Dyo Ellingsworth wants to raise awareness of atomic veterans and national holiday

CAMBRIDGE − In the 1950s, Seaman Dyo C. Ellingsworth was at Bikini Atoll during the testing of nuclear weapons earning the status of an atomic veteran. Recently, he stood in front of the Guernsey County commissioners to raise awareness of the holiday in honor of atomic veterans.

In 2021, President Joe Biden proclaimed July 16 as National Atomic Veterans Day, which Ohio already proclaimed on the state level back in 2019. Ellingsworth didn’t notice any attention paid to the holiday by local officials and wanted to raise awareness.

“I don’t understand why there’s not more attention and consideration for whom we, as commissioners, see as a very special group of veterans. From this point on, we will have July 16th underscored on our calendar as Atomic Veterans Day to give these individuals their proper recognition,” Guernsey County Commissioner Dave Wilson said.

Ellingsworth is one of 14 atomic veterans in the state of Ohio and a member of the National Association of Atomic Veterans (NAAV), a non-profit which has a mission to raise awareness of atomic veterans and the health problems that resulted from their exposure.

“When I first went to that VA services … I told him I was an atomic veteran and he says ‘What? I never heard of that,’” Ellingsworth recalled.

Ellingsworth's experience is not unique to an atomic veteran. This is because everyone involved with nuclear testing was sworn to secrecy. They couldn’t even tell their families or doctors about their exposure until the Repeal of Nuclear Radiation and Secrecy Agreements Laws were passed in 1996.

“Often when we talk about Atomic Veterans or the nuclear test programs, we get a deer in the headlights glare. This history is not taught in school, few books are authored and only a little mention or interest by media takes place,” National Commander of the NAAV Keith Kiefer said.

Another mission of the NAAV is to help bring about legislation to improve the lives of atomic veterans like the HR 4566 or the Presume Act.

“… If passed it would remove the burden from the veteran seeking VA medical care, to prove they received a sufficient level of radiation to acquire the disease they need compensation for. Often the measurement equipment was faulty, not present, or didn't measure the type of radiation exposure. Additionally, it's difficult to get this info from the government,” Kiefer said.

If you or someone you know is an atomic veteran, learn about eligibility for health care, disability compensation, and survivor benefits at publichealth.va.gov/exposures/radiation/benefits. To learn more about the National Association of Atomic Veterans, visit naav.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Local man trying to raise awareness of National Atomic Veterans Day