Lieutenant James Carter, USN, was lowered repeatedly at the end of a rope into a runaway nuclear reactor in Canada to prevent a major disaster.

Lt. Carter was chosen for this duty as he was one of a handful of USN submariners familiar with nuclear reactors.

It took Lt. Carter a very long time to recover from his exposure to massive doses of radiation, and his lifelong health issues have been directly attributable to that.

Lieutenant Jimmy Carter celebrates his 100th birthday tomorrow.