President Must Address Veterans' Side of Nuclear Nightmare
U.S. Newswire
18 Apr 16:47President Must Address Veteran's Side of Nuclear Nightmare
To: National Desk, Military Reporter
Contact:
Steve Thomas, 202-263-2982
Joe March, 317-630-1253
both of The American LegionWASHINGTON, April 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following statement by
Al Lance, national commander of the American Legion, was released
today by the American Legion:President Clinton says he wants to "right the wrongs of the past"
committed against factory workers who built America's nuclear
arsenal. To each civilian bomb maker suffering from cancers related
to radioactive exposure, the administration offers either a lump sum
payment of $100,000 or a medical treatment and job retraining
package.If medical records are lost, the sick worker gets compensated. If
there is uncertainty about the origin of the cancer, the sick worker
gets the benefit of the doubt.The government should have taken this approach years ago, with
respect to "atomic veterans" deliberately exposed to ionizing
radiation in nuclear tests conducted in the 1940s, '50s and '60s.
"Atomic veterans" wore badges that recorded their exposures so that
the government could determine the impact of radiation on the human
body. They fought two wars: one for freedom; the other for treatment
and compensation from the U.S. government, which for years denied a
relationship between these veterans' cancers and their radiation
exposure. As long as the government denied the illnesses were
service-connected, the government did not have to provide health care
and benefits to the sick veterans, thus prolonging agony and
hastening death.The American Legion fought alongside these veterans and
successfully represented a major claimant. Orville E. Kelly in 1979
was awarded disability compensation by the VA for his
radiation-linked cancer, a landmark case that set the stage for the
awarding of benefits to thousands of "atomic veterans."The American Legion also fought hard to persuade the government to
provide health care and compensation for "atomic veterans" suffering
from numerous cancers, including: thyroid, breast, lung, bone, liver,
skin, esophageal, stomach, colon, ovarian, rectal, prostate,
pancreatic, kidney, urinary bladder, salivary gland, multiple
myeloma, posterior subcapsular cataracts, non-malignant thyroid
nodular disease, parathyroid adenoma, tumors of the brain and central
nervous system, and lymphomas other than Hodgkin's disease.However, many sick veterans do not get the benefit of the doubt
that their conditions are service-connected and therefore rely on
American Legion service officers to help them travel an arduous road
to compensation. Some sick veterans are awarded health care and
benefits. Some are not.Many veterans whose claims slipped through the government's
cavernous cracks are now frail, elderly, and overwhelmed as much by
betrayal as illness. Further, there are conditions that Congress has
yet to make compensable for health care and benefits from the
Department of Veterans Affairs, including chronic lymphatic
(lymphocytic) leukemia.A White House panel poured over scientific studies of accelerated
cancer rates among civilian nuclear bomb makers. The case for
compensating civilian nuclear workers was compelling; no less
compelling than the recent cancer figures on patriots who in their
young adulthood followed orders and paid the price.An Institute of Medicine study released in October found a 50
percent higher leukemia-death rate among land-based military
personnel in the Nevada desert who participated in atomic
experiments, compared to land-based troops who did not. Death rates
for prostate and nasal cancers were upwards of 20 percent higher for
atomic-test participants, according to the IOM study.Science, once again, proved what The American Legion contended for
two generations, unfortunately through decades of government denials:
Ionizing radiation contributed to cancer in certain veterans.The American Legion, the nation's largest veterans organization,
is a long-standing advocate of compensation and health care for
"atomic veterans." As its national commander, I would stand proudly
with any administration that would announce a new position: That
ailing veterans henceforth exposed to radiation -- in any form --
will receive the benefit of the doubt that their illnesses are
service-connected. They will be provided hassle-free medical care
and just compensation in the Department of Veterans Affairs medical
and benefits systems.No denial. No compensatory shell games. Just the same treatment
the administration today extends to civilian victims of a nuclear
nightmare. That is what the men and women of The American Legion
want, and that is what our nation's veterans have earned.---
Al Lance is national commander of the 2.8-million member American
Legion, the nation's largest veterans organization./U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
04/18 16:47