Operation Greenhouse - 1951

Click or Tap the icon to view a Department of Defense film on nuclear weapons testing on Eniwetok.

LtCol Thompson was on Kwajalein during Operation Greenhouse in 1951 – a series of four atomic tests on Eniwetok. Lt. Gen. Elwood Quesada (pictured below) was the Command General, USAF Joint Task Force 3. Behind Lt. Gen. Quesada are (then) Capt. Thompson and Rear Admiral Stanhope C. Ring.

Lt. Gen. Elwood Quesada -  Operation Greenhouse

At one point, Gen. Quesada wanted a dry run for security for the aircraft carrying the bomb, when it came thru Kwajalein. A substitute aircraft was used and security established. Gen. Quesada invited Bill and Katie Braunagel to visit the aircraft, but LtCol Thompson turned them away as unauthorized, upsetting the General.

LtCol Thompson flew over the atoll after the tests in a Piper Cub. He has a file noting his radiation exposure, both here and from additional testing he witnessed in Nevada.