European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 5, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Forty years ago 167people were taken from their Home Bikini Island in the Pacific so the . Government could test nuclear weapons in the isolation of the Lagoon. A photo Mackto islanders return to atoll Homeland Long to by Howard Graves associated press o be Day in March four decades ago 167men, women and children were loaded . Navy boats and taken away from the Only Home they had Ever known Bikini Island in the Pacific. It was the Dawn of the atomic age and the United states government was about to begin testing nuclear weapons in the isolation of Bikini atoll s Lagoon. Bikini would become synonymous with devastation. Between 1946 and 1958, 23 nuclear bombs were detonated in the Pristine setting about 2,100 Miles Southwest of Hawaii in the Marshall islands. Radioactive fallout contaminated the 21/2-mile-Long, a mile wide Bikini Island leaving it a poisoned Paradise. But Ever since they were evacuated on March 7, 1946, the Bikini ans now numbering nearly 1,300, have longed to go Home to what they remember As an idyllic Island of White Coral beaches and azure Waters. A year ago the Bikini ans won an out of court settlement that commits the . Government to cleanse their Island of the contaminated soil. Scientists say it can be done for upwards of $50 million Over a period of several years. The Reagan administration and Congress say they favor moving the Bikini ans Back to their Homeland and making the Island liable again. But says Jonathan m. Weisgall of Washington the Bikini ans attorney no one has provided any Money  there is no doubt that they be been denied Access to their Homeland says Larry l Morgan spokesman for the department of Interior s office of territorial and International affairs which has authority Over the bikinians1 affairs. However Morgan says most of them have never lived on Bikini. The most that they know is what has been told them by their  Morgan visited the Island for the first time late last year As did his Boss assistant Interior Secretary Richard t. Montoya. In a 1982 letter to president Reagan Bikini leaders said we want to go Back Home and be Bikini ans More than anything in the world. We want our dignity Back and our dignity is our land. Our land is our life to lose one is to lose the  Bikini is the northernmost atoll in the Marshall islands an archipelago formed by Coral formations built from submerged volcanic peaks. The marshalls 29 atolls and five single islands Are scattered Over 375,000 Square Miles of the Pacific Ocean an area about 1 Viz times the size of Texas. But there is less than 70 Square Miles of dry land about one twentieth the area of Rhode Island. The first nuclear test in Bikini atoll code named operation Crossroads involved 42,000 military and civilian personnel 242 ships 156 air planes 25,000 radiation devices and 5,400 experimental rats goats and pigs. One bomb was dropped from a plane into the Center of 84 ships in the Lagoon which is 25 Miles Long and about 11 Miles wide. In a second test the bomb was suspended beneath a ship and detonated electronically. In 1954 came a test called operation Bravo. At 14.5 Megatons it was the largest nuclear test in United states history. Bravo left a Crater 1 /2 Miles wide and 480 feet deep in the Lagoon. Three tiny islands were vaporized. That brought Bikini Back into the headlines Weisgall says. Radioactive fallout drifted eastward and contaminated several Hundred marshallese on two other atolls. The Crew of a japanese fishing boat also was hit by the radioactive dust. In 1968, president Lyndon b. Johnson said Bikini again was liable and about 145 islanders moved Back the next year. However they were moved out again in 1978 when tests showed their internal radiation Levels exceeded Federal standards Weisgall says. Since then no one has lived on Bikini Island. The Bikini ans Odyssey 40 years ago first took them 125 Miles East to Ron Gerik atoll. Lore  of about 100 evacuated Bikini ans still living recalls when the americans came to talk with us some of our people said let s not give up our Island but we did what the americans said. As we were leaving they were very Happy with us. During the two years on Ron Gerik we faced starvation says the 77 year old one time Bikini magistrate or mayor and author of Bikini s Anthem. The americans left us with a rations. They lasted about a month. We fought each other. The words the americans told us on Bikini were lies. They said they would care for us. One woman died. My father got so weak he could t stand or walk. Flesh Hung from bodies. The elders Laid around and Felt  when their plight was discovered the Bikini ans were sent to Kwajalein Island where they lived in tents for about six months. Then they were relocated on Kili Island a 200-acre speck of land about 425 Miles South of Bikini atoll. About 550 of the nearly 1,277 Bikini ans live on Kili where Winter Ocean storms Wash Waves Over the narrow strip of land. An additional 200 live on edit another tiny Island near Majuro the marshalls capital. About 300 live in Majuro and the remaining Bikini ans Are scattered elsewhere in the marshalls a part of the Trust territory of the Pacific islands also known As Micronesia. At Kili there is no Lagoon. There is very Little fishing because of the Lack of sheltered Waters. Most food is imported on the once a week commercial air flight from Majuro or by government ship. On both Kili and edit islands 15 to 20 people live in dwellings designed for less than half that Many. There Are no indoor toilets or plumbing. There is Little to do on Kili except go to Church or walk around the Island. Alcoholic beverages Are forbidden. One Man imported a Small truck he uses As a taxi. He charges 60 cents per person for a ride up and Down the Island or to the air strip there is an eight Man police Force and anyone who gets out of line is handcuffed to a Coconut tree under the tropical Sun. There is an elementary school but the nearest High school is in Majuro. The . Government provides Bikini ans on Kili with department of agriculture canned food. Fresh fish a Staple in the Bikini ans diet is imported. At 4.6 percent a year the Bikini ans birthrate is among the world s highest. Weisgall says at least half of the Bikini an population is under 16 years of age. Their income is from interest off two Trust funds totalling $6 million which Congress provided in the 1970s. Weisgall says that amounts to about $600,000 yearly or about $39 monthly for each eligible Bikini an. In 1980, Congress gave them a one time $1.4 million payment. A photo photo Bikini ans who won a lawsuit compelling the . Government to cleanse the Island of contaminated soil observe an experimental plot that has been treated with fertilizer. Bikini an Kiln Bruno visited the atoll in 1985. Morgan says that since 1964 the . Government has spent $46.3 million in studies and for support of Bikini ans. That includes a $20.6 million resettlement Trust fund. Under recently passed legislation the Bikini ans Are to receive $76 million in nuclear claims compensation Over a 15-year period. Of the $5 million annual payment Weisgall says $2.6 million will be put in Trust. The remaining $2.4 million will be apportioned to the eligible Bikini ans. Last july 17 Bikini men including Kes Ibuki and another elder Kiln Bruno believed to be about 90, returned to Bikini Island to watch scientists experiments trying to rid the soil of radiation. The soil and water specialists have determined there is no threat of external radiation on either Bikini or eneu Island about four Miles away. They said there is danger from Bikini s contaminated soil and brackish water but eneu could be resettled at any time because the soil is Safe and fresh Rainwater could be captured. The scientists believe that through fertilizer especially heavy doses of potassium the radioactivity could be drawn out of the Bikini soil and crops could be grown. At one time scientists Felt 10 to 12 inches of top soil would have to be stripped from the land. Weisgall says that would be expensive and time consuming. They Are going to have to use fertilizer in any event if the Bikini ans want to grow crops Weisgall says. The use of potassium would be cheaper environmentally beneficial and they would t have to wait 8 to 12 years to return. They might be Able to get Back in 3 to 5 years if they choose that route. It is their  the Bikini atoll rehabilitation committee is an Independent group formed by Congress in 1982 and Given $3.8 million to spend to find a Way to clean the Island. The five member committee chaired by or. Henry i. Kohn professor emeritus of radiation biology at Harvard medical school works with Field teams from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore calif., headed by or. William l. Robison. In a report to Congress last november the committee said the Bikini population could reach 1,600 by 1990 and 2,500 by the year 2000. Overcrowding on Kili and edit is already intense the report said. Early Relief is needed and the Bikini people face the need to make decisions on alternative or additional temporary settlement locations Well before Bikini Island is available for  the report also said the Bikini ans have been somewhat suspicious of Baro and especially work and statements by scientists in government  some of that distrust evaporated after the Bikini ans july visit to the Island and other visits to Lawrence Livermore laboratories to watch scientists Analyse soil samples from the Island. From what i heard and watched on Bikini i was amazed and surprised Kes Ibuki said through an interpreter. I m so Happy that i came. There in t any other country in the world that can be As smart As the United states. I think there will be positive  Bruno also speaking through an interpreter said i Don t understand any of these tests. The Only thing i understand is that our Island was used for atomic tests and it is  Don t any of you forget us Kes Ibuki said. 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