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| I had radioed this information into the TOC, and was told not to bother them about such trivial things, they had more important things on their minds then dead animals and insects. This happened on the second and third day of the war, at the end of the forth day, when the war had ended I was able to take my boots off to change socks and boots. That is when I was surprised and scared at what I observed on my ankles and the tops of my feet, both of my feet and ankles had what appeared to be first and second degree burns. I had the medic come and look at them, he didn't know what caused it, but cleaned and dressed both of my feet and ankles, and changed the dressing every day until the were healed. That was the start of all the things that have gone wrong with me since........ I first started a mood swings that was not explainable while I was in the SWA this started just after the war had ended, then by the time I returned to Germany and to my family I was in a constant state of sweating day and night, and I had opened sores all over my arms, neck, head, and face. Not to forget the groan infection that I had for almost four months prior to returning to Germany, I also started to gain weight at a high rate. In three months, I gained over thirty five pounds, and was only eating one meal a day. My wife, bless her heart, she had noticed that I was not the same, as I was before I left her six months prior, she said that I was starting to act like a seventy year old man in the way I walked and acted around the house with her and the children. I told her that I was just tired all the time, and that it was a short term thing, that my body was just catching up with itself now that I didn't have to work fourteen hours a day, seven days a week. When we returned to the states I was still feeling bad, and I told my wife that I would see a doctor when we got to our new assignment. By then I was starting to have slight pains in my joints and in my lower legs, when I got to see a doctor he took a look at me and said, "It's only your age and the fact that you smoke", which really ticked me off. I knew something was changing in my body, and it wasn't a natural change in my system, this was happening in a few months after returning from SWA. Just after seeing that doctor I was told through the grapevine, that President Bush had signed some sort of legislation in February, 1991 (Executive Order 12751, dated 14 February 1991), to find out what was going on with the health of all the returning veterans from SWA. I went to the Army hospital to ask if I could be checked out by them, and I referenced what President Bush had just signed a couple months prior. Well they got a little jumpy, and they referred me to the local VA Hospital here in town for assistance in this matter. Boy!, were they wrong, when I went to the VA hospital representative for information at the hospital, and told her that I was sent over by the Army hospital for the physical, she blew a cork. After she calmed down, and we had time to know each other, she explained what was going on with the legislation that was signed in February 1991. It was the responsibility of the Armed Forces to setup and administer the physical's of all personnel who were in SWA, and to treat them for their problems. This all started in March and April 1992 for me and what transpired in the next four year after were a nightmare for me. I have had two biopsy's performed, given over a half gallon of my blood for tests, have had over two hundred x-rays taken, and have been subjected to being poked and prodded, pushed and pulled, and stuck with hundreds of needles. And in all of this, I was almost profiled out of the service twice for injuries sustained from over twenty five plus years of honorable service for my country, not for what happened to me in the war. When I finally had to be medically boarded, from the results of the C.C.E.P. physical, I was almost in tears when my counselor at the hospital showed me what was to go before the board. I think with all that is going on now with all the lying about the Chemical and Bio-Chemicals that were in Iraq and Kuwait and the denial of the DoD and the Pentagon that no chemicals were used in the Persian Gulf War, and that now chemical weapons were used and/or found in the Kuwait Theater of Operations by Iraq I would say it is about time that we all join forces once again, and fight like we never have before - Don't let the government run our lives and ruin our HEALTH and our FAMILIES. |
