Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 11/15/99

Dear Sgt. Shaft:
I am sure you are aware that personnel who were marched through the dust of an atomic bomb explosion back in the 1950s have been approved for prostate cancer coverage. In the '50s the official view was, "Radiation exposure is just like a sun burn."

At Camp Hanford, those civilians, mostly farmers, those called "down winders" have been approved medical protection for their exposure to radiation as a result of Chernobyl-type pile burps sending clouds of radioactivity down wind.

But what about the Army personnel who were on active duty and their families living in government housing in what is now called Richland, Washington? The 5th AAA Group defended Camp Hanford and the Atomic Works against enemy attack. In the 518th AAA 120mm Gun Battalion Headquarters and C Battery, we served downwind of the radio active iodine gaseous diffusion plant. The purple plume stretch a long way toward us, so much so that periodically personnel from the then Atomic Energy Commission (now Department of Energy) dressed in protective uniforms would sweep the area with Geiger counters measuring the fall out. Now and then they scooped up a shovel of soil placing it in a protective lead bags. We breathed that air, worked in the dust, and used swamp coolers in our buildings. Camp Hanford has a desert type climate.

Battery B of the 518th was on the inner defense circle and within a short distance of the atomic piles on the Columbia River. Here the pile burps sent a cloud over the battery dropping its radioactivity all around.

The men of the 5th Group and in specific the 518th AAA 120mm Gun Battalion have never been given the same treatment as those who marched in the dust or the "down winders." Now, DOE has proof that the workers at Oak Ridge suffer from radiation poisoning. Our prostate cancers are just as real as those who marched in the dust. Our families who lived down wind need the same consideration as those "down winders" who have been given consideration. Is there anything you can do for those who served at Camp Hanford?

Dr. JWG
Springfield, VA

Dear Dr. JWG:
"A veterans population dying at an accelerated rate from cancers linked to radiation exposure must be provided with medical treatment and compensation by the federal government," said Al Lance, national commander of the 2.8 million member American Legion. In a recent study by the Institute of Medicine, American veterans who participated in nuclear tests in the 1940s, '50s and '60s were proved to be at a greater risk of cancer death. The findings: 50 percent higher leukemia death rates among land-based military personnel in the Nevada desert who participated in atomic experiments, compared to land-based troops who did not; and death rates for prostate and nasal cancers upward of 20 percent higher for atomic test participants. As the old adage goes, "Where there’s smoke, there’s fire," and this scientific evidence shows that you and those stationed at Camp Hanford in Richland, Washington, should also be evaluated by the Institute of Medicine.

Dear Sgt. Shaft:
I just want to thank you for your assistance in helping me obtain my Dad’s medals from World War II. You very kindly put me in touch with Mr. Dick Schneider at the Non Commissioned Officers Association, who went the extra mile to ensure that my mom was able to present the medals to my Dad at their 50^th wedding anniversary party last month. It was a wonderful moment.

It is not an understatement at all to say that without your help, that moment would not have been possible. Many, many thanks from the bottom of my heart.

Janet Walker
Burke, VA

Dear Janet:
It is a letter like yours and resources like friend Dick Schneider that makes writing this column enjoyable and worthwhile.

Dear Sarge:
I am always fascinated by the veterans who visit the VA Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, where I work. While walking through the lobby, I spotted an elderly veteran standing in front of a drinking fountain, with a look of dismay on his face and a shiny object in his hand. As I approached, I asked whether I might assist him. He turned and, holding the object between finger and thumb, asked, "How do they expect me to take this thing?" Barely able to contain myself, I replied, "In the first place, you are starting at the wrong end, and in the second place, you might want to take the foil off." Suppositories will never look the same to me again.

Eldon Harmon
Phoenix, AZ

Shaft Kudo
The VA Alumni Association will hold its annual Holiday Luncheon on December 9 at the Pier 7 Restaurant. Happy hour begins at 11:30 a.m., followed by lunch at noon. President Jim Fischl is asking all members to bring a non-perishable food item for distribution to needy families during the holiday season. The meeting will feature a host of door prizes and good fellowship. The Sarge is looking forward to addressing this distinguished group of retirees, many of them old friends. For information on the luncheon, or on joining the association, contact Leon Sanchez at 703-451-7529.

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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