Thor996 Posted February 21, 2014 #1 Posted February 21, 2014 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.
Thor996 Posted February 21, 2014 Author #2 Posted February 21, 2014 Domain of Neptunus Rex [ A careless relative damaged these certificates when they removed them from the frames to send them to me after his passing]
Thor996 Posted February 21, 2014 Author #4 Posted February 21, 2014 Certificate of Participation Operation Hardtack
Thor996 Posted February 21, 2014 Author #5 Posted February 21, 2014 Certificate of Participation Operation Hardtack
Thor996 Posted February 21, 2014 Author #6 Posted February 21, 2014 Certificate of Participation Operation Hardtack
Thor996 Posted February 21, 2014 Author #7 Posted February 21, 2014 Certificate of Participation Operation Hardtack
Thor996 Posted November 11, 2015 Author #10 Posted November 11, 2015 btt for veterans day in memory of my late uncle and all the other Atomic Veterans out there both living and deceased.
Ultima Ratio Regum Posted November 12, 2015 #11 Posted November 12, 2015 Neat grouping- thanks for displaying it. I don't know if you have this already or not, but the Defense Nuclear Agency report on Hardtack I is unclassified and available online. The link opens a pdf of the "Operation Hardtack I, 1958" report: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a136819.pdf
Thor996 Posted November 12, 2015 Author #12 Posted November 12, 2015 did not know this, thank you -dave
Thor996 Posted January 9, 2016 Author #13 Posted January 9, 2016 just like to add this picture of my Uncle Joe to this thread-this is him in his later years.......
Thor996 Posted September 9, 2016 Author #14 Posted September 9, 2016 https://www.facebook.com/AHCTelevision/photos/a.10150879636550635.744793.177548325634/10157412376625635/?type=3&theater American Heroes Channel posted this today, and for that reason I BTT this post in remembrance of all the veterans who participated.
doyler Posted September 9, 2016 #15 Posted September 9, 2016 Nice group and tribute. Thanks for sharing
Thor996 Posted September 9, 2016 Author #16 Posted September 9, 2016 Thanks Ron, yesterday marked 5 years since he passed- I had completely forgotten-til I woke up this am and realized it. My unk had some great stories about his time in Eniwetok and aboard the Benner.
Thor996 Posted November 11, 2019 Author #17 Posted November 11, 2019 btt for veterans day in memory of my late uncle and all the other Atomic Veterans out there both living and deceased.
Thor996 Posted November 11, 2021 Author #18 Posted November 11, 2021 btt for veterans day in memory of my late uncle and all the other Atomic Veterans out there both living and deceased.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now