William Cummins sent this email regarding his duty during Operation Dominic.
From: cummins@insightbb.com
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
CC: williamdc@fuse.net
Subject: Inclusion in Dominic I listing
I just found the NAAV site and I almost fell over when I found your
Dominic listing. It brought back a lot of memories.
I was in the Marine Guard detachment on the USS Princeton during the
Dominic I test series.
I read an article in my local newspaper in 1986
about an organization of Atomic Veterans that told about the servicemen
who had been present during the tests were now becoming sick many years
later, due to the residual effects of the radiation they had been
exposed to from the detonations.
Within a year of my reading that
article, I became very sick from acute Anemia. From the newspaper
information, I very quickly informed my doctors that I had been exposed
to radiation in the bomb testing. They very quickly diagnosed me with
Multiple Myeloma. I went through two years of chemotherapy and due to
it's being caught very early, my cancer was arrested and I have been
alright now for six years.
I filed a VA claim and because my type of
cancer is listed as being presumtive, I was granted 100% in a period of
ten months. My DAV representative said that was a record for dealing
with the VA. I have been fighting with the VA now for years to list my
medical condition correctly in my medical records. For the first few
years, they showed my medical diagnosis as "Hypothroidism." After
fighting with all of the VA offices, including the regional and
Washington ones, I sent a letter to President Clinton and asked to have
my records to accurately record my case facts and diagnosis. Then my
records were changed to show my diagnosis as "Blood Disorder". That's
what it still shows.
Please respond back to me, when you have time. Please list me as a
crewmember on the Princeton during Dominic I. I would very much like to
hear from other members of the crew.
Sincerely
William D. Cummins
Naav State Commander, Kentucky
Email: williamdc@fuse.net
Keith Whittle
September 8, 1998
[ Operation Dominic 1 ]