Downwinders to be acknowledged at Trinity test site dedication

After decades of struggle and lives lost to radioactive fallout from the July 16, 1945, Trinity test in the Tularosa Basin, the impacted residents are finally receiving recognition.

The dedication of a permanent sign that recognizes the sacrifice and suffering of the Downwinders of New Mexico will take place at 11 a.m. on July 16 at the Stallion Gate Entrance off of Highway 380 east of San Antonio, followed by Mass, a dinner reception and a candlelight vigil in Tularosa.

Luisa Lopez, a lifelong resident of Luis Lopez and member of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium said the sign is significant because after years of fighting and trying to prove the impact of the radiation they will now be recognized on the sign.

“We’ve had a lot of friends and a lot of people from here, from the Socorro area, that have all these cancers that are related to radiation exposure,” Lopez said.

Lopez and her late husband are both victims of the radiation exposure.

“I’m happy for the people of Socorro and New Mexico, everyone who lives here is a downwinder, and even though it’s negative, we are at least getting recognized,” Lopez said.

In attendance will be Melissa Parke, the Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, along with other dignitaries.

The event will be followed by a Mass and a dinner reception at St. Francis de Paula Catholic Church in Tularosa, starting at 6 p.m. with Archbishop Wester, Bishop Baldacchino and Bishop James S. Walls. People of all denominations are invited to attend. The dinner reception will take place in the Parish Hall after the Mass.

At 8:30 p.m. that evening, the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium will be hosting their 16th Annual Candlelight Vigil at the Tularosa Veterans Park at 902 North Bookout Road.

Please get in touch with Tina Cordova for any questions or concerns at (505) 897-6787 or tcordova@queston.net or visit www.trinitydownwinders.com