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Being there...
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Being there...
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PRB1 - "Jelly Sol: Lunar Eclipse del Mar"
From a seagrass bed, a moon jelly (Aurelia aurita) eclipses the sun, Mosquito Pier, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2005.
PRB2 - "Aetobatus narinari"
Spotted eagle ray over shallow seagrass bed, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
PRB3 - "Spook"
A startled ray rises off a sandy bottom near the wreckage of the USS Killen DD593, Bahia Salina del Sur, Live Impact Area (LIA), Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
PRB4 - "Wary"
A watchful nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) rests in a crevice of coral and rubble, LIA, Vieques, 2003.
PRB5 - "Star"
A sea star on the base of Mosquito Pier, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2005.
PRB6 - "Red Tower"
A sponge rises above algal covered rocks, Mosquito Pier, Vieques, 2005.
PRB7 - "Beautiful Bugs: Life on Planet Nine"
“On the surface of the ocean, men wage war and destroy each other; but down here, just a few feet beneath the surface, there is a calm and peace, unmolested by man”
― Jules Verne
PRB8 - "Ronco Rayado Azul"
Blue striped grunt (Haemulon sciurus) inspect their reef, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
PRB9 - "Herald, Thy Name is Fish"
A trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus) hovers under a ledge, Culebra, 2003.
PRB10 - "Surgeons: Making Rounds"
Surgeonfish school by, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
PRB11 - "The Queen is Mad"
A queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula) over algae covered rubble, Live Impact Area, Vieques, 2003.
PRB12 - "Life in the Ruins"
Squirrelfish, blue tang, and other reef fish among the rubble and target range debris, Live Impact Area, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
PRB13 - "Reef Ordnance"
An un-exploded missile lies half buried in rubble on the reef, Live Impact Area (LIA) bombing range, Vieques, 2003.
An un-exploded missile lies half buried in rubble on the reef, Live Impact Area (LIA) bombing range, Vieques, 2003.
PRB14 - "Brain Trust"
Massive brain corals on the shallow margin of Bahia Salina del Sur, LIA, 2003.
Massive brain corals on the shallow margin of Bahia Salina del Sur, LIA, 2003.
PRB15 - "The 70's Live!"
Deep lime-green shag pile decorates 'lava lamp' pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindricus), Vieques, 2003.
Deep lime-green shag pile decorates 'lava lamp' pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindricus), Vieques, 2003.
PRB16 - "Blue in the Garden of the Gorgonians"
A blue chromis (Chromis cyanea) among a soft coral reef patch (Gorgonacea), Vieques, 2003.
A blue chromis (Chromis cyanea) among a soft coral reef patch (Gorgonacea), Vieques, 2003.
PRB17 - "Cryptic"
A trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus) becomes a frond on a Gorgonacean reef, Culebra, 2003.
A trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus) becomes a frond on a Gorgonacean reef, Culebra, 2003.
PRB18 - "Mars Attacks: Ack, Ack, Ack!"
A massive brain coral amid a rubble field of coral fragments, vicinity of LIA bombing range, Vieques, 2003.
A massive brain coral amid a rubble field of coral fragments, vicinity of LIA bombing range, Vieques, 2003.
PRB19 - "Idyllic: Peace"
Pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindricus) in a field of Gorgonaceans, Culebra, 2003.
Pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindricus) in a field of Gorgonaceans, Culebra, 2003.
PRB20 - "Rich"
A patch of reef reveals its diversity, Culebra, 2003.
A patch of reef reveals its diversity, Culebra, 2003.
PRB22 - "Monument"
A tower of mountainous star coral (Montastraea), Culebra, Puerto Rico, 2003.
A tower of mountainous star coral (Montastraea), Culebra, Puerto Rico, 2003.
PRB23 - "Thicket"
Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) 'bush' a the edge of a coral rubble patch, near old bombing range on Culebra, Puerto Rico, 2003.
Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) 'bush' a the edge of a coral rubble patch, near old bombing range on Culebra, Puerto Rico, 2003.
PRB24 - "Complexity"
An elkhorn coral formation (Acropora palmata) offers complex dimensional spaces on the reef, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
An elkhorn coral formation (Acropora palmata) offers complex dimensional spaces on the reef, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
PRB25 - "Reaching"
Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) in a field of soft corals (Gorgonaceans), Culebra, Puerto Rico, 2003.
Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) in a field of soft corals (Gorgonaceans), Culebra, Puerto Rico, 2003.
PRB26 - "To Touch the Face of the Beyond..."
Arms of an elkhorn (Acropora palmata) coral reach to the shifting sheen of the energetic sea surface, Culebra, Puerto Rico, 2003.
Arms of an elkhorn (Acropora palmata) coral reach to the shifting sheen of the energetic sea surface, Culebra, Puerto Rico, 2003.
About the Wreckage of the USS Killen DD593
Near the shore of the island of Vieques in a shallow bay, an enigma lies on the sandy seagrass covered seabed. The eastern end of the island where the bay is located was the Live Impact Area (LIA) bombing range the Navy used for over fifty years. Strewn across the land and the shallow near-shore waters are the remnants of various targets, impact craters, and pieces of ordnance in the form of unexploded shells, fragments, and bomb components. The USS Killen, one of those targets, is both an enigma and an anachronism. It is a construction of the Second World War, a waste product of the Cold War, a casualty of the Vietnam War, and a keeper of secrets. It is an import from far off events, existing now as a thing out of place.
The wreckage on the shallow Caribbean seafloor began as one of hundreds of fast, light Navy destroyers built for the War in the Pacific in the 1940's. The warship, commissioned as the "USS Killen", saw action and received battle stars for the bravery and action of its crew. Though damaged at times, the Killen survived the war intact. During the Cold War, the Killen served as a nuclear target ship in the Pacific Proving Grounds. During Operation Hardtack I, 1958, the ship took part in two underwater nuclear detonations, positioned in close proximity to ground zero. Radiological exposure charts and early readings by testing crews showed that the ship was significantly irradiated.
Two other sister ships in the nuclear tests, also Fletcher class destroyers, were eventually sunk in deep water off the eastern and western coasts of the US. The Killen, after being inspected and stress tested in the Chesapeak Bay, was towed fully intact to Puerto Rico in 1963 and used for target practice at the LIA bombing range on the island of Vieques until 1975 when it was sunk on site in that shallow bay.
During its years as a target ship, various parts were blasted and partially destroyed. Now, virtually all of the ship's steel that was once exposed to the fallout from the nuclear detonations (decking and superstructure) is missing from the wreckage and has never been accounted for. Hundreds of 55-gallon drums litter the wreckage of the ship. The origin of the drums and their contents have never been verified. The reason for their presence on the wreck has never been explained beyond speculation. Radiological testing of the wreckage did not probe deep enough and failed to both ask and answer key questions. The enigma remains.
"You put your life within three or four fingers' width of death, the thickness of the ship's wood hull."
- Diego Garcia de Palacios,
INSTRUCCION NAUTICA PARA NAVEGAR, 1587
KB1 - "Identity Lost: The Front Fell Off"
Bow of the USS Killen DD593 lying on its side and missing ship's number hull plates, Live Impact Area, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico 2003.
Bow of the USS Killen DD593 lying on its side and missing ship's number hull plates, Live Impact Area, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico 2003.
KB2 - "Fire Room"
Pair of boiler units from the aft 'fire room' (boiler room) at the wreck site of the USS Killen DD593, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
Pair of boiler units from the aft 'fire room' (boiler room) at the wreck site of the USS Killen DD593, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB3 - "The Shaft"
Propeller shaft rising from the wreckage of the USS Killen's port engine room, Bahia Salina del Sur, Live Impact Area (LIA), Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
Propeller shaft rising from the wreckage of the USS Killen's port engine room, Bahia Salina del Sur, Live Impact Area (LIA), Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB4 - "Habitat"
An algae covered 55-gallon drum supports some coral growths, wreckage of the USS Killen DD593, Live Impact Area, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
An algae covered 55-gallon drum supports some coral growths, wreckage of the USS Killen DD593, Live Impact Area, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB5 - "Dashing"
A squirrelfish sports a copepod crustacean hat, swimming over the wreckage of the USS Killen, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
A squirrelfish sports a copepod crustacean hat, swimming over the wreckage of the USS Killen, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB6 - "A Rolling Drum Gathers no Coral"
Corals, sponges, and algae colonize a 55-gallon drum partially buried in sand near the wreckage of the USS Killen, Live Impact Area, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico.
KB7 - "Exposure: In Case of Emergency"
A backup diesel engine at the wreckage of the USS Killen DD593, Live Impact Area, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
A backup diesel engine at the wreckage of the USS Killen DD593, Live Impact Area, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB8 - "Looming Reductionism: Synergetic Reef"
A reduction gear unit rises above the debris of the starboard engine room of the USS Killen DD539, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
A reduction gear unit rises above the debris of the starboard engine room of the USS Killen DD539, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB9 - "Can't get No Relief..."
Valves on top of one of the aft boilers encrusted with coral and algae (near the highest point of the wreck) with debris of the 'fire room' jumbled all about, Wreckage of the USS Killen DD593, Live Impact Area bombing range, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB10 - "A Bow: Waiting for a Final Act"
Bow compartment resting on its side, coral mounds growing on remaining hull plates, missing its hull from first belowdecks level to its gunwale and maindeck, USS Killen DD593, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
Bow compartment resting on its side, coral mounds growing on remaining hull plates, missing its hull from first belowdecks level to its gunwale and maindeck, USS Killen DD593, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB11 - "Multi-armed Enlightenment: Steel Drum"
A soft coral (Gorgonian) raises arms at the debris field of steel drums scattered near the bow of the USS Killen DD593, Bahia Salina del Sur,Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
A soft coral (Gorgonian) raises arms at the debris field of steel drums scattered near the bow of the USS Killen DD593, Bahia Salina del Sur,Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB12 - "A Heart Shaped Gouge: What Lies Within?
Algae covers a punctured 55-gallon drum, Wreckage of the USS Killen DD593, Live Impact Area, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
Algae covers a punctured 55-gallon drum, Wreckage of the USS Killen DD593, Live Impact Area, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB13 - "A Safe Place"
A smooth trunkfish (Lactophrys triqueter) finds refuge nooks of wreckage, over 55-gallon steel drum, USS Killen DD593, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
A smooth trunkfish (Lactophrys triqueter) finds refuge nooks of wreckage, over 55-gallon steel drum, USS Killen DD593, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB14 - "Salon de Beauté des Poissons Français d'Ange"
A French angelfish hides under algae covered deck plates on the wreckage of the ex-nuclear target ship, USS Killen DD593, Live Impact Area (LIA) bombing range, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
A French angelfish hides under algae covered deck plates on the wreckage of the ex-nuclear target ship, USS Killen DD593, Live Impact Area (LIA) bombing range, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
KB15 - "Vessel of Time: Looking Within, circa 2003"
Inside the detached bow compartment of the USS Killen DD593, ex-nuclear target ship, Live Impact Area (LIA) bombing range, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
Inside the detached bow compartment of the USS Killen DD593, ex-nuclear target ship, Live Impact Area (LIA) bombing range, Bahia Salina del Sur, Vieques, Puerto Rico, 2003.
Side note: The "Barge"
The wreck site of the USS Killen is missing the rear end of the ship: everything aft of the starboard engine room. Until they were corrected in 2003, the Navy referred to another wreck site, 787 feet away in the bay as "the barge." It turns out to have been the missing aft section separated from the rest of the Killen.
