Lewis Strauss, Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission is speaking publicly about the unforeseen change in wind direction after the blast of another test bomb and its effects. As he speaks, we are shown the affected people of the islands of which he speaks. They were on the edge of the fallout and were being examined like animals by American doctors. We saw the gruesome burns and the effects of radiation inflicted upon these unfortunate peoples, everything from disfigured skin and faces to loss of hair and dark spots on the bodies. Some were worse than others, but it seemed the majority of the population was affected and injured in some way by the bomb. It was shocking to see in comparison to the beautiful island that surrounded them.
The other large catastrophe was that a fishing boat was also rained upon by radioactive ash, causing its crew and catch to become infected with radiation and its effects. We were shown the crew as they come into port a week or two later, their faces and bodies showing obvious signs of radiation sickness. The coast later realized that the fish were also affected and the people began heaving large amounts of huge fish into deep holes that resembled to me a mass grave. There were radiation tests done to the fish at hand with an archaic device. Regardless, tons of fish were wheeled to the sites and dumped into these pits at night, where we can only guess they would decompose.
The disturbing, disfiguring reality of the effects of the radiation from the bomb we watched as Strauss went on with his speech, even claiming at one point that, "The 236 natives appeared to me to be well and happy."" The fish and people were both examined by medics with the same scrutiny, sparing neither any real compassion.
The end of World War II put a cease to the tyranny of one man, but with the end of this struggle came the beginning of another. This would be the struggle against the Soviet Union and the spread of communism. The effects that this struggle would have on the American society were many. Two of the ...
