The Disease of War

The health of returning veterans has been a prevalent issue ever since societies began to make war on one another. Whether veterans have been wounded in action, adversely affected psychologically and physically from the horrors of war, or affected by other unknown causes, government attempts to do what it can for its war heroes, and the United States is no different. But can the federal government do more?

Almost every family in America has had a veteran among its members. Our ancestors have fought skirmishes to gain independence for this country from Great Britain, fought against itself during the Civil War, and fought overseas for freedom as well as folly. Whatever the reason for war, once it is over, those who do not perish return home.

From the inception of our country onward, our government has tried to offer assistance to those who would fight for our freedoms. Disabled soldiers in the Revolutionary War were offered pensions by the Continental Congress. During the 19th century, veterans’ hospitals and home care facilities began popping up in many states across the country. World War I saw the federal expansion of benefits to include disability pensions, insurance, and job assistance. 1930 brought about the formation of the Veterans Administration, formally combining multiple federal agencies that were responsible for veterans care. The agency has exploded into a wide array of hospitals, homes, and clinics since World War II, even being elevated to a Cabinet-level position in 1989.

However, in the modern era, it seems that politics has gotten in the way of medical treatment. Many war veterans have felt as though the government has never done enough to help them in their time of need. The Vietnam War saw the widespread use of chemical herbicides to defoliate the landscape. Agent Orange, as one chemical was known, contained dioxins. Dioxins have since caused many of the veterans exposed to the chemical to have adverse health effects, ranging from diabetes to multiple forms of cancer. For a war that officially ended in 1973, it has been a painstakingly slow process for the federal government to even acknowledge the widespread use of the agent, and to acknowledge its disastrous health effects on the troops exposed to it.

A New Jersey commission formed in 1980 finally brought a scientific study to light in 1988 that showed elevated dioxin levels in Viet Nam combat veterans, proving that the causes of these diseases were simply not limited to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It took until the year 2000 for the VA to even acknowledge the use of the agent in other areas such as Korea, and even domestically in the United States and Canada. Even after these admissions were made, many veterans are still denied medical treatment by the VA.

As hard as it is for many Vietnam veterans to fight for treatment of diseases caused by a definite identified cause, things are even more difficult for the veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War conflict in Iraq. Over 250,000 veterans of the Gulf War have since experienced what has been termed Gulf War Syndrome, with a possibility of up to 11,000 deaths as a result of the illness. While many of the symptoms of Agent Orange exposure have been noted and added into a precise list, Gulf War Syndrome seems to be broader in its symptoms, and a definite source has not been identified. Chronic fatigue, GI problems, memory loss, and respiratory illness have all been experienced by US veterans, as well as veterans of other coalition countries involved in the war.

Possible causes have been limited to a number of probabilities, including an early version of the anthrax vaccine, disease caused by bacteria, depleted uranium ammunition, and the exposure to chemical agents such as mustard and nerve gases. As with Agent Orange, after many years of veterans having to fight with its government for treatment, many of the diseases associated with Gulf War Syndrome are now being recognized, but the problem still drags on. As late as 2006, studies were still being commissioned to investigate Gulf War Syndrome and determine its cause and effect.

The diseases related to Agent Orange and Gulf War Syndrome are only a couple of examples of the hardships our veterans have gone through. We now have a new crop of veterans being turned out every day from Iraq and Afghanistan. Many are reporting experiences similar to Gulf War Syndrome stemming from depleted uranium dust inhalation. Will our newest veterans have to go through the same song and dance with the government to finally receive the treatment they deserve after serving our country?

Politicians ultimately look at the bottom line, and the ever-increasing health care costs attributed to veterans' care are a sobering reality. Will the government move more quickly this time around, or will it remain stuck in the same slow pace that has plagued it for so many years? The future will reveal what lies ahead, but we should all remember, both today and in the upcoming 2008 election, that we have sick and dying veterans relying on us to make the right decisions.

Dedicated to the two most important veterans I ever knew: Seaman First Class Phillip L. Bell, my grandfather & WWII veteran; and Sergeant James Hodgkiss, my brother and Iraq War veteran.