We can’t live with nuclear weapons — Jane H. Kavaloski
Feb 3, 2022 | Wisconsin State Journal
“You can’t live with them!”
That’s what Franklin Grahlf, a U.S. Navy veteran, told State Journal reporter Logan Wroge in last week’s article about the first anniversary of the United Nations’ treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons.
Grahlf was exposed to atomic radiation when his Navy crew, with no protective gear, was ordered to sail to “ground zero” to investigate the consequences of an atomic weapon test in the Bikini Atoll.
Grahlf, 99, has lived a long life. But he has had multiple bouts of cancer and the loss of two children, who he feels were affected by his radiation exposure. His plea is that “the countries of the world need to get rid of nuclear weapons.”
In 1983, the Madison City Council passed an ordinance declaring the city a “nuclear free zone.” In 2019, the City Council passed a resolution calling for this nation to “live up to U.S. obligations under the non-proliferation treaty by seeking to eliminate all nuclear weapons.”
Yet Madison now is accepting a squadron of F-35s that could eventually be capable of transporting two nuclear warheads. Whether or not these weapons are ever onsite, Madison will become a potential target in a nuclear confrontation.
What happened?
Jane H. Kavaloski, Madison