In June 1946, the United States tested two nuclear bombs at Bikini, a small island in the larger Marshall Islands. My father, Will Whitmore, was a civilian participant in this project known as Operation Crossroads. He was one of 40,000 Americans who took part in the project. The devastation of the small island, the displacement of 167 Bikini Islanders and the impact to their culture have haunted me for many years. The Bikini Project is my personal endeavor to understand this period in American History, the consequences of Operation Crossroads for the Bikini People and  my father’s voluntary agreement to participate in a project that has brought suffering to so many people.

In addition to the images from my father’s Bikini memorabilia, I have included a selection of images I made at Nuclear Remembrance Day in Springdale, Arkansas February 28-March 1, 2020 and in a visit to Springdale July 27-August 1, 2021. During my second trip, I photographed and interviewed Bikini descendants of the original survivors of Operation Crossroads, visited sites around town including a pool hall and Marshallese store, attended a youth conference in a Marshallese church and participated in the annual Atoll Stroll. Please notice that the gallery is divided by lines into four section. Section one includes images from my father’s memorabilia. Section Two contains images from the Nuclear Remembrance Day events. The individuals in Section 3 are descendants of Bikini survivors of Operation Crossroads. And Section 4 contains additional images of my second visit to Springdale including the Atoll Stroll July 31, 2021.