Operation Greenhouse
1951
US Atomic Veterans
M.H. "Mo" Ingram
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001
Subject: Letter to Congressman
Nethercutt.
From: normain@juno.com
US Rep. Nethercutt has an office in Spokane, and his home is here
too. He has a representative there for veterans, another for military,
etc. We have been in touch with the Vet's rep there, who seems to be a
"live wire." He knows about Atomic Veterans, but not as much as he
would like. He would like to know more about Atomic Veterans in other
countries, as well as what's going on in our country. So, of course, we
sent him some of the meaty things from the e-Nuclear News and some misc
info.
Pasted below is a copy of the letter Mo wrote to Congressman
Nethercutt.
Take good care of yourself,
Mo & Norma
---------------------------------------------
Rep. George Nethercutt
July 13, 2001
920 W. Riverside Drive
Spokane, WA 99201
Re: Atomic Veteran M.H.Ingram
Attention: Don Gillespie
File:
Dear Rep Nethercutt:
In March of 1950 while in the Army I was sent to Eniwetok Atoll of the
Marshall Islands, where I remained through early June 1951. I was
assigned to participate in a joint mission of the Atomic Energy
Commission and the Military. Upon arrival the Atoll was barren. The
land and water had already been contaminated with radiation from three
A-Bomb tests done there in 1946. It took over a year to build up the
place in preparation for more A-Bomb testings, as well as for components
of the H-Bomb. Then four more tests were made there in April and May
1951. As part of the experiments I was among those who were chosen to
lay out in the open on the sands of the beach, with no protection from
the tremendous fallouts. The fourth test was "Shot Item." It was a bad
one, and to this day parts of what happened then are still classified.
Following is a summary of my Disability Claims:
2 Feb 1994 -- First CLAIM was filed. Skin Cancers.
2 Oct 1995 -- Received Denial of 1st Claim, one year + 8 mos after
it was filed. Reason given: "The VA exam shows no evidence of skin
cancer." (There was definite evidence submitted by VA and other Doctors.
VA must have misplaced it.)
Then the claim was reopened with some new evidence.
12 Aug 1997 -- Rec'd 2nd Denial of 1st Claim. Reason given: The
skin cancers were not "Likely" to be related to the Veteran's""Actual"
radiation exposure.
Note: This 1st Claim had nothing done on it for almost 3 years,
and then it took 8 months more to the final denial (Total: 3yrs, 8mos and
10 days.)
================================================
We gave up after the above denials, until we found out that
diseases treated by private doctors might be acceptable as evidence.
28 Dec 1998 -- 2nd Claim was filed. This time in included the
fatigue of Hypersomnia, and an unbroken record of treatments, which began
soon after returning to the U.S.
8 Feb 2000 -- 1st Denial of 2nd Claim was received. Reason:
"Not well grounded."
11 April 2000 -- 2nd Denial of 2nd Claim. Reason: "Not well
grounded."
An APPEAL of above Denial was filed 21 May 2000.
There are several other health conditions mentioned in the 1st and 2nd
Disability Claims, but all were denied. We then focused on Skin Cancers
and Hypersomnia. Sleep apnea, cataracts, heart disease and more were
mentioned but denied, and we did not specifically pursue them further.
2 Feb 2000 -- A 3rd CLAIM, for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) during WW11, was filed on my behalf by a Rept of the Disabled
American Veterans here in Spokane. To date we still do not know if the
VA has done anything on that yet.
Still Pending To Date Are: The 2nd Claim as well as the Appeal
of it, which was also delayed for some weeks by being "misplaced" at the
VA Office.
Recap: Total time from filing of 1st Claim on 2 Feb 1994 to 2nd
Denial of 2nd Claim is: 7 Years, 1 Month & 9 days.
The total above time does include the time when we gave up on the
lst Claim. It was 12 months when we did not Appeal, plus 4 months before
we filed the 2nd Claim with new evidence.
After returning in June of 1951 from A-Bombing testings at
Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands, I began to suffer with such
fatigue that I had to take a controlled medicine for many years in order
to function almost normally and earn a good living.
It all led to comprehensive research at Stanford University Sleep
Disorder Center in 1978-79. At that time a firm diagnosis of Tentative
Idiopathic Hypersomnia was made. VA doctors and disability claim
officers apparently do not know what that means.
The word Hypersomnia means Abnormal Fatigue. Idiopathic means
no cause for it could be found. Tentative means the diagnosis will
remain the same until a cause is found. Hypersomnia is a primary disease
not following any other disease, and not caused by any other disease.
The specialist Doctor at Stanford wanted another grant for further
research in an attempt to find a cause
but could not get it then, and we could not afford it. This is well
documented.
Comments:
In March 1986 the Defense Reduction Agency (DRA) of Alexandria,
VA sent to the VA Regional Offices, including the Seattle officae, a
Nuclear Test Personnel Review Dose-Reconstruction Report. This was an
Estimate made by government-approved scientists, who claimed that it was
an accurate measure of Average Radiation Exposure Doses. They declared
3.9 rem (radiation equivalent in man), with an upper bound of 4.5 rem to
be Too Little to Cause Any illnesses. They arbitrarily set those
figures, and apply them to every individual who was in the entire area of
Eniwetok Atoll.
It is an Estimated Average, but yet is referred to as the "Actual
Exposure" in the denials of Veterans' Claims. The estimate became the
authority for blanket denials for the whole area. The accuracy of the
estimate is strongly disputed by Many distinguished independent
scientists, including John W. Gofman, MD, PhD, a Nobel Prize winner--an
expert authority on radiation induced cancer even from Low Dose Exposure.
Because the DRA notified the VA Regional Offices of the set
estimate in March 1986, it seems that all needed then to process a
disability claim would be verification of the Veteran's place of
assignment. The reason is that the Estimate could be used as an
authorization for blanket refusals of any claims. Then what was the use
of the constant requirements for Veterans to furnish more and more
medical and other evidences, as well as proof of the exact time and place
their disability began?
The Circumstantial Evidence the Veteran submits as well as the
authenticity of his own word, form a much stronger foundation upon which
to base a judgement than does a Questionable Estimate which has a
foundation based upon presumptions such as--not probable, unlikely, our
opinion, seems like, incomplete information, most likely not, etc.
Sincerely
M.H. "Mo" Ingram
2815 E. Eloika Lake Rd
Deer Park, WA 99006-9141
Phone 509-276-6007
normain@juno.com
--Keith Whittle
March 29, 1999
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