Atomic Pilgrim: How Walking Thousands of Miles for Peace Led to Uncovering Some of America's Darkest Nuclear Secrets

James Patrick Thomas's path toward nuclear disarmament began on Good Friday, 1982, when he and his fellow peace pilgrims started walking away from the Trident Nuclear Submarine Base near Seattle. Their Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage would span 6,700 miles across the United States and nine other countries, each step aimed at ending the nuclear arms race.

After two years on the road, Jim continued his pursuit of peace and disarmament. Back in Spokane, Washington, Jim turned his attention toward the Hanford plutonium factory-one of the original Manhattan Project sites just 110 miles from his home. Over the next two decades, Jim helped uncover stunning revelations about Hanford's toxic regional impact and its role in our nation's nuclear weapons complex.

Atomic Pilgrim is the story of how one person's faith, actions, and persistence can impact seemingly immovable systems and hold even the most powerful bureaucracies to account.

Author: James Patrick Thomas
Publisher: Latah Books
Published: 07/16/2025
Pages: 286
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.66lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.25w x 0.64d
ISBN: 9781957607368

About the Author
Thomas, James Patrick: - "While serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Jim began advocating for nuclear disarmament as a member of the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage (1982-1983), a 6700-mile walk across the United States and nine other countries. He spent the next quarter-century investigating radioactive pollution from the production and testing of nuclear weapons, mostly focused on the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State. Throughout his Hanford involvement, Jim advocated for the downwinders, people exposed to harmful radiation releases. He organized a national coalition that forced the federal government to close Hanford's plutonium operations in 1990, served on several federal advisory committees concerning radiation health effects, and worked for ten years as a paralegal for the plaintiffs in the Hanford downwinders litigation. Jim directed life, justice and peace ministry for the Diocese of Spokane (1984-1987), the Archdiocese of Seattle (2007-2015), and the Washington State Catholic Conference (2015-2020). He has a master's in religious studies from Gonzaga University. His thesis examined the immorality of nuclear deterrence. He has visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki twice - in 1993 he spoke at an international conference on plutonium processing and in 2023 he accompanied Archbishops Paul Etienne and John Wester on their Pilgrimage of Peace. Jim is the author of Atomic Pilgrim (forthcoming July 2025), a memoir of the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage and his involvement on Hanford issues. He continues to work for peace and nuclear disarmament with local and national organizations. Jim and his wife Jan live in Seattle."