The Price Of Independence
storied past
Atlantic birth
home in the Pacific
victorious
battle weary
dimensions modest
by today’s standards
subjected to Bikini
nonetheless
scarred
left to limp home
scuttled
abandoned
embraced by elements
re-found
testament to exploration?
yes
testament to recovery?
no
testament of war
The USS Independence was the first of a class of US destroyers converted to light aircraft carrier during the Second World War. After the war, it was used as a target vessel during Operation Crossroads, the July 1, 1946, atomic bomb test within the Bikini Atoll (Marshall Islands, in the Pacific Ocean). Placed one-half mile from 
the detonation, the USS Independence was crippled, but survived the blast. Afterward, it was towed to San Francisco for evaluation of damage and radiation levels, as well as “decontamination.” Due to the rising cost of decontamination, USS Independence was towed out to sea and sunk in 2,700 feet of water, 30 miles off the coast of California, in what is now the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.
The wreck was re-discovered in March 2015, and exploration and assessment is being conducted this week, via ROV Hercules, a remotely operated underwater vehicle tethered to E/V Nautilus, a research vessel, under the direction of Dr. Robert Ballard. Marine samples will be obtained and evaluated for levels of radiation. Due to the time elapsed since the ship was exposed, and the half-life of the radioactive elements from the blast, radiation levels are expected to be similar to non-exposed marine life.
Yesterday, I spent some time watching a live stream of the underwater exploration of the USS Independence. Seeing the wreck was breathtaking. Sponges, some of them several meters in length and diameter, covered the hull and equipment, such as anti-aircraft guns. A giant crab hid inside a goiter sponge that was more than a meter across.
Elevated from the bottom, the sponges filter feed on the nutrients floating in the currents. Unfortunately, it was easy to forget that the wreck’s placement resulted from the testing of a weapon of mass destruction.
The post-blast photo at the top of the page is from San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park, via nautiluslive.org. The next two underwater photos are screenshots from the livestream at nautiluslive.org on August 22nd, and the next five are from a highlight video posted on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZLNKc84YA4). The map is from nautiluslive.org.
rivrvlogr 
Fascinating combination of poetics and history. Thank you!
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Which reminds me of some of your visits to the missions, Danial.
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The poem was wonderful, and the background is fascinating. Thanks so much for sharing!
I really wonder how much radioactive the ship was and how much it radiation went into the water around it as it was towed and sunk.
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Thank you.
Sailors who were on the observation ships and involved in cleanup have been denied disability compensation by the Veterans Administration. According to their accounts, there was little to no monitoring or testing and no protection for them during cleanup. Here’s an interesting article about one veteran’s experience.
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Thanks, Ken.
I don’t see the article.
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Oops!!
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local/atomic-vet-recalls-1946-bomb-tests–and-dirty-aftermath-ep-411008063-359771231.html
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Interesting, but not surprising–unfortunately.
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Radiation terrifies me. There’s no way this wreck, these tests haven’t created a sickness that will never be cleansed.
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Agreed.
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Slightly different, but my Granpy was sent to work in a hospital in India for the WW1 via the trenches. They got them back as far as Egypt in 1919 and then ran out of money to take them further. He didn’t get back to England until 1921. Nanny waited over 7 years to get married. He never spoke of what happened.
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Wow!
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The transformation is what struck me. Everything heals. Not cured, but healed, I think. And gives me hope that the same will happen today if we can give it a chance. Thank you for the poem and the story.
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The new growth seen in the video is fascinating.
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Yes, that is what struck me, how in the most unpromising circumstances things can turn beautiful and renewed.
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Wow I loved reading the poem, really well written. And enjoyed how you paired it with some background and knowledge!
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Thank you.
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oh, the havoc we wreak
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Sobering. (K)
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It is, but at the same time I want to be a diver on one of those wrecks. Not at 2700 feet, obviously, but one of the archaeologists on the project talked about diving on wrecks at Bikini, and his thoughts at that time of never seeing the USS Independence. Ah well, my diving days are behind me.
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I think adventure always calls.
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