Honoring veterans with mesothelioma on Coast Guard Day

The U.S. Coast Guard was founded on August 4, 1790. (Photo from Robin Storm's blog)

The United States Coast Guard was founded in 1790 to enforce tax laws, but over two centuries, it has grown into the only branch of the military that "protects the maritime economy and the environment, defends our maritime borders, and saves those in peril." As we near August 4, Coast Guard Day, we reflect on those who served in the USCG who have put their own lives in peril through asbestos exposure on military vessels.

As the only branch of the military besides the Marines to retain its own day after the creation of the Department of Defense in 1949 (see this Department of Defense article for an interesting history of Armed Forces Day and the creation of the DoD), the Coast Guard occupy a unique position within the US Armed Forces. Sadly, like every other branch of the military, some Coast Guard veterans have developed mesothelioma from their asbestos exposure during their service.

The bravery of the men and women who have served in the Coast Guard is the stuff of legend, and the unique position they occupy--as guardians of the borders, and protectors of the economy and environment as it pertains to the sea--is best summed up the U.S. Coast Guard's Historian's Office:

 The U. S. Coast Guard is simultaneously and at all times an armed force and federal law enforcement agency dedicated to safety, security, and stewardship missions. We save lives. We protect the environment. We defend the homeland. We enforce Federal laws on the high seas, the nation's coastal waters and its inland waterways. We are unique in the Nation and the world.

Though Coast Guard Day is "primarily an internal activity for active duty Coast Guard personnel, civilian members, reservists, retirees, auxiliarists, and dependents," it should be observed by everyone who benefits from the services the USCG  provides. Grand Haven, Michigan sponsors the Coast Guard Festival every year around August 4. The DoD describes the festival as "the largest community celebration of a branch of the Armed Forces in the nation."

Two U.S. COast Guards rescue a puppy. (Photo from USmilitary.com)

This Coast Guard Day, remember the active duty and retired Coast Guard members that serve and have served our country, protecting its borders, commerce, environment and more, sometimes sacrificing their lives for our safety, serving with the Navy during wartime. Thank you, Coast Guards, for all you do for us.

Memorial Day: a time to remember, celebrate, and give thanks

This Memorial Day, we celebrate with block parties, barbecues, parades and picnics, as we have for years. But celebrating is not enough. The holiday began after the Civil War, as America was piecing itself back together--though exactly when and where it began is the subject of much debate. According to the VA, Memorial Day began as Decoration Day in 1868:

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

Many communities throughout the country claim to have been the first to observe Memorial Day:

Today, cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., claims it began there two years earlier. A stone in a Carbondale, Ill., cemetery carries the statement that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866. Carbondale was the wartime home of Gen. Logan. Approximately 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South where most of the war dead were buried.

 It does not matter where the first Memorial Day was celebrated. What matters is what we celebrate on Memorial Day: our freedom, and the people who served the United States to protect those freedoms. 

Gratitude is the reason for the day, whether you remember the men and women who served our country with a moment of silence at 3PM or by any other of the many traditions surrounding Memorial Day (such as with poppies, which became a tradition after the First World War).

Along with the young men and women who lost their lives in battle, there are veterans who still die for their country, though it may decades since they were on active duty. Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases disproportionately affects veterans, because of the amount of asbestos that was once used in  battleships, planes, military vehicles, and other products that enlisted men and women handled. 

Celebrate Memorial Day with your community, honor those who have fallen in service to our country, and if you are a veteran, make sure you ask your doctor about the risks associated with asbestos exposure. Early detection is one of the best methods we have to fight mesothelioma, asbestos cancer, and asbestos diseases. 

Last home of Steve McQueen--Marine Veteran who died of mesothelioma--for sale

In a bit of news not directly connected to veterans with mesothelioma, the last home of actor and USMC veteran Steve McQueen, who died of mesothelioma, is now for sale. Fox News' entertainment blog reports that the Santa Paula ranch McQueen moved into in 1979 is on the market. The 15.33 acre ranch's features reflect McQueen's interest in all forms of transportation. A site selling McQueens' ranch, airplane hangar and property says:

McQueen, who became one of the world's highest-paid actors in the 1960s, honed an image of toughness in such noted films as "Bullitt," "The Great Escape," and "The Cincinnati Kid." 

But he started turning down most roles in the 1970s, focusing instead on auto and motorcycle racing and traveling the back roads of the West. He purchased two vintage Stearman biplanes and persuaded a Santa Paula local to become his flight instructor.

McQueen's interests in planes, motorcycles and automobiles provided opportunities for asbestos exposure, but malignant mesothelioma takes years to develop, and McQueen was not able to spend much time racing and flying until the 1970's. It was his exposure to asbestos in the 1950's, while working on pipes as punishment during his time in the Marines. In an interview with The Mirror, a British newspaper, McQueen's widow Barbara talks about her late husband's asbestos exposure:

Medics at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles - "wanting to look under the hood", as Steve put it - found tumors in his right lung. They mentioned mesothelioma and said it was incurable and not treatable. Steve was told he had only months to live.  

He told the doctors he wore asbestos-lined racing suits to ride motorbikes. He remembered joining the Marines at 16, getting drunk and being made to clean asbestos-lined pipes as punishment. He also recalled blowing up a can of beans and being made to strip asbestos lagging from yet more pipes.

"He didn't talk about it much," said Barbara in a recent interview with campaigning Californian lawyer Roger Worthington. "But I have a tape recording in which he was asked just before he died what caused his mesothelioma. 

He said: 'Asbestos'."

Barbara, who lived with the famous actor, motorcyclist and veteran in the Santa Paula ranch, was 27 when her husband died. She gave the interview to show solidarity with the men and women who were exposed to asbestos, and their grieving families:

"Disgusting" is how Barbara describes the firms who knew decades ago that asbestos could cause cancer, yet continued to produce it in vast quantities.

Were it not for Steve McQueen's exposure to asbestos as a young man in the Marine Corps, he might still be alive, flying his plane, driving his cars, or simply enjoying retirement on his Santa Paula ranch. But like many veterans, his asbestos exposure led to mesothelioma, and his life was cut short.

Veterans with Mesothelioma: what the problem is, and what we can do

I drank swamp water with iodine and grape flavored powder, watched the stars come out as we were waist-deep in muddy water, dreamed about having a pair of clean, dry socks—almost as important as clean water when you're on a march. I saw a lot of men die, and I don't particularly want to talk about that. 

I want to talk about what my time in the Marines is doing to me now. Men who worked with asbestos all the time, the guys who fixed the ships, they get the asbestosis. I only was exposed to asbestos once in a while. But that's all it takes to give you mesothelioma, what I have now. I risked my life for this country, I didn't risk it so they could give me cancer forty years later.

It only takes one bullet to kill a man, and it only takes a little bit of asbestos to kill a man (over a long period of time). But the killing takes its time. Everyone who enlists or was drafted for service knows the stakes—or they think they do. They tell you you will risk your life for everyone's freedom and safety, but they don't tell you that risk goes on long after the risk from enemy fire is gone.

You didn't have to be on the front lines for the military to put your life on the line

Whether you were in the line of fire, or fixed ships or planes, you were part of America's first line of defense, and have earned the respect that comes with being a veteran. Asbestos exposure may have been part of your military service, but you were not told about the often lethal effects of asbestos, if you were even told about your exposure to asbestos at all.

The fact that all branches of the military are top-down operations means that the people at the top can get away with a lot, because it is against military culture to openly question orders. Imagine asking a drill sergeant why he wants you to run five miles in the rain, or giving him your opinion on what that would do to your health. There was no room to ask questions about anything, including asbestos.

But you are a veteran now, and your health has been harmed by exposure to asbestos. You have a right to ask questions. Why were you exposed to asbestos? How were you exposed to asbestos? What can you do about, legally and medically?

Short term exposure, long term problems

Asbestos exposure usually takes twenty to forty years to turn into an asbestos-related disease. If you were exposed to asbestos constantly—if you were in construction, or worked at a shipyard, or in a factory that used asbestos products—you were at risk for asbestosis, as well as mesothelioma.

If your exposure to asbestos was short, you probably aren't at risk for asbestosis (asbestosis happens after a lot of asbestos has been inhaled, over a long period of time, and it hardens the lungs), but you are at risk for mesothelioma. 

Your medical options are determined by what stage the cancer is at when the doctors diagnosed it. Your legal options are also related to your diagnosis—the sooner you seek help after your diagnosis, the more your lawyer will be able to do for you.