Poor title, sorry. I recall watching a segment somewhere on aging troops that had been ordered by their commanding officers to fly through mushroom clouds made by Nevada nuclear testing to see what effects the nuclear bomb may have.

Am I way off base?

I don't remember this segment.

I do personally know a WWII vet who was on a U.S. Navy ship just off Bikini Island when they tested the atom bomb. The Navy left the sailors completely exposed. He's blind and has had cancer multiple times because of the effects of radiation. I'm not sure if UM actually did do a segment, but it's not a mystery to me.

This sounds really familiar to me. I think I do recall something about this. But unfortunately it's just a vague memory.