By William T. Clew | The Catholic Free Press
    
SHREWSBURY - A U.S. Army veteran who was present at eight peacetime tests of nuclear weapons in the 1950s spoke to seventh- and eighth-graders at St. Mary School Wednesday.
The Nation Day program was part of the school’s Catholic Schools Week observance. Other veterans also visited and toured the school.
Joseph Modello of Shrewsbury served as a lieutenant in the Army from 1956 to 1958. After service in Korea he was among the troops sent to the Nevada desert to take part in testing of nuclear weapons.
He said he was within seven miles of one blast. Later he was a guide for Marine units to slit trenches just three miles from Ground Zero. He observed eight atomic explosions. He said everyone was dressed in regular uniforms. No one wore protective equipment.
He said he and others suffered later from the effects of radiation. The troops who took part in those tests were sworn to secrecy and later, when they sought medical treatment they were not allowed to tell doctors about being exposed to radiation from the blasts, he said.
 Finally, in 1995, the secrecy restriction was lifted. He said he is a member of an organization called Atomic Veterans, made up of those who took part in the atomic weapons testing.
According to literature from Atomic Veterans that Mr. Modello passed out to the students, those veterans have never been recognized for that service. Attempts to have Congress authorize a medal honoring their service have not been successful.    
 

Americans from around the world

WORCESTER – Students at St. Stephen Elementary School wore some of the styles of dress from the countries where their families came from. Most said their parents immigrated to the United States but they were born here, and are first generation Americans. Among the countries represented by the youngsters in the school are Lebanon, Vietnam, France, England, Ireland, China, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Poland, Lithuania, Chile, Ecuador and Guatemala. The students later paraded through the school and students in the fourth through eighth grades took part in a Show and Tell with items from their ancestral homes. Tuesday’s program, Celebrating Nations Around Us, was part of the school’s Catholic Schools Week celebration.    


Photo album from Catholic Schools Week