Description:

A fine grouping of signed items, documents and ephemera relating to Operation Crossroads, the initial post-war atomic bomb tests at Bikini atoll, as well as the tests that followed. Included is: six letters, documents and photos concerning the service of Capt. William F. Cate, Jr., including a humorous certificate of appreciation for his service at "Eniwetok Proving Ground", July 18, 1958, signed by his commanding officer and bearing a "mushroom cloud"; a "Certificate of Participation" in Operation Hardtack, a six-month period of 38 nuclear tests; a letter of commendation; a 1986 Army letter reassuring Cate that "less than a few percent" of those who witnessed tests were overexposed to radiation, two photos of Cate and staff members; and a report on gamma radiation recorded on Cate (1.922 rems over five months), along with a plastic placard. WITH: a postal cover canceled aboard the captured German battleship PRINZ EUGEN on June 30, 1946, the day before the vessel, now commissioned as the USS PRINZ EUGEN, would be exposed to the first post-war atomic blast. WITH: a "first day" postal cover bearing cancel reading "ATOMIC BOMB TEST BIKINI ATOLL", mailed from the USS FALL RIVER, flagship for the CROSSROADS operation and canceled on the day of the first test WITH: an envelope mailed from the USS PANAMINT on June 28, 1946, three days before the first test as the vessel served as floating headquarters for congressional, scientific, and U.N. observers. A great grouping.

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March 31, 2020 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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