please review my "official" Gulf War 1 Veterans Day editorial

[w8liftinglady]

as always,edit for spelling,punctuation and grammar.Thanks(my boy leaves tomorrow for afghanistan-I need all the help I can get)

As Veterans Day 2010 arrives,let's remember one group of veterans who seem to have disappeared. As a member of Veterans for Common Sense,I have promised the veterans of Operation Desert Storm/Operation Desert Shield that they won't be forgotten by the nation they served.

Over 524,000 troops were deployed to Iraq and Kuwait from August 7,1990 - April 11,1991. There were only 137 troops killed in action during this time-a number considered "acceptable" by war officials. The war was viewed in a positive fashion by all.

Over the next few years,over 200,000 troops began getting sick. All of these veterans began experiencing the same symptoms-profound fatigue,gastrointestinal disorders,respiratory disorders,joint and muscle pain and neurological symptoms(memory loss,depression,dizziness). As the veterans entered the Veterans Administration system,they were informed that their illnesses were "Psychosomatic" and did not warrant disability payments. This was despite the fact that many veterans WERE disabled by their symptoms.

Thanks to research funded by H. Ross Perot and performed by UTSW under the supervision of Dr. Robert Haley ,it was determined as early as 1994 that Gulf War Illness was due to exposure to chemical or biological warfare agents, pyridostigmine bromide prophylaxis,and vaccinations for botulinum toxoid and anthrax. The combination of these created a toxic environment inside these troops...one which took almost two decades for the DoD and VA to admit.

With the appointment of Eric Shinseki as Secretary of the Veterans Administration,aggressive actions have taken place in the treatment of previously-denied Gulf War One veterans. I encourage veterans or those who have family who were deployed during this time period to research two sites:

Gulflink is the official site of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses
http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/index.jsp

The National Gulf War Resource Center is an independent veterans group with excellent resources
http://www.ngwrc.org/

If you have been previously denied VA disability/compensation and are a Gulf War One veteran,please apply again. We are fighting for you. The nation remains grateful for your sacrifice. We support you.

[silverlib]

1. Happy to be the 1st rec and kick

I love your posts - so well researched and well written!

[Hello_Kitty]

2. Proud to be the 2nd rec. You rock w8liftinglady!!

:yourock:

[Obamanaut]

3. Punctuation marks and spaces go together. nt

edited to add

arrives,let's remember

Common Sense,I

years,over 200,000

symptoms-profound fatigue,gastrointestinal disorders,respiratory disorders,joint

loss,depression,dizziness).

system,they

Administration,aggressive

veteran,please

[w8liftinglady]

4. great...I corrected that on the original....

[unhappycamper]

5. Rec #5 - off to the greatest page

:hi: