Dennis &  David, La Puente, California in maybe 1961.
Dennis
I was in the Navy out in the South Pacific during Operation Dominic 1.
http://www.aracnet.com/~pdxavets/dominic.htm
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Dominic.html
I was aboard the USS Halsey Powell (DD 686).
http://www.laurelrose.com/1DD686.HTM
The first phase occurred from 25 April through 11 July 1962.
I am a young man onboard the USS Frontier (AD-25)
http://www.laurelrose.com/1AD25.HTM
in the spring of 1962. The USS Frontier (AD-25) had just come back from Hawaii and was in (I think) San Diego when I was told quite suddenly, “You have orders to go on the USS Halsey Powell (DD 686) immediately.” They handed me the orders and told me to get my sea bag together and go out and board this vehicle parked just below the ships gangplank. I did what I was told and within the hour we traveled across the Navel base to the waiting USS Halsey Powell (DD 686).
In a matter of days we were underway and I was assigned to the Sonar shack where I stood my watches as we sailed out to sea. I was totally clueless as to our destination. I was assigned to watch the Sonar screen in the small Sonar shack and to make soundings with our small heavy torpedo shaped temperature device that we let fall off the fantail on a steel cable.
When we finally arrived at our destination we were told that we were going south of the equator and going to complete circles out in the ocean and patrol an area of the sea while the military made atmospheric nuclear tests.
Actually being there was quite impressive and powerful. We were told to look away with our goggles and after the flash we turned and looked at the mushrooms clouds.
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