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page 153 



BLUE-RIBBON JURY GATHERS EVI- 

 DENCE. Members of the Joint Chiefs 

 of Staff's Evaluation Board and the 

 President's Evaluation Commission tour 

 the Bikini Lagoon for a first-hand view 

 of damage produced by the Able Day 

 test. Members of the Evaluation Board 

 witnessed the explosion from an air- 

 plane 20 miles distant, and later ap- 

 proached to within nine miles for a 

 brief view. The day following, as soon 

 as safety clearance had been received, 

 the Board members began examination 

 of ship damage. In a report made 

 public the Board stated various find- 

 ings: The only major combatant ships 

 within one-half mile of the bomb ex- 

 plosion point were the battleships 

 "Nevada" and "Arkansas" and the 

 heavy cruiser "Pensacola." Little 

 damage had been done to the hulls 

 or main turrets of these ships but 

 their superstructures had been badly 

 wrecked. There was relatively little 

 damage to ships at distances greater 

 than three-guarters of a mile. The 

 group includes, left to right: Captain 

 Horacio Rivero, Vice Admiral J. H. 

 Hoover, Mr. Bradley Dewey, Dr. Karl 

 T. Compton, the late General J. W. 

 Stilwell, Mr. I~i-ed Searls Jr., Senator 

 Leverett Saltonstall of Massachusetts, 

 Lt. General L. H. Brereton, Dr. E. U. 

 Condon, Representative W. C. An- 

 drews (R) of New York, and Mr. T. F. 

 Farrell. 



