two years later I had this blood disorder that was detected. 00:01:35 And then when Nolan was diagnosed with with kidney cancer and there was no history of cancer at all in his family// THEN I STARTED DOING RESEARCH ON THIS ...// This has been over 50 years, and no one has ever acknowledged the fact that there could have been a danger of radiation exposure to the 1600 responders to the accident.//I want the Air Force to acknowledge the possibility that these responders could have been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation! [00:07:56.28] My next diagnosis was mantle cell lymphoma, which is an aggressive type of cancer. I decided I’m going to the VA and filed a claim and see. Because I was exposed to the radiation there. I had never thought about that. [00:08:16.06] And I got a denial back. [00:08:18.11] They had no record of me being exposed to any radiation. [00:08:22.16] And then I went through carefully looking for something about me being in Palomares. Nothing was there. [00:08:31.13] In terms of medical records, I was never there. [00:08:34.26] Our existing records do not have any radiation exposure information on Sgt. Garmin. [00:08:41.15] There is a period of time in my medical records where documentation is missing. It’s not there [00:08:46.02] Why did my air force, our air force deny existence? [00:08:59.19] The records were there, After 5 and a half years of researching and everything I’ve gone through, all the ups and downs, There’s no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the Air Force is trying to cover this up.//They’re waiting for these guys to die. ACT 3 NONA AND NOLAN B-ROLL W DUCKS. THE FIRST TIME WE WENT TO THE VA AND ASKED ABOUT HIS, IT WAS NOT A GOOD EXPERIENCE. IT MADE HIM FEEL BAD. IT’S LIKE YOU’RE TRYING TO GET SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. YOU WERE MAKING UP A STORY AND THAT’S WHAT ALL VETS DO. WHEN I WENT TO GET THAT CLAIM, IT WAS LIKE I WAS TRYING TO STEAL FROM THEM. IT BOTHERS (NOLAN) HIM THAT THE AIR FORCE THAT HE CARED SO MUCH ABOUT, DOESN’T CARE SO MUCH ABOUT HIM. I think we should have followed up.//There’s a tendency, not only in the military, but in any human endeavour, if you don;t recognize a problem, or pay attention to it, It may just wither away. [00:09:06.18] I’m not looking for financial gain. I’m looking for an acceptance of responsibility. [00:09:13.19] We don’t exist. You know, the politics. We’re not supposed to be talking about this. [00:09:20.03] But if I have something to share, and I die before it comes out, crying, I failed.