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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-06-09 Peanut Island Some of Its History and One of Its Secrets Part 2 (Palm Beach Post)PEANUT ISLAND /1 vV POBISUBIORT THE BIG FIRST Supplement to The Post, Sunday, June 9, 1985 SUNRAY BROWN WRAPPER THE BIG FIRST T —MINk EDERAL SAVINGS OF THE PALM BEACHES — is celebrating 50 YEARS OF SERVICE, Peanut Island: Some Of Its History and One of Its Secrekcs Part II By G. Keith Bailey ��� ENTRANCE TO BOMB SHELTER BUILT IN THE 1960s LIFE -SUSTAINING EQUIPMENT DETERIORIATES SLOWLY IN THE DESERTED PEANUT ISLAND SHELTER } r Page 2—Supplement to The Post, Sunday, June 9, 1985 THE BIG FIRST "SUNDRY BROWN WRAPPER" ly. On either side of the door are small round protrusions that once contained instruments for monitor- ing the level of radiation in the atmosphere. That door opens to a 45-foot long, one yard wide, corrugated steel tunnel with guardrails. This passageway slopes downward and to the left; past a small room that once housed air filtering equipment but today contains only some emp- ty pipes. Straight ahead is a decon- tamination room, with shower hookup. Here survivors were to. disrobe, dispose of their street clothes down a chute marked "con- taminated clothing," take a shower, and don specially design- ed fallout suits of very heavy, dark green fabric. Helmet, gloves, and boots were included with each suit. The entire structure, painted a dull gray, is protected by steel and lead on the inside, concrete and soil on the outside. A second door, this one of lead and weighing 1,000 pounds, opens to the living1 quarters. The room has high h ceil- ings and measures roughly 25 b 40 feet. The shelter once had its own water storage tank, generator and chemical toilets. In a life and death situation, the spartan provisions stored in the diminutive facility could have sup- ported from 25-30 people with the barest necessities for up to about 30 days. The stock of food, like everything else about the shelter, was designed strictly with survi in mind. The austere pantry c tained dehydrated canned goods including ham, lima beans, and spaghetti. At the far end of the living quarters, a ladder leads to an emergency exit. Designed like a manhole with iron rail steps, the egress leads up about 30 feet to the top of the hill in which the shelter is buried. Although the shelter was built primarily with President Kennedy and his family in mind, it might also have been populated by Coast Guardsmen and their familie least those in close proximity the shelter at the Peanut Islan 'station. Interestingly enough, no special arrangements were made to *separate Kennedy from the others in the shelter. However, as one •ould expect, the shelter did con- tain sophisticated electronic com- munication equipment for the president, including phone jacks or hot line telephones. Had the un- hinkable, occurred, the president Supplement to The Post, Sunday, June 9, 1985—Page 3 THE BIG FIRST "SUNDAY BROWN WRAPPER" might have had to direct defense operations from that site. Apparently, in the case of attack thepresident and his arty were to � y be transported to the island b boat. A fast, small craft could make the trip from the Kennedy Compound in a very few minutes. Although some speculation that practice runs were made, it is like- ly that these never included the president himself. However, he did frequently visit Peanut Island, where the presidential family yachts were kept. An ex -naval officer himself, Ken- nedy took a keen interest in Coast Guard operations on the island. Even so, he may have never actual- ly entered the shelter that was built for him. For many years, the shelter was an exceedingly well kept, government -"classified" secret. U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy knew nothing of the shelter until it was listed by the government in disclosures of federal spending for previous presidents. After the death of J.F.K., the Secret Service came and cleared the shelter of its equipment. The shelter itself became just another item on a government list of excess property. A fence still surrounds the bunker and the area is posted. Island visitors still sometimes ha - p P en across the shelter. For most, it is certainly a less than awesome site, many are simply too young to fully realize the significance of its existence. Still others would prefer to simply forget the imminence of the threat that necessitated it. Conclusion