Happy Birthday Danelle

Happy Birthday Danelle

My wish this year is that you

are blessed with good health,

happy times,

a love filled life.

God Bless You Sweetie

I love you!

My Quest For Justice

You have heard the song; "Climb Every Mountain, ford every stream.......". I must confess that that is what I felt like from April until August of this year. I wrote a piece in April about Atomic Veterans and their plight. And from that point on, it was my quest to hold accountable those persons responsible for the exposure to radiation that my husband Gary got while he served in the US Navy. You see I believed with every fiber of my soul, that the cancer that he suffered and died from was a direct result of his exposure to radiation during his duties in the South Pacific. I can remember not long after he died, I made the comment, that I wondered if his participation in the atomic testing in 1962 played a part in his cancer, and I remember that my oldest son asked the question.."what are you going to do Mom, sue the Federal Government?" I find that somewhat funny now. When the secrecy pact was lifted for those who participated in the tests, a group of veterans started their own quest to work and make sure that those who participated were honored for their duty to their country.

When I started this, I was afraid to pursue it. That's the honest truth. I didn't know where to start who did I contact first, where would I get all of this documentation I needed. The form was 18 pages, with lists of what supporting data they needed. So, I made my own list and I started from the top. I wrote first for his military records. It took from April to July to get them. Then I pursued his oncologist. No help there. I must say at this point I was very disappointed in that doctor. The hospital where his treatment and last surgery took place is no more. I could not get those records. So, I thought that all was lost. But my wonderful friend Gary Thornton, said try the medical center where the original surgery and diagnosis took place. So I sat down wrote them a letter listing every single thing I needed. A wonderful clerk called me and said she couldn't help me unless I could prove I was entitled to the records. I asked how would I do that. She said did he leave a will. WELL, after 7 years, I had destroyed it. So then I had to call the attorney who made the will and praise the Lord he had a copy. Sent one to me and faxed one to the medical center. In a few days, I received those records. It was really hard to read them. It stirred up lots of memories of a bad time. But, I will say the surgeon of record was very thorough in his documentation of what he did during the surgery. I could even tell you what type of stuff they used to sew up the wound. I decided then that I would write to this doctor to see if he would write a letter stating only the facts of the cancer and so forth. Well, this doctor was absolutely wonderful and his letter was so full of facts, it was unbelievable. Then I went to a former ship mate to see if he would write a letter to verify the fact they served together during the tests. He did and so I was armed with that too. There were so many pieces of documents, I can't believe I kept them straight. But the long and short of this is On August 20, 2009 I mailed the package to the Department of Justice for consideration. I sent it overnight, and they signed for it at high noon on August 21, 2009. One week later I had two letters from them. One was the return of the original birth, marriage, death etc certificates. The second was a letter introducing me to the person handling my claim with a claim number to refer to if I needed to contact them. The letter also wanted me to understand that the claim could take up to a year to process. Now I give you all this information so that you understand, this was a high mountain to climb, and those streams were deep. But I made it through it all, and by the grace of God, they OWNED the responsibility and approved my claim for recognition for my handsome sailor. I fought the war and I WON!! It took only 4 days shy of 2 months for them to come to their decision. You have no idea of the nay sayers I encountered, I don't think that very many of them understood the gravity of it all. Maybe they had it in their minds that I was off on some tangent, who knows, and that's okay. I can forgive them I guess, because my immediate family are the winners here. People get all wrapped up in their tiny worlds, and don't take the time to understand what's outside. I don't know maybe some just think that , those type of things happen elsewhere. I knew in my heart that what I was doing was right. It finally gives me closure as to why. Those that supported my quest will forever be in my debt. I could not have done it with out the veterans who pushed me forward, the friends that listened to me whine, when I took two steps backward, before I took one forward. And not to forget my wonderful sons, their wives and my grandchildren they understood my passion to do this and finish it. My Gary is a hero, and that's the bottom line here. I know that when I opened that letter and it said " I am pleased to inform you that your claim has been approved", Gary was smiling down on me and saying job well done Nanny, and that's the most important thing in all of this. HE WOULD HAVE APPROVED OF THE QUEST!!!!