Today is the launch of a campaign to help. See video: http://www.Rally.org/NeverForgotten.
After
serving their country, these service members went from enjoying young,
healthy lives to suffering life-altering illnesses, ranging from
leukemia to eye sight loss. Sadly, DoD and VA refuse to pay these
medical costs. While officials acknowledge broad nuclear radiation
exposure, they insist no sailors were exposed enough to suffer symptoms.
"The
system is running away from them, but this is exactly the time that we,
as Americans, should be running toward them," said campaign organizer
Lt Col (Res) Eric Egland,
founder and volunteer president of national 501(c)3 charity Troops Need
You, who also served on the ground in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
"This is a chance to put 'Love thy Neighbor' into action."
"They
just want what any of us would want--standard medical care for
radiation-related symptoms, and funds raised are specifically for those
costs," he added.
These former servicemembers are a few of the American faces of Fukushima:
1. Senior Chief Mike Sebourn (Naval Air Base Atsugi, Japan)"This has destroyed my marriage, basically ruined my life," said Mike, a radiation-decontamination officer, who led efforts to measure and reduce radiation. "The detector in my hand read a level over four times that requiring a full mylar suit and respirator--yet I was given only gloves!" Mike needs neurological medical consultations and nerve conductivity testing.
2. Marine Private Nathan Piekutowski (USS Essex)"I
volunteered to go to shore and pass out water," he said. Soon after his
exposure to nuclear radiation, the previously healthy 21-year-old lost
eyesight, developed leukemia and recently underwent a bone marrow
transplant. "I need help with medical expenses," he said. "These
treatments are expensive and last a long time."
3. Petty Officer Lindsay Cooper (USS Reagan) "We
didn't know there was a radiation risk," she said. After cleaning
radiation from the ship's deck, she now suffers from multiple symptoms,
and needs to see medical specialists in radiation, thyroid, and
fertility. The single mother of a four-year-old daughter added, "I'm
afraid to go back to the doctor, but I know I need to go. I just can't
afford it."
Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea3MsqddFWw
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140304/DC76490LOGO
SOURCE Troops Need YouLogo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140304/DC76490LOGO
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