As talk of resuming U.S. nuclear weapons testing heats up, the forgotten stories of veterans exposed to radiation during Cold War experiments are resurfacing with urgent clarity.
Riis Williams reports for Outrider.
In short:
- Between 1945 and 1992, over 500,000 U.S. service members were exposed to radiation during nuclear weapons tests — many sworn to secrecy and still suffering from health consequences today.
- With renewed calls from Project 2025 and Trump allies to restart nuclear testing, atomic veterans worry that history is set to repeat itself, risking public health and environmental fallout.
- Compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) expired in 2024, leaving many veterans without aid, while efforts to renew and expand benefits remain stalled in Congress.
Key quote:
“This is not something that we want to be playing with. I’ve seen this all before, and I don’t ever want to see it again.”
— Fred Schafer, atomic veteran
Why this matters:
Trump-aligned Project 2025 policy architects are pushing to restart nuclear testing, claiming it’s vital for U.S. dominance. But those who lived through the last testing era remember the environmental destruction and health chaos left in its wake. The land still carries the scars — cratered earth, radioactive hot spots, displaced communities — and the people, too, still carry the fallout in their cells. Many of these veterans have spent decades battling cancer, mysterious illnesses, and the nagging feeling that their own government gambled with their lives.
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