Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower Supports Atmospheric Nuclear Testing on Bikini Atoll, Saying They Are “absolutely vital to our national security”

The only letter of Eisenhower about nuclear testing, which was a hallmark of this era of the Cold War, that we have seen

Bikini Atoll consists of 23 islands surrounding a 229 square mile central lagoon. It is one of 29 atolls and five islands that compose the Republic of the Marshall Islands, scattered over 357,000 square miles north of the equator in the Pacific Ocean. It had come under exclusive United States control on January 15, 1946, when Truman declared the United States to be the sole trustee of all the Pacific islands captured from Japan at the end of World War II. Because of its remote location, on January 24, 1946, Admiral William Blandy chose Bikini as the site to test the effects of atomic bomb explosions on warships. The two tests, named Able and Baker, were under the umbrella of Operation Crossroads, and preparations began in March 1946 when the 167 inhabitants of Bikini were moved to Rangerik Atoll, 125 miles to the east. The first test, Able, was detonated on July 1, 1946, and the second, Baker, on July 25, 1946. As indicated in this letter, the tests were “designed as a military experiment”, one that Eisenhower strongly supported.

Typed letter signed, on his War Department, Chief of Staff letterhead, Washington, March 11, 1946, to John P.V. Heinmuller, president of the Longine-Wittnauer Watch Company,  an aviation enthusiast who officiated for the Lindbergh transatlantic flight and other pioneering flights. Heinmuller was concerned that the selection of Bikini would make mining useful new copper deposits in that region untenable (his watches used copper), and proposed the relocation of the tests to Greenland. "I am in receipt of your recent telegram proposing the transfer of the forthcoming atomic bomb tests from Bikini Atoll to Greenland. While it is agreed that the development of such copper deposits as you describe would be of considerable economic importance, I would like to emphasize that the forthcoming tests are designed as a military experiment, with particular regard to the effect of the bomb on naval vessels, to obtain data which will be absolutely vital to our national security. Bikini Atoll was chosen, after much consideration, as the site that best satisfied the requirements of safety to participating personnel, good anchorage facilities, and the availability of stable or determinable air and sea currents, which are such as to guarantee that contaminated air or water will not be carried to any inhabited area. Much of the information to be gained from these tests will be extremely valuable in considering the application of atomic energy to projects such as you propose. I thank you for your interest in this subject and appreciate your desire to advance the welfare of our country."

In 1954, during Eisenhower’s presidency, Bikini was again chosen for testing, this time of the most powerful hydrogen bomb made to that time. This bomb, 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, went frighteningly out of control, as instead of yielding roughly 6 megatons it detonated at a staggering 15 megatons. It produced a tremendous amount of deadly radioactive fallout. Six nuclear tests were conducted between March and May 1954 on Bikini Atoll, making a total of 23 atmospheric bomb tests conducted there from 1946 to 1958, devastating Bikini. These tests and their serious nuclear waste consequences made people around the world painfully aware of the frightening possibility of the nuclear arms race, led by the United States and the Soviet Union, escalating into an apocalyptic event, causing the annihilation of mankind.

This letter about nuclear testing, which was a hallmark of the Eisenhower era of the Cold War, is the only one by him we have seen on the market on this subject. Moreover, a search of public sale records going back 40 years discloses no other.