Commodore Ben H. Wyatt addressing the Bikini Island natives
date: label: Date made
content: 1946
name: label: photographer
content: Mydans, Carl
notes: label: Description
content: The fourth atom bomb explosion of all time occurred in July 1946 in the Pacific in an Army-Navy operation named <i>Crossroads</i>. It was meant to test the effect of atom bombs on naval vessels. The test site, Bikini Atoll, needed to be evacuated, and its 167 natives relocated.
label: Description
content: On a Sunday afternoon a few months earlier, Com. Ben Wyatt, the military governor of the Marshall Islands, traveled to Bikini. He had assembled the natives to ask if they would be willing to leave the atoll temporarily so that the United States could begin testing atomic bombs for "the good of mankind and to end all wars." The people met and voted to go to Rongerik Island, as advised by the Navy. Juda, the leader of the Bikinian people, announced that they would go "believing that everything is in the hands of God."
label: Description
content: Commodore Wyatt can be seen sitting on the base of a palm tree, addressing the population moments before they were set to leave their home. Mydans was sent to the island to document the exodus of the people of Bikini. The story was published by <i>LIFE</i> (Mar 25 1946).
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Marshall Islands: Bikini & Kili, Bikini Atoll
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Photographic History
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content: Photography
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content: Carl Mydans
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2005.0228.109
label: accession number
content: 2005.0228
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0228.109
objectType: label: Object Name
content: photograph
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 8 in x 10 in; 20.32 cm x 25.4 cm