The Burden of Loyalty

This story is as much about 205,000 military veterans as it is about one vet who decided to take a stand.

But it was the story of this one vet that brought the image home. The headline read:

Thwarted Warrior: Depleted Uranium and the Mystery of Sick and Dying Gulf War Vets (by Robert Koehler, Chicago-based journalist & editor at Tribune Media Services)

Douglas Rokke — named after his father’s hero, Gen. Douglas MacArthur — devoted 40 years of his life to the military, retiring with the rank of major. He is a veteran of both Vietnam (two tours of duty) and Gulf War 1.

He headed a crew that cleaned up the aftermath of Desert Storm, including readying U.S. tanks to be sent back to the States, which meant, inevitably, breathing the ultra-fine dust of exploded depleted-uranium munitions.

“Today, his entire crew is either sick or dead,” the story reported.

Doug’s illnesses didn’t immediately surface. After his cleanup duty, he was called upon to head the U.S. Army Depleted Uranium Project. It was here where he became one of the world’s leading experts on depleted uranium, and ultimately one of it’s most outspoken critics.

According to the Veterans Administration in November 2006, one third of the total number of vets who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan have sought medical care. 205,000 people.

35,765 vets sought care for injuries.

67,743 vets fit in the category of “ill-defined,” or mystery conditions. The remaining had malignant tumors, endocrinal and metabolic diseases, nervous system diseases, digestive system diseases, musculoskeletal diseases and mental disorders.

Numerous questions about this data flit about in my head. Why are these G.I.s getting sick? And, what about the Iraqis? If our vets are sick, you can bet they are, too. And probably in more staggering numbers, if you compare health-care systems.

Rokke said that not a day goes by “when I don’t get a phone call, letter, e-mail or knock on the door from (a vet) needing help — medical care.”

As the writer of this story noted: “The best of America is serving the worst.”

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

"The Burden of Loyalty" (2007)
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