National Atomic Veterans Day Date in the current year: July 16, 2026

Atomic veterans are former service members who were exposed to ionizing radiation at nuclear explosion sites during while on active duty. In the context of the United States Armed Forces, this includes veterans who participated in above-ground nuclear texts; were part of the U.S. occupation forces in or near Hiroshima or Nagasaki before 1946; or, in some cases, were held as POWs in or near Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

In 1942, the United States launched the now-famous Manhattan Project in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. The first detonation of a nuclear weapon, codenamed Trinity, occurred on July 16, 1945, in New Mexico. On the day of the test, 425 people were present at the site, most of whom were physicists working on the Manhattan Project or military personnel. Less than two months later, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Overall, the United States conducted more than 1,000 nuclear explosive tests between the 1945 Trinity test and the 1992 Divider test. Although nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater were banned in 1963, underground testing continued until the passage of the Hatfield-Exon-Mitchell Nuclear Moratorium Amendment in September 1992, which established the current moratorium on nuclear testing.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a public awareness campaign emerged seeking official recognition for service members affected by radiation exposure. Many atomic veterans believed that their service had been overlooked because much of their work remained classified for decades. As evidence accumulated linking radiation exposure to certain illnesses, veterans’ groups argued that atomic veterans deserved medical recognition and public acknowledgment.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan first designated July 16 as National Atomic Veterans’ Day to honor the approximately 220,000 American service members who witnessed or participated in nuclear weapons testing or served in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the post-WWII U.S. occupation of Japan. However, as such proclamations usually are, it was a one-time rather than a permanent annual observance.

Over the following decades, advocacy organizations representing atomic veterans continued to lobby for official recognition. In 1996, the law prohibiting former service members who had participated in above-ground nuclear tests from discussing their experiences with anyone, including their physicians, was finally repealed. This allowed them to receive disability benefits and medical care.

Finally, in 2021, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation for National Atomic Veterans Day. Several months later, Congress passed legislation that formally established National Atomic Veterans Day as a national observance, requiring the president to issue a proclamation every year.