William O. Keller

Keller-William-O

William O. Keller

Nickname:  —

Employer during Enewetak Atoll Atomic Cleanup Mission:  Army

Rank:  E-5 SGT

Job Title: 62E20 Heavy Construction Equipment Operator

Unit: A Company, 84th Engineer Battalion

Enewetak Atoll TDY Tour:  1/16/1979 – 1/9/1980

Island Lived on at Enewetak Atoll:  Lojwa

Islands Worked on at Enewetak Atoll:  Runit, Lojwa, Enewetak and 3 other islands.

Description of Work Performed:  I started out running the 5 cubic yard bucket loader on Runit, unloading “hot” soil boats. Was reassigned to the quarry running the D8K dozer pushing up the blast rock plus whatever else they wanted the D8 to do, like removing key wall sections because someone didn’t think the key wall was round. Also worked on the rock crusher, took part in setting up quarry blasts on the reef and demo blasts. I was on the crew that demobilized Lojwa in October 1979. Lived 9 months on Lojwa and 3 months on Enewetak. I also have the experience of almost sinking a LARC by pushing debris out of it with a D7 in the middle of the lagoon. Don’t know whose idea it was, but it was exciting.

Health Challenges which may be related to Radiation Exposure:  No

Comments about Health Challenges: —

Veterans Administration Health Assistance: No assistance currently needed.

Experiences with the Veterans Administration:  —

Current Residence: Norman, Oklahoma

Contributions towards accomplishing Our Current Mission:

Enewetak Atoll Photos:

  • William-Keller-Runit-boonie-hat

Our main focus is to help each other with information and moral support during challenging times.

Our secondary focus is to urge Congress to change the current laws and recognize soldiers of the atomic cleanup mission as “veterans who participated in radiation-risk activities during active service.”

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