Keith Kiefer was born in January 1957 in Longview, Texas. In school, he did not get taught about World War 2 until moving to Minnesota when he was five years old. In K-12 [Annotator's Note: Kindergarten through grade 12], he was taught about how the United States got involved because of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], how the United States worked with the Allies against the Germans and the Japanese, as well as aspects of the concentration camps. They were also taught about dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. This was from the perspective of the concerns about having to invade Japan. Taught from the standpoint of patriotism, the good American soldiers had done for the oppressed. In college, it was a completely different perspective. It was more from a standpoint of it being about money and oil. He was not shown the human devastation, only infrastructure. As he learned more about it after school, it was an eye-opener to see how horrible the effects of the bomb were on the Japanese. The Korean War was taught more from the perspective of a policing action than war. He feels it hard to differentiate between the two. The Vietnam War was also taught from different viewpoints.

Keith Kiefer was taught about World War 2 in school. The Russians were framed as a stand-offish ally. There was not a lot of emphasis on their participation. More like "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." The terminology "Cold War" [Annotator's Note: period of geopolitical tension between the United States And Soviet Union from 1947 to 1991] did not occur for Kiefer until he had gotten out of the service. He then learned that he is a Cold War Veteran. The government does not recognize him as one but a group he works with does and they are working to get them identified as such. The threat of Communism was taught. It was mandatory in high school to watch the film, "Animal Farm" [Annotator's Note: 1954 film based on George Orwell's novel of the same name]. It was enlightening in showing the differences between Capitalism and Socialism, the United States and the Soviet Union. From time to time, he would feel a little bit of the threat of nuclear war was there. In retrospect, teaching students to shelter under their desks, he wonders if they really believed what they were teaching. He wonders what they were really trying to accomplish.

Keith Kiefer was not sure that college was the right path for him. He considered going into the service. He and two neighborhood students went in [Annotator's Note: went in the service] on the Buddy Program. The recruiter took them to steak dinners. They had all decided on the Air Force. Besides looking at how he was going to pay for schooling and get some training, he thought Vietnam [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War] appeared to be winding down. He wanted to get in and get his time in where he would be least likely to be in combat as well as get the best education and food. That made it a choice between the Air Force and the Navy. Having to pick up other people's cigarette butts was the worst job in his training. Civilian contractors did the KP [Annotator's Note: Kitchen Patrol or Kitchen Police]. Going to the chow hall was like to going to a country buffet. The recruiter was trying to get all three signed up as aircraft maintenance workers. Kiefer scored high in electronics and mechanical. He chose electronics and signed up for ground radio maintenance. Years later he learned that his father had done the same thing in his service during the Korean War. His father never really talked about his service. He only gave advice regarding making friends and people who want to borrow money. He also said there were guys who like guys and stay away from them.

Keith Kiefer got his ground radio maintenance training in Biloxi, Mississippi, at Keesler Air Force Base. Kiefer then got orders to Michigan. Another guy, who was married with a child on the way, had orders to go to Alaska and wanted to trade orders. Even though Michigan was on Kiefer's "Dream Sheet" [Annotator's Note: a Dream Sheet is a list of preferred service locations filled out by Air Force recruits during basic training], which was where the airmen wanted to go, which rarely happened. He later chose cool climates and ended up in Las Vegas [Annotator's Note: Las Vegas, Nevada]. They did trade orders and Kiefer went to Cape Newenham [Annotator's Note: Cape Newenham Air Force Station], Catalina, Alaska. He then went to Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada. He did several TDYs [Annotator's Note: Temporary Duty assignment] and one of them was at Enewetak Atoll [Annotator's Note: Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands] for radiological cleanup. At Nellis, he had been on the crew that cleaned up the ranges and performed maintenance on radios. This was four days out of each week. He would go to California to escape the heat on his days off. The TDY to Enewetak occurred there. His new wife went with him to honeymoon in Hawaii for two weeks, but that did not work out as planned. He was shipped out two days after he arrived.

Keith Kiefer saw that his orders said "Enewetak Atoll Radiological Cleanup". He was concerned but told he would get no exposure. He was young and believed them, but he had an inkling of something in his mind. They did not do any testing, but he did his own sperm count, which was normal. He spent six months there [Annotator's Note: Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands] and when he returned, he and his wife were unable to get pregnant. He learned then that his exposure had potentially had an effect on his health. He learned that he was sterile. He continued to have unexplained illnesses for years. One doctor suggested it was all in his head. He got disgusted with the medical community and wasting his time and money. One night, he had a localized fever on his back. He reluctantly went to get it checked out. His wife had done a lot of research trying to get answers. She believed he had Lupus [Annotator's Note: a systemic autoimmune disorder], but those tests were negative. A doctor discovered he had a thyroid [Annotator's Note: thyroid gland] problem. The most sensitive parts of the body to radiation are the reproductive organs. The second is the thyroid. He learned he had more auto-immune disorders. He has come close to dying a number of times due to blood clots from them. He could even have died from the treatments he received. They were successful. [Annotator's Note: Kiefer describes his blood condition and the frequent tests in medical detail.]

[Annotator's Note: Keith Kiefer was assigned to a Radiological Cleanup detail on Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands while serving the Air Force in 1977.] Kiefer has non-diabetic peripheral neuropathy which is something that often happens to cancer patients being treated with radiation. His job there was in radio maintenance, but he repaired all kinds of systems. Enewetak was more diverse than a typical station because they had to keep track of the weather and even sun spots. They used a salvaged system he had never seen before. [Annotator's Note: Kiefer details how the communications systems work technically.] At any one time, there were up to 1,500 to 2,000 people between the different islands of the atoll. They all had codenames and other names. Enewetak Island was codenamed Fred and there was a base camp there. And another on Lojwa and Runit. They were on every island there scraping soil and transporting it to two craters on Runit, one named Cactus [Annotator's Note: also called Runit Dome, Cactus Dome, or The Tomb] and one named Lacrosse. Lacrosse was submerged most of the time. The contaminated materials were taken to Cactus crater created by the Cactus operation [Annotator's Note: Cactus test, 6 May 1958; second test of Operation Hardtack]. 110,000 cubic yards of soil and other materials were taken there and capped with 18 inches of cement. Kiefer received no specific instructions per "dos and don'ts" regarding radiation nor any protective gear. He went to nearly every location in the atoll with the exception of one where the natives were. They were not to interact with them.

[Annotator's Note: Keith Kiefer was assigned to a Radiological Cleanup detail on Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands while serving in the Air Force in 1977.] Kiefer had absolutely no protection at all [Annotator's Note: from radiation]. What others received varied. There were times that a few people had dust masks, and some had booties. The bulk of the individuals doing the work had little to no protection. The standard uniform for most was shorts, maybe socks, and a pair of shoes. Most did not wear shirts. Some had radiation badges. The scientists tended to have more safety equipment. There were a few photo ops where people wore chemical suits and not radiation suits. Temperatures were in excess of 100 degrees and the humidity was high. Anyone wearing a radiation suit would not have lasted working in that environment 12 hours per day. Kiefer believes most of his exposure was due to being loaned to another crew and had to repair communication cables that had to be dug up. He feels that digging in the contaminated soil exposed him. Various reports by the Department of Defense claim things happened that Kiefer never saw, such as watering down the dust and wearing protective suits. Food was brought out to them and there were not adequate places to wash. Dust was also flying around and could be ingested. The drinking water was pulled from the lagoon and desalinated and came from areas near where contaminated material had been dumped. Kiefer was involved with medevacs [Annotator's Note: medical evacuation] while stationed on the atoll. If someone got hurt, they had to medevac them by going to the area and providing communications to the mainland for treatment and to coordinate getting an airplane in. The bulk of the individuals injured were either shark or eel attacks. There were very few accidents. There was some heatstroke and some equipment explosions.

[Annotator's Note: Keith Kiefer was assigned to a Radiological Cleanup detail on Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands while serving in the Air Force in 1977.] Kiefer is the National Commander of the National Association of Atomic Veterans. The term Atomic Veteran came into usage in the 1980s. Orville Kelly started the organization. It was risky because until 1996, the individuals involved were under an oath of secrecy regarding their work under threat of fines and prison. President Clinton [Annotator’s Note: William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States] lifted the oath of secrecy. Kelly started trying to get medical care for the Atomic Veterans. A presumptive disease list of 21 diseases that are likely caused by exposure to radiation was created. Kiefer started identifying as an Atomic Veteran around the year 2000 when he started doing research. In 2010, he got actively involved. He learned some of his fellow veterans from Enewetak [Annotator's Note: Enewetak, Marshall Islands] where sharing their experiences. He was not considered an Atomic Veteran from the Veteran's Affairs side or the Justice Department through RECA, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. There are disparities between the VA and RECA's definitions of Atomic Veterans. The Justice Department excludes some of the diseases the VA recognizes. In some ways it was comforting to know there were others, but it was also disconcerting that there is this large body of veterans that needlessly were exposed to radiation. In some cases, it was accidental and in some it was on purpose. Kiefer was young and naive and did not believe his government would intentionally put him in harm's way. Many veterans were used for experimental purposes and they have documentation that supports that. He feels used. He feels no more than a piece of furniture to be used and discarded at will. There is no genuine concern for the well-being of the soldiers. He feels if France, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia had done the same to their soldiers, the countries would be found guilty of violating the Nuremberg Code [Annotator's Note: set of research ethics and principles for human experimentation created as result of the World War 2 Nuremberg Trials].

Keith Kiefer is the National Commander of the National Association of Atomic Veterans. He has the experience of the full gamut of Atomic Veterans including ones from World War 2 and later years. Senior Atomic Veterans who served from 1945 to 1963 or even up to the 1990s are much more patriotic and more accepting of the situation and more concerned about their fellow veterans. They are less angry about the situation. They would like to see the government take responsibility for it and do the right thing. But they are not as angry about it as the Enewetak Atoll veterans [Annotator's Note: military servicemen assigned to Radiological Cleanup in the Marshall Islands in the 1970s]. He is trying to get recognition for the veterans, which hard due to the secrecy of the operation. The widows and children of the veterans feel it is important to get the recognition so that the loss and suffering is not in vain. The Enewetak individuals are mostly looking to be recognized as Atomic Veterans and get compensation for it. The other Atomic Veterans are more comprehensive in their approach. Kiefer wonders if the difference is generational. Today's generation is about self and the older generation is about the overall good.

Keith Kiefer feels the advent of nuclear weapons is a double-edged sword. Had they not been invented, there is very good support that we would be under Japanese Imperialism or Nazi Socialism or a dictatorship of some form. He believes the general populace's incidences of cancer now is from atmospheric testing. Nuclear weapons changed the outcome of World War 2, at least the potential loss of life would have been much higher. History shows that a country that does not have a strong deterrent gets walked all over. It is not an easy thing. Man's general nature is such that they always want to conquer or take others. As many sins as the United States has, they are the only country that conquered land and not reaped the rewards of victory. The only exception to that is with the Native Indians. War is nasty. It would be nice to live in a society that deterrents were not necessary. It is not a black and white situation with alternatives.

[Annotator's Note: Keith Kiefer was assigned to a Radiological Cleanup detail on Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands while serving in the Air Force in 1977.] Kiefer did not ever expect that the saga of World War 2 or the Cold War would have any impact on his life. There are a lot of parallels to cleaning up Enewetak and rebuilding Japan. His life has been interesting. The blinking white lights on emergency vehicles always made him wonder how it worked. A few years later, he worked with the person who invented them. He got to work on other things he had always been interested in. He was interested in recycling and went to a company that did it. He went in and asked for a tour. They wanted to know about him and the next thing he knew he was designing a machine for them to recycle light ballasts. He and his family got involved in blacksmithing. His life has been about being in the right place at the right time or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Enewetak depends on perspective. He is proud of the work but is not happy he and his family are suffering because of it. He just wishes it had been better implemented. To him, Enewetak Atoll's cleanup operation was either the worst planned operation or the best planned operation with plausible deniability.