Navy veteran Lincoln Grahlfs was one of the first atomic vets. He’s lived long enough that he’s now one of the oldest. He is sharp and commanding. After retiring from a long career teaching college sociology, he went back to school to earn his Ph.D. For his dissertation, he researched what happened to atomic veterans and later published his findings in a book, “Voices from Ground Zero.” Of the 376 atomic veterans Grahlfs surveyed, nearly half had health problems they attributed to their participation in the tests. About 1 in 5 said family members had health problems they thought might be related, too. Grahlfs thinks the government lied to atomic vets and ignored their concerns. During the tests, he and his shipmates called themselves “The Royal Order of Guinea Pigs.” U.S. Navy Veteran Lincoln Grahlfs, 93, was one of the first atomic vets. He surveyed 376 veterans who participated in the atomic tests for his doctoral dissertation and later published his findings in a book, “Voices from Ground Zero.”
CREDIT: ZACHARY STAUFFER FOR REVEAL