Collection Number: MS 447
Bookmark this page or copy and paste URL to Email message
J. Bankston was born December 23, 1926 in El Dorado, Arkansas, died April 22, 1997 in Bisbee, Arizona. Marine Sgt. Jarrell M. “J” Banskton served on active duty with the United States Navy from July 1944 to October 1947, and then with the United States Marines from July 1950 to May 1951. He served aboard the USS Albemarle, a seaplane base in the Marshall Islands in July 1946 where he worked on the assembly and handling of test units for nuclear detonations. The collection covers a court case and other documentation about radioactive fallout and its effects. Bankston used the material to submit a case for compensation to the Veterans Administration for a cancerous tumor he believed was caused by exposure to radiation during the “Operation Crossroads” detonation in July of 1946 in the Marshall Islands.
Correspondence, Court Case documents, Newspaper Articles and Technical Reports. The bulk of the collection relates to the federal trial brought against the United States by Irene Allen and about 1200 other plaintiffs for radiation poisoning caused by nuclear testing by the United States in Nevada in the 1950s. Stewart L. Udall is listed as an attorney for Irene Allen, et. al. or the “Downwinders” as they were known. The “Downwinders” were plaintiffs from the states of Arizona, Nevada and Utah in the 1982 federal trial that was unsuccessful in getting compensation for the plaintiffs. This trial eventually led to the passing of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 that provides monetary compensation for people who develop cancer as a result of exposure to atmospheric nuclear testing. The digests and technical reports are research material used by Bankston in his attempt to receive compensation for cancer he believed he got as a result of his assignment to duty aboard the USS Albemarle while in the Marine Corps. He believed he was exposed to radiation when he worked on the preparations aboard the ship for “Operation Crossroads”, a major nuclear detonation in the Marshall Islands in July of 1946. The ship was within a 155 mile distance from the air and undersea tests conducted by the US Navy. Correspondence is directly related to his unsuccessful application for compensation with the Veterans Administration and with other veterans in various stages of applying for compensation. Bankston also corresponded with Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater to get support on his behalf with the Veterans Administration. In 1980 he became regional coordinator with the National Association of Atomic Veterans for the state of Arizona in order to represent atomic veterans and their widows.
None
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the University of Arizona, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright
J. Bankston papers (MS 447).Special Collections, University of Arizona Libraries.
| Series I: Correspondence, 1980-1982 | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Goldwater, Barry M., Senator 1981 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Haralson, Dale 1981-1982 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Karasti, Frank 1981 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Kelly, Wanda S., National Association of Atomic Veterans 1981 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | King, Eugene P., 1980 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Mehas, Thomas C. 1982 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Shuman, Sydney J., Veteran's Administration 1981 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Unidentified 1982 | |||||||||
| Series II: Court Case, 1979-1980 | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Case No. C79-0515 "Irene Allen, et. al. plaintiffs vs. United States of America" - Memorandum Opinion 1979 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Case No. C79-0515 "Irene Allen, et. al. plaintiffs vs. United States of America" - Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusion of Law 1979 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Case No. C79-0515 "Irene Allen, et. al. plaintiffs vs. United States of America" - Plaintiff's Amended Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusion of Law 1979 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Case No. C79-0515 "Irene Allen, et. al. plaintiffs vs. United States of America" - Exhibits 1979 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Case No. C79-0515 "Irene Allen, et. al. plaintiffs vs. United States of America" - Trail Memorandum Exhibits Relating to Cedar City Sheep Exposure 1979 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | List of Defendants Exhibits not furnished to the Plaintiff circa 1979 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Plaintiffs' Opening Statement circa 1979 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Testimony by Dorothy B. Jones before House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Subcommittee on Health and the Environment circa 1980 | |||||||||
| Series III: Digests, circa 1982 | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Digests: Author Index circa 1982 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Digests I | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Digests II | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Digests III circa 1982 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Digests: Notes circa 1982 | |||||||||
| 2 | 2 | Digests: Reel Digest-Microfilm circa 1982 | |||||||||
| 2 | 3 | Digests: Subject Index circa 1982 | |||||||||
| Series IV: Newspaper articles and technical reports, 1948-1980 | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 4 | Newspaper Articles: Arizona Daily Star &Tucson Citizen 1980 | |||||||||
| 2 | 5 | Reports 1948 | |||||||||
| 2 | 6 | Reports 1951-1958 | |||||||||
| 2 | 7 | Reports I 1953-1962 | |||||||||
| 2 | 8 | Reports II 1953-1962 | |||||||||
| 2 | 9 | Reports 1954-1983 | |||||||||
| 2 | 10 | Reports 1957 | |||||||||
| 2 | 11 | Symposium on Sol-Gel Processes &Reactor Fuel Cycles 1970 | |||||||||