Growing up, I used to love hearing my late uncle, Joseph A Pallante talk about his days in the US Navy aboard the USS Benner DD-807. Especially when he would talk about his days aboard her during his trip to Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands. There, in 1958 he participated in "Operation Hardtack I"— a 35-detonation series of atmospheric nuclear tests designed to evaluate new types of weapons, the effects of high-altitude explosions, and the new Polaris missile warhead prototype. Benner's assignments during these tests included weather observations, search and rescue, and scientific equipment recovery.
Here are some his personal items from those days- Neptune Certificate, Domain of the Golden Dragon, and Certificate of participation - citation will be posted later-if anyone knows who the folks who signed the certificate were, please feel free to post.
