Utah governor Gary Herbert has designated Jan. 27 as a Day of Remembrance for Downwinders

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Sherry Milne, of St. George, holds a picture of her mother, Joyce Milne, who died of cancer, during a downwinders commemorative event Friday at the state Capitol to mark more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. She has lost many family members and friends from cancers over the past years. She said that as a child she remembers running her fingers over contaminated dust that settled on cars after atomic tests. During the Cold War, Utahns and many others worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure from above ground nuclear weapons tests.

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Doyle Peterson, left, attends a downwinders commemorative event Friday with family members at the state Capitol to mark more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. He lost his wife Wilma to cancer. The family is from Sevier County in central Utah an area downwind from the Nevada Test site. During the Cold War, Utahns and many others worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure from above ground nuclear weapons tests.

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Congressman Jim Matheson, a long-time advocate for downwinders, speaks at a commemorative event Friday at the state Capitol to mark more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. During the Cold War, Utahns and many other worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure from above ground nuclear weapons tests. Matheson speaks beneath a portrait of his father, Gov. Scott Matheson, a downwinder himself who died of cancer.

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Krystal Walker, right, and her brother Brandon Walker hold pictures of their grandfather John Houston Walker, a railroad man who died of bile duct cancer, at a downwinders commemorative event Friday at the state Capitol to mark more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. They are from Milford, an area downwind from the Nevada Test site. During the Cold War, Utahns and many others worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure from above ground nuclear weapons tests.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Ira Hinckley takes a moment to remember his father, David Hinckley, who died of cancer after working in southern Utah for the Atomic Energy Commission, during a commemorative event marking Day of Remembrance for Downwinders Friday in Salt Lake City. The event marked more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. Nearly 1,000 nuclear weapons were detonated at the Nevada Test Site during the Cold War, and they sent clouds of radioactive fallout across the United States, exposing a generation of Americans to radiation.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
A candlelight vigil was held at the Episcopal Church Center on Friday marking the Day of Remembrance for Downwinders in Salt Lake City. The event marked more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. Nearly 1,000 nuclear weapons were detonated at the Nevada Test Site during the Cold War, and they sent clouds of radioactive fallout across the United States, exposing a generation of Americans to radiation.

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Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Sherry Milne, of St. George, holds a picture of her mother, Joyce Milne, who died of cancer, during a downwinders commemorative event Friday at the state Capitol to mark more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. She has lost many family members and friends from cancers over the past years. She said that as a child she remembers running her fingers over contaminated dust that settled on cars after atomic tests. During the Cold War, Utahns and many others worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure from above ground nuclear weapons tests. Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Doyle Peterson, left, attends a downwinders commemorative event Friday with family members at the state Capitol to mark more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. He lost his wife Wilma to cancer. The family is from Sevier County in central Utah an area downwind from the Nevada Test site. During the Cold War, Utahns and many others worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure from above ground nuclear weapons tests. Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Congressman Jim Matheson, a long-time advocate for downwinders, speaks at a commemorative event Friday at the state Capitol to mark more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. During the Cold War, Utahns and many other worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure from above ground nuclear weapons tests. Matheson speaks beneath a portrait of his father, Gov. Scott Matheson, a downwinder himself who died of cancer. Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Krystal Walker, right, and her brother Brandon Walker hold pictures of their grandfather John Houston Walker, a railroad man who died of bile duct cancer, at a downwinders commemorative event Friday at the state Capitol to mark more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. They are from Milford, an area downwind from the Nevada Test site. During the Cold War, Utahns and many others worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure from above ground nuclear weapons tests. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Ira Hinckley takes a moment to remember his father, David Hinckley, who died of cancer after working in southern Utah for the Atomic Energy Commission, during a commemorative event marking Day of Remembrance for Downwinders Friday in Salt Lake City. The event marked more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. Nearly 1,000 nuclear weapons were detonated at the Nevada Test Site during the Cold War, and they sent clouds of radioactive fallout across the United States, exposing a generation of Americans to radiation. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune A candlelight vigil was held at the Episcopal Church Center on Friday marking the Day of Remembrance for Downwinders in Salt Lake City. The event marked more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. Nearly 1,000 nuclear weapons were detonated at the Nevada Test Site during the Cold War, and they sent clouds of radioactive fallout across the United States, exposing a generation of Americans to radiation.

The Salt Lake Tribune

· January 28, 2012 10:00 am

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Commemorative events mark more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. Gov. Gary Herbert, local leaders in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Kane County and Springdale have designated Jan. 27 as a Day of Remembrance for Downwinders. Events are planned in conjunction with a U.S. Senate resolution, sponsored by Idaho Republican Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, to honor "Americans who, during the Cold War, worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure" from above ground nuclear weapons tests. Nearly 1,000 nuclear weapons were detonated at the Nevada Test Site during the Cold War, and they sent clouds of radioactive fallout across the United States, exposing a generation of Americans to radiation.