No. 684 Charles Law, 2012

File — Box: 70, Folder: 11

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Charles Law, U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant (retired), discusses his military service, with particular focus on his time as an atomic monitor during test shots on the Marshall Islands and at Camp Mercury, Nevada, in the 1950s, where he witnessed over forty atomic detonations. He describes the shots and decontamination procedures in detail, along with environmental contamination and hazards in Nevada and the Marshalls, and effects on himself, other military personnel and civilians. Mr. Law served thirty-one years in the Air Force before retiring with full disability due to cancer, and shares much of his time during the Korean War and in Australia as an aircraft mechanic, his primary military skill. He also describes his experience as ground crew for polar overflights, and discusses memorable airplane crashes he witnessed among other asides. He ends with a description of a U-2 spyplane flight and landing.
Project: Utah Environmental Oral History Project.
Interviewer: Jim Kichas.

Dates

2012

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.