Jimmy Carter, USN -- Nuclear Hero

[Octafish]

A very brave officer of the United States Navy, Lt. James Earle Carter, Jr., personally led the effort to contain a reactor meltdown.

Jimmy Carter and Fukushima

Apr 2nd 2011, 11:42 by K.N.C. | TOKYO
The Economist

EXCERPT...

The fear and danger is beyond comprehension for most people, and in particular the political leaders who must order men in to danger. But interestingly, it is not unfamiliar to former American president Jimmy Carter. Nearly half a century ago, as a young naval officer, he led a 23-man team to dismantle a reactor that, like Fukushima, had partially melted down.

The reactor in Chalk River, Canada, about 180 kilometres (110 miles) from Ottawa, was used to enrich plutonium for America's atomic bombs. On December 12th 1952 it exploded, flooding the reactor building’s basement with millions of litres of radioactive water. Lieutenant Carter, a nuclear specialist on the Seawolf submarine programme, and his men were among the few people with the security clearance to enter a reactor. From Schenectady, New York, they rode the train up and got straight to work.

"The radiation intensity meant that each person could spend only about ninety seconds at the hot core location," wrote Mr Carter in "Why Not the Best?", an autobiography published in 1975 when he was campaigning for the presidency.

The team built an exact replica of the reactor on a nearby tennis court, and had cameras monitor the actual damage in the reactor's core. "When it was our time to work, a team of three of us practised several times on the mock-up, to be sure we had the correct tools and knew exactly how to use them. Finally, outfitted with white protective clothes, we descended into the reactor and worked frantically for our allotted time," he wrote. "Each time our men managed to remove a bolt or fitting from the core, the equivalent piece was removed on the mock-up."

CONTINUED...

http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/04/japans_nuclear_clean-up

Just when I thought I really knew the guy...

[malaise]

1. I love that man

Thanks for this

Rec

[Octafish]

49. Carter stood up and answered when called to do dangerous national service.

In 2008, when Mr Carter was 83, he was asked if he had been scared. The former president grew quiet and, speaking very deliberately, replied: "We were fairly well instructed then on what nuclear power was, but for about six months after that I had radioactivity in my urine. They let us get probably a thousand times more radiation than they would now. It was in the early stages and they didn’t know." The account, from Arthur Milnes, a journalist and historian at Queen's University in Canada, appears in a book published last month, "Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: A Canadian Tribute" (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2011). "I learned the dangers," said Mr Carter.

That takes more than guts and gallantry. Such bravery requires Faith that we are part of something greater.

[gateley]

2. He's a hero across the board, in my book. nt

[bigwillq]

3. K and R (nt)

[lpbk2713]

4. George H W Bush (#41)

In WW-II he ditched his plane in the ocean and left his crew to fend for themselves.


:eyes:

[BOHICA12]

20. He had no way to know if his crew bailed ....

...the Avenger wasn't designed to allow that. Also - belly chutes had a reputation of not opening.

Please, how many carrier take-offs and landings do you have.

He might be an out of touch elitist, but at 18 he wasn't running from very dangerous service.

[lpbk2713]

21. No carrier launch and recover time here.

Our C-118's and C-130's were not very well suited for carrier duty.


{Click}

[DissedByBush]

45. I have a lot to not like GHWB for

My name is in honor of him.

But I can't deny he served valiantly, unlike his son.

[hack89]

24. Wrong - he was a real hero

His plane was hit and he continued his bombing run despite his plane being on fire. He then flew the airplane to a safer area where he and his crew parachute out. He was the only survivor. He did not abandon his crew.

He was 19 years old when he went to war - he flew 58 combat missions.

[janet118]

37. Here's a real hero/pilot . . . George McGovern

And he was only a couple of years older than Bush Sr.

"McGovern and his crew experienced their fair share of adventures on missions. On one flight an engine quit, then another was hit by flak; on two engines he was losing altitude rapidly but McGovern managed to nurse the bomber down for an emergency landing on an airstrip less than half the length the B-24 normally required. For this feat McGovern earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. By highlighting McGovern's experiences are we to believe that the book is portraying him as exceptional? Not at all. The reality is that when he arrived in Italy in 1944, McGovern was a 21 year old pilot. His co-pilot and navigator were the same age and half his crew were teenagers."

- Review of The Wild Blue by Stephen Ambrose

McGovern did not use his war record to convince people he should be elected president in 1972 because he did not think the skills required were related. He did scold McCain in 2008 for implying they were.

[FLPanhandle]

5. One of our smartest presidents

I've met the man and he is humble and intelligent.

Probably the only President to leave the office in personal debt...so add honest too.

[FLPanhandle]

6. Remember when we used to make fun of him for being too intelligent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Hn3hXaxuM&playnext=1&list=PLD4096D5CAFF9E19B

We didn't do that for Reagan or W.

[Octafish]

50. ''We'' as in ''Corporate McPravda''

Professional Liars in service to warmongering traitors: Three Things Every American Should Know About Corporate McPravda

Remember how they treated Billy? They made him out to be a toady for Qaddafi:

QADDAFI TERMS THE $220,000 GIVEN BILLY CARTER A LOAN TIED TO BUSINESS

[opihimoimoi]

7. He was a victim of bad rap by the GOPer Party....he was one of the BEST Presidents

we ever had

Knr

[mahina]

22. +1

He sure was.

[Mnemosyne]

34. My first vote in 1976. He walks the walk. K&R n/t

[axollot]

41. And his service didnt end with the presidency. Unlike some past

Presidents after they leave the office - Carter didnt sit still to have someone ghost write for him but has been getting his hands dirty doing humanitarian work world wide! I was too little to appreciate him as President - but do remember his Presidency. I was born in '71 LOL.

Cheers
Sandy 40 in May!

[Sirveri]

8. He also went to Three Mile which occurred while he was President.

[hootinholler]

11. I'm sure his being a trained nuclear officer aided the response of the Fed to TMI

I became a sub sailor in his administration and saw how fucked up the changes were when RR took over.

-Hoot

[Sirveri]

30. Is that when they decided it was smart to work nukes 24 hours straight?

Talk about getting treated like freaking garbage. You want hell, go subs and get sent to the shipyards.

[hootinholler]

46. I was a NavET on a boomer

Pulled some mini refit duty and got a taste of yard life pressure washing the hull from a basket. ;)

-Hoot

[Scuba]

9. This story got about 2 seconds airtime back in 1976. This man stands apart....

...from the crowd. Any crowd.

[texanwitch]

10. The only real Democratic president I ever voted for.

Still helping people with building homes.

[Starboard Tack]

42. He used to come to my neighborhood in the East Village in the 80's

every day, wearing his tool belt and hammering nails for Habitat For Humanity. The only reason anyone noticed was because the Secret Service guys were all around. It was great to see a great human being living up to the values he believes in, with humility, after the "people" had replaced him with a buffoon.

[jwirr]

15. Absolutely. The best of the lot.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. THAT picture is worth a million.

[Angry Dragon]

12. Kicking and Rec-ing for the man

[EFerrari]

13. Most underrated president of my lifetime.

K&R

[malaise]

14. Yep

That's when I realized that M$Greedia spoke for corporate interests. THey set out to discredit and destroy Carter.

Fuck them all - Carter has more integrity than the rest of them combined.
I'm an atheist but he actually practiced what he preached.

What's more he's not afraid of any special interests.
I wish Rachel would interview him for a full hour.

[slay]

16. Indeed

Carter will go down in history as one of the rare actual good guys.

[BeFree]

17. Yep

He did launch America on a path to solar, and to make America oil independent.

Then came the slaveowners man, rr, and he put us on the path we are on now.
Toward slavery. Rot in hell, rr.

[Historic NY]

18. Yes he was far ahead of the pack...

in many areas, he was ahead of his time and his warnings were disregarded.

[Tripod]

23. I love Carter.. k&r

[Warren DeMontague]

25. Yeah. Not only could he pronounce it correctly

he understood it, and was brave enough to walk right into the fucking thick of it.

:patriot:

[gmaki]

29. Actually, Jimmy pronounced it the same way as Dubya

"Nucular" at least according to Wikipedia and some other sources. Then again, I would say he earned the right to pronounce it any way he pleased.

[Warren DeMontague]

32. Point taken.

Agreed.

[caraher]

40. Actually, he prounounced it "Nuke-ee-er"

Carter habitually dropped "l" completely; I also recall the "r" at the end going away from time to time.

See, for instance, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwBLE2bpnw">this comparatively recent interview, beginning around 2:09]

[SecularMotion]

26. K & R

:kick:

[Safetykitten]

27. Elect him president. This fawning slobbering love for an inept president

that was the guy that handed the keys over to the car that took us to our current republican nightmare is tragic. We make fun of the republicans for living in the past? Well he only served one term. Elect him again.

He can't do worse than the last time he was President, and he surely can't do worse than Obama.

[BrklynLiberal]

28. If one looks up "Unsung hero" in the dictionary, Carter's picture would be there.

[felix_numinous]

31. Carter-Kucinich 2012!

[mdmc]

33. r

[AtheistCrusader]

35. I've been finding there are a lot more nuclear industrial accidents in our history than I was aware

of. Quite a lot more.

[Taverner]

36. And at this time his "weapon" was reason

Something we could all learn from

[JDPriestly]

38. What did you say Ronald Reagan did in the service?

Oh, he made movies, did he? What a hero.

America chose Reagan over Carter, and the rest is history. What a tragic day that was.

[nevergiveup]

39. The Republicans successfully destroyed him

and what is really sad is that many Democrats went along for the ride. History, on the other hand, will treat him kindly. I love the man.

[cameozalaznick]

43. I have the same last name...

And whenever someone asks me to spell it, as on the phone, I always say, "like the president."

[One Voice]

44. Thanks Octafish! K&R

I didn't know that.
You always have great info!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

47. The Carter Center is my favorite charity.

Waging peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.

www.cartercenter.org

One Copenhill
453 Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30307
800-550-3560, Ext. 109

[Octafish]

48. The guy does good.

In his spare times, he builds homes for people.
Contrast that with his predecessors and successors who use their time to pad their bank accounts.

Thank you for the info, Manifestor_of_Light.