From 1946 to 1958, the U.S. detonated 67 nuclear devices in the Marshall Islands.

Though over 1,000 miles away, the fallout from these experiments reached Guam, contaminating food and water supplies, livestock, and the air.

Despite early detection by Lt. Bert Schreiber, the public wasn’t informed until 1994 when the human radiation experiment advisory committee ordered it.

For decades, the people of Guam have suffered cancers, thyroid disorders, and illnesses as a result, with no recognition or compensation. 

And as the “one big, beautiful bill,” a sweeping budget package including an expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, was passed earlier this month, Guam was left out.

Robert Celestial, founder of the Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors, has fought for years to have Guam recognized as a downwinder.

He says this exclusion is devastating.

“First of all, I was thinking about the people of Guam and the heartbreak that they feel after working so hard with people in the states,” said Celestial. “And yes, it’s an injustice because the people of Guam are no different from those in the states who are suffering from cancer and other diseases. We deserve this.”

“It’s astonishing to me that they would do this. Just blatantly exclude Guam, but we’ll just put that in the past, move forward,” added Celestial. 

Senator Therese Terlaje, a long-standing advocate and leader for the cause, says the lack of reasoning for Guam’s exclusion is unsettling given Guam’s well-documented exposure.

“Their exclusion of Guam as downwinders while they expand to other regions feels like an injustice on top of an injustice,” added Terlaje. “So we’re guessing their reasons for excluding Guam and none of them seem very convincing, fair, and they don’t seem to have a high regard for the people of Guam.”

But Celestial and Terlaje will not go quietly, getting creative as they work towards new paths forward.

Currently, Celestial says PARS is in the process of drafting new legislation that will hopefully be considered and carried out by the National Defense Authorization Act.

“Well, the fight goes on,” said Celestial. 

“I have not given up. I know Mr. Celestial has not given up and will never give up,” said Terlaje. “Justice is justice, whether it’s for a state or a territory, for the people of Guam. It’s just the same as those other states.”

So while Guam was left out of this chapter, advocates say the story is far from over.

With new strategies, stronger alliances, and an island united, the push for recognition and reparation continues.