(03 Dec. 86) It was cloudy and rainy when the chopper dropped me off on Carlos Island, also known as Ennylabegan. Constable Joe Tulensa was staying over since his relief did not show up for work. Carlos is about a mile and a half in length and the only island we patrol that has an indigenous population.
Goofy and One Eye met me at the helipad as I was told they would. Goofy is a medium-size brown and white mongel and One Eye is a slightly smaller black and brown dog with the same pedigree. Both are males. The dogs never made a sound but waited for Joe and me to pick up our gear before they headed for the abandoned two-story barracks that served as our security building. Every once in a while the dogs would stop and let us catch up before proceeding.
On the way I noticed a 200 foot barge of WWII vintage that the military had run aground at the end of the pier on the lagoon or east side of of the island. Carlos is on the west side of the Atoll. This is one of the ships that was near ground zero for an atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll in 1946.
Another ship, the German cruiser Prince Eugen, was also at Bikini but is now resting upside down on the lagoon side of Carlson Island, the first island south of Carlos. Only a part of the keel protrudes above the surface of the water. A few years ago two scuba divers became lost and died while exploring inside and since then the ship has been declared off limits by the Army. A publication on diving quotes a U.S. spokesperson who said that the radiation no longer presents a hazard to people in the area. But this is the same government that told the people from Bikini that it was safe to return to their radioactive atoll.
On Carlos, telemetry, communications and support structures are on both sides of the helipad. The crumbling concrete pier is east of the pad and the chopper barely clears the ship’s superstructure when it takes off.
A small village, or collection of houses, is south of the pier and another village is on the north end of the island. The residents next to the pier have electricity (and television) from the American power plant and fresh water from a water hose that runs from a spigot at one of the telemetry buildings.
In the center of the village is a small cemetery and next to it the island church. The graves are raised above the surrounding ground. White concrete crosses mark the sites. Most of the plots are short, meaning small children or babies are buried there.The church is made of concrete blocks with open air sides and a metal peaked roof. A blue cross is painted on the side.
The sun peeked through the clouds later in the morning and I made a tour in the direction of the north village. The paved streets are bordered with coconut trees and the trees, loaded with nuts, would drop one on occasion. After the first near hit, I became more alert. Goofy and One Eye continued to lead the way, unconcerned about the danger lurking overhead. Abandoned barracks, a movie theater and other buildings in various states of disrepair are offset by yellow and white plumeria flowers and the rich red of the Hibiscus. A carpet of vines with violet flowers cloaks a large part of the abandoned camp down to the beach on the lagoon side. Also scattered about the island are Breadfruit trees and those odd-shaped Pandanus trees with their many roots dropping down from the trunk to the ground.
A large wind-driven generator lies across a grassy area. It was brought in a few years ago to produce electricity for the north village but no one ever got around to setting it up.
The oceanside is littered with rusting relics from the 1944 invasion. In addition, the high tide mark has a ring of trash circling the island. Some appears to be from pasing ships but the majority are thrown there by the islanders. As I approached the south village I saw an elderly woman carrying a paper bag filled with soft drink cans, plastic bottles and other trash. She went to where the rocky beach began oceanside and dumped the contents on the ground.
Pigs and chickens have free run of the island. I came across some of the porkers rooting in the grass just off the trail. Goofy and One Eye picked out one of the smaller ones and chased it past me. Goofy caught it by the tail and One Eye had it by the ear. They played tug of war with it a bit before the terrified pig broke free and headed toward the power plant, squealing all the way and the dogs in pursuit. There is one large hog that loves to lay under the water spigot every chance it gets. His eyes are always closed and he has a constant smile as the cool water drips on his mound of fat. Sometimes he grunts when he dreams.
There are two kinds of butterflies on Carlos. One is tan with off-white splotches and the other (both are about three inches wide) is black with white circles on the wings. A purple ring surrounds the circles. They fight all the time and I never saw one without pieces of wing missing.
There are few people visible on Carlos. Some children out playing and a couple of adults were the only Marshallese I saw all day. Two Marshallese work in the power plant but that’s about it. The chopper from Kwaj picked up the half dozen American workers about 1630. It’s very quiet here now.
Some rain squalls began hitting the island and I retreated to the barracks. Goofy, One Eye and a large orange cat had taken up refuge in the entrance to our office.
1900 – The rain stopped and the sky cleared partially. A sliver of moon was visible to the west. Some of the local residents were at the end of the lighted pier fishing. Navigation lights on the barge had been turned on to alert water traffic. On my way to the pier with Goofy and One Eye I could see the glow of lights from Ebeye on the horizon east of Carlos. I walked past two telemetry domes and stopped at the edge of the south village. Crosses from some of the graves were silhouetted on the sides of houses by nearby night lights.
The power plant is between the village and the helipad. I spent the rest of the evening there, at a small man-made pool. During the day large trees provide shade for the sea life in it. This includes several turtles and a variety of fish in their usual bold designer colors. The gentle night breeze made it difficult for me to stay awake.
Filed under: Almost Paradise Volume 1
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