Today the peloton travels through Sausalito, across the Golden Gate Bridge
and through the streets of San Francisco. To their left is the San Rafael
Bay and San Francisco Bay. From the early 1900's, the bays were home
to several major Navy shipyards, including the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard,
Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, Kaiser Shipyard, Mare Island Shipyard and
Todd Shipyards. In these historic shipyards, millions of Navy sailors
and civilian workers during the 1930's to 1980's labored to build,
modify, repair and sail many of the greatest ships that helped us win
wars and protect the homeland.
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Four Aircraft Carriers at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, 1947
San Francisco
, California
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In the process, hundreds of thousands of naval servicemen and workers inhaled
deadly asbestos fibers. Neither the U.S. Government nor the asbestos product
manufacturers warned our nation's finest men and women that these
fibers were like tiny time bombs ticking away, waiting to explode into
cancer, such as mesothelioma.
In the U.S, over 3,000 Americans annually are diagnosed with malignant
mesothelioma, a fatal tumor of the linings of the lungs and abdomen caused
only by asbestos fibers. About 30% of those unfortunate patients were
exposed to asbestos while serving in the U.S. Navy or working in Navy
shipyards.
We've known about mesothelioma since the 1940s. We've known since
the 1950's that many children and wives of shipyard workers who brought
the deadly dangerous fibers home on their clothing and skin were at risk
for developing this insidious cancer.
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Admiral James Zumwalt |
The Department of Defense has research and treatment programs for veterans
exposed to Agent Orange, nuclear detonations and Gulf War syndrome or
Gulf War illness. The DOD even has research programs for breast and prostate
cancers. Navy vets with mesothelioma inhaled asbestos while serving their
country, which makes their injury a service connected disability -- a
war-related injury. But neither the DOD nor the Department of Veterans
Affairs have any research or treatment programs for vets with asbestos
cancer. Our federal government's neglect of our war heroes -- such
as Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who died of mesothelioma in 2000, is unconscionable.
The Law Offices of Roger Worthington PC has represented hundreds of Navy
boiler tenders, gunners, machinists, electricians and officers who have
been stricken with asbestos disease. They served their country proudly
and with honor. And they have been spoken up about how they have been
mistreated and ignored. Here is what a few have said:
- “The asbestos companies put profit over human life” - Paul
Coyle, Boilertender, US Navy, 1960 to 1963. Passed away from mesothelioma
on May 13, 2000
- “When are we going to finally launch an all-out assault on this damn
tumor that has already taken too many good men and women down?”
- Don Thorp, Chief Warrant Officer, US Navy, 1964 to 1985. Passed away
from mesothelioma on August 16, 2003
- “I am proud of my service to my country. I knew there were risks
associated with my service. I never knew the risks included dying of mesothelioma
thirty years after my discharge. And I certainly didn't expect my
country to turn a blind eye on veterans who got this disease.” Bob
Treggett, Machinist Mate, US Navy, 1965 to 1972. Passed away from mesothelioma
on August 23, 2008
- Thurl Charles Van Kirk served as a US Navy seaman on five different ships
from 1964 to 1968 and, for the last 20 years, has been the Senior Pastor
at a community church in Running Springs, California. Pastor Van Kirk
was diagnosed with meosothelioma in February 2008 and remains undaunted
in his fight against the disease, choosing not to dwell on opportunities
missed by others which could have prevented it. Pastor Van Kirk finds
strength in the words of St. Paul in Phil. 3.13-14, "...one thing
I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus."
Even today, when Navy veterans are diagnosed with mesothelioma in California,
they cannot count on the VA to offer them life-extending specialized treatments.
There is only one thoracic oncologist on the West Coast who regularly
treats vets with mesothelioma. His name is Dr. Robert Cameron. He is the
head of surgery at UCLA Medical School and at the Wadsworth VA Hospital
in West Los Angeles. "In 2003, I met with the then Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Anthony Principi," recalled Dr. Cameron, who along with Roger
was a director on theMesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. "He
understood the need to fund a treatment program for Navy vets with mesothelioma.
He wasn't able to muster the money to launch the program, but Congress
did agree to establish a mesothelioma registry and tissue bank. That's
a start, but we're still about 25 years behind where we should be
in terms of funding the research necessary to offer meaningful help to
Navy vets with asbestos cancers."
Our country is currently waging two wars. Thousands of veterans will need
medical care at the same time our medical care system is stressed to the
breaking point. This may not be a good time politically for creating a
new federal program for Navy vets with asbestos cancer, but it is never
too late to do the right thing, or make good on a promise. Navy vets served
us. They protected us. We failed to protect them from asbestos, despite
the known dangers, and now about 1,000 vets every year are dying from
mesothelioma. It's high time we served our heroes with the respect,
hope and treatments they've earned.
Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead, bike racers and race fans. May
the best man with the best team win, and don't forget to salute and
honor our Navy veterans.