Observers on the bridge of the USS Mt. McKinley watch a huge cloud mushroom over Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, July 1, 1946, following an atomic test blast as part of the U.S. military’s "Operation Crossroads." (Jack Rice/AP) In 1978, from my station at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, I received the order to deploy to the Marshall Islands to assist with the Enewetak Atoll Radiological Cleanup Project. I was assured that as part of this deployment, I would not receive any more radiation than I would from walking the streets of New York City. I worked 12-hour days, six days a week, digging up irradiated soil and drinking heavily irradiated water. Since returning, I’ve experienced myriad health problems, including sterility, autoimmune diseases, degenerative bone disease, and spinal stenosis. By the age of 40, I was told I had the bone structure of a ninety-year-old.
I am far from the only victim. The Departments of Veterans Affairs is overwhelmingly failing to care for those who served in nuclear-related operations, from U.S. nuclear testing to environmental cleanup, and now Congress is racing the clock to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) before it expires June 10. As the custodian of our national defense, Congress has a responsibility to care for the Americans, veterans and civilians alike, who risked life and limb to protect our fellow countrymen.
As the National Commander of the National Association of Atomic Veterans , I work with veterans whose lives were forever changed by exposure to radiation and other toxins. One thing that has remained stagnant since I began this advocacy 18 years ago is that the path to financial help is staggeringly difficult. Many veterans petition the VA for over a decade before receiving compensation. Even then, success is far from certain: from August 2022 to August 2023, the VA reportedly rejected 86% of radiation-related claims.
Radiation exposure is a triple whammy: the effects of radiation can take decades to appear, leaving aging veterans too sick to work, all while medical expenses are rising. Financial compensation through RECA, which comes in one lump sum, is […]
Time is running out to recognize, compensate aging atomic veterans
