A Man Wins His Final Gulf War Battle

I know a man; call him Randy. He just won a big important gulf war battle. Yes, that war is still going on for many. Randy is broken and diseased in many respects, but now he can live the rest of his life with a semblance of peace. The VA finally came through, and for this there is great appreciation. He never lost his personal dignity or his respect for the system. He is a deserving patriot.

Randy drove a truck for the724th Transport Group, attached to the 7^th Calvary. First, he drove a water truck supplying Log Base Alpha (October through December 1990). Then on the first days of 1991, the group relocated to Log Base Charlie and began providing fuel for front line operations. Driving the truck routes exposed Randy to varying degrees of contaminated air from battle field explosions.

Outside their tents on January 7^th 1991 at 6AM, Randy and others heard loud SCUD explosions and saw clouds form over the adjacent battle site. This cloud rolled over Log Base Charlie amid confusion about what to do. On another day that same month, Randy and others were in a commissary at Log Base Charlie, when a SCUD explosion rattled things off the shelves. Again, there was confusion regarding who had masks, whether they were necessary, and what needed to be reported.

A Litany of Personal Battles

Immediately after his honorable discharge, this man’s friends and family knew something was amiss. It was easy to think it was just the passing shock of war. No one anticipated how long it would last or how bad it would get. 

After the war, Randy worked and was able to buy a meager little house in small town Illinois. But over time, Randy’s ability to walk and work and engage with others degenerated. He has a long list of service-related problems; basically, most of the things you can see if you google “gulf war syndrome”. He was left with unnatural physical and mental disabilities. He became unable to keep a schedule but managed to do simple things to keep his home and life just barely afloat. The more his health deteriorates, the more he stays in one spot alone on the couch. 

This man’s routine health care has been provided by VA Medical, and for that he has always been grateful; it’s been decent if sometimes sporadic. This included repeated tests for drugs and alcohol which were never positive. Only sarin gas exposure can account the health problems he suffers, but there has been a lot in the way of arriving at that conclusion, and any associated relief. Changing doctors, changing descriptions and understanding of what is and isn’t covered. Various analyses of what is and isn’t primary. An incredible array of options on what to do to get relief. He did apply for disability help, to no avail. Late, slow, or encumbered ability to make their claims does not render men like him unworthy. 

Randy’s Final Gulf War Battle

Except for war travel and a stint as a truck driver when he traversed the Midwest, Randy has never much been away from his sleepy Illinois town. And in recent years, he’s more and more locked down to his spot on the couch. Over time the far-from-fancy little house has crumbled to the point you can see light coming through the walls, and the floor tends to give way. Still, he is not willing to leave. 

This man is non-assuming, not wanting to find fault, and is uncomfortable even asking for help. Recently his family prompted and helped him petition for assistance. The VA is both intimidating and the last stop for many veterans. The VA is a big impersonal machine, and veterans are often simply not capable of working through the maze.

The advice going in was not to give up. For this go-round, though it made Randy uncomfortable, Illinois Senator Dave Koehler and US Senator Tammy Duckworth were made aware. All along there has been the question of whether he would get help before he simply passed away.

The Win

It’s not clear what made the difference, but in a moment of caring candor, there was a verbal concession that, ‘it’s time’. It took nearly a year, and the award is not yet fully understood, but financial help did come. It brings with it tremendous joy and relief. 

The VA has struggled long and hard to provide services for American soldiers. It’s an expensive cost of the war economy. Now, as the US considers new war probability, the ability to deliver for veterans might be even further stretched. 

Even though the VA’s award came late and is not necessarily reflective of all that he deserves, he is finally one of the lucky ones. Sadly, Randy’s story doesn’t seem that unique or isolated. But this man can now get by, and even smile a little; there is some justice in that.