Stars & Stripes - 09.29.17 by Metro Spirit

Volume 9, No. 42 ÂŠSS 2017

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2017

NIKKI WENTLING /Stars and Stripes

Ronald Brown, a disabled veteran of Operation Desert Storm, spends most of his days in his home office in Roanoke, Va., helping other veterans get connected to Veterans Affairs benefits for illnesses caused by their service in the Persian Gulf War.

Facing high denial rates for VA claims, 3 Gulf War veterans intervene for others

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COVER STORY

Vets help others navigate VA claim process BY NIKKI WENTLING Stars and Stripes

ROANOKE, Va. rom his small home office more than 200 miles from Washington, Ronald Brown has a direct line to top Department of Veterans Affairs officials, including a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, VA Secretary David Shulkin. In the time between bouts of illness and his many doctors’ appointments, Brown — a veteran of Operation Desert Storm — can be found here, working at a laptop filled with scientific studies, written testimonies to Congress and veterans’ claims for VA benefits. He’s focused, sometimes working on multiple claims at the same time, pausing only to pat the two English bulldogs that lie at his feet or search through binders of documents on his overloaded bookcase. In this room, Brown has become an expert on filing Persian Gulf War veterans’ claims for disability compensation and health care. He and the two other veterans who make up the National Gulf War Resource Center intervene in cases all over the country and are almost always successful at getting the VA to reverse decisions on rejected claims. The three-man operation holds seminars to educate veterans service officers with larger organizations, such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the trio is in constant communication with the VA. Their work became more urgent this summer, after a Government Accountability Office report disclosed that the VA denies more than 80 percent of veterans’ claims for Gulf War-associated illnesses. That’s an approval rating three times lower than all other types of claims. Gulf War claims also make up 30 percent of the VA’s inventory of backlogged claims, which is more than those from any other era. The GAO has issued reports critical of the government’s handling of Gulf War claims as far back as 1996. After years of behind-the-scenes work, Brown is frustrated with the VA and Congress that not enough has changed. “I figure the only way you can address the issue is if you’re actually being invited to the table,” Brown said. “But we feel what we’ve brought forth hasn’t been addressed. At some point, something has to change. At some

NIKKI WENTLING /Stars and Stripes

In his home office in Roanoke, Va., Operation Desert Storm veteran Ronald Brown explains what medical conditions qualify Gulf War veterans for a “presumption,” meaning they don’t have to prove to the VA the illness was caused by military service. point, the words have to stop and the actions have to start.”

His own battle Brown was near Khamisiyah in southern Iraq in 1991 when engineers there destroyed ammunition containing nerve gas. He was an infantryman with the 82nd Airborne Division. He printed out a map showing his company’s location at the time; a green dot indicated he was just southeast of the demolition site. Brown remembers debris falling from the sky, and finding parts of the

munitions around his base. Researchers have estimated at least 100,000 American troops were exposed to chemical warfare agents from the munitions dump. He returned to the United States in 1991, and by then his health had begun to decline. He was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, migraines and chronic fatigue. By 2010, the VA accepted that his conditions were brought on by military service and started to pay for his health care. It had taken him 13 years to prove his case.

‘ It was a slow, meticulous process. It was like

getting water out of a rock. I went through many denials. Many denials.

’

Ronald Brown Operation Desert Storm veteran

“It was a slow, meticulous process. It was like getting water out of a rock,” Brown said. “I went through many denials. Many denials.” Jim Bunker, president of the resource center based in Topeka, Kan., has been helping veterans with their Gulf War claims since 1994. He helped Brown get service-connected compensation for his conditions, and then recruited him to help other veterans. “I finally decided I wanted to take some time to, hopefully, try to help other people, because it’s not an easy process,” Brown said. Along with a third veteran — Mike Jarrett, who lives in Virginia — they work as volunteers and take on as many claims as they can. While they’re mediating between the VA and individual veterans, they are fighting a larger institutional battle: to change how the VA handles Gulf War claims in order to get more approved. SEE PAGE 3

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COVER STORY

‘ It’s a hot topic

FROM PAGE 2

Earlier this month, Brown and Jarrett made a rare trip to Washington to make their arguments. They met with members of the House Veterans Affairs’ Committee to offer solutions for getting more claims approved, including better and more frequent training for VA staff and clearer language to define which veterans are eligible. They also sought support for more medical conditions — including brain cancer — to be recognized by the government as resulting from service in the Persian Gulf War.

for a moment, and then it fades away and you don’t hear anything about it until the next big report comes out. ... It’s about as screwed up as a chicken-wire canoe.

’

Ronald Brown Operation Desert Storm veteran

Too many denials Brown compared the fight to the struggle of Vietnam War-era veterans trying to connect their medical conditions to the herbicide Agent Orange. “You would have figured we learned our lesson from our Vietnam War veterans and how they’re treated by the VA,” he said. In 1994, Congress passed legislation allowing a “presumption” for Gulf War veterans with undiagnosed illnesses — meaning they don’t have to prove their illnesses were caused by military service. Undiagnosed illnesses are a group of undefined and unexplained symptoms found in veterans of that era — headaches, fatigue and joint pain and neurological, skin and respiratory issues. One problem, Brown said, is that once a doctor makes a diagnosis — even if veterans have received different diagnoses for the same issue — they’re no longer eligible for the presumption. VA medical examiners find it difficult to identify something as undiagnosed or unexplainable, the GAO report says. The majority of Gulf War claims between 2010 and 2015 were from veterans with undiagnosed illnesses, and that was the type of claim that was most-often rejected. Overall, the VA approved only 13 percent of veterans’ claims for undiagnosed medical issues during that period, according to the GAO report. Of the 58 VA offices nationwide that decide the claims, eight offices approved fewer

PHOTOS

NIKKI WENTLING /Stars and Stripes

An award presented to Ronald Brown for his work with the National Gulf War Resource Center is displayed on a bookshelf in his home office in Roanoke, Va.

Former VA Secretary Bob McDonald gave this recognition of his own service to Operation Desert Storm veteran Ronald Brown, who hung it above his desk in his home office in Roanoke, Va. than 5 percent of those types of claims. One office in Muskogee, Okla., approved 70 claims and denied more than 2,000. The GAO reported the same phenomenon 20 years ago.

Between 1994 and 1996 — the first two years the presumption existed — the VA denied 7,424 of 7,845 claims of undiagnosed illnesses in Gulf War veterans — an approval rate of 5 percent.

“It’s a hot topic for a moment, and then it fades away and you don’t hear anything about it until the next big report comes out,” Brown said. “Then we talk about the same things we’ve already been discussing, then that dies down and fades away again. It’s about as screwed up as a chicken-wire canoe. “The legislation was done with good intentions, but it’s not working. I think we need to scrap it and start over.” There are other ways that Gulf War veterans can get compensation and health care, but those are often denied as well. An amalgam of unexplained chronic illnesses among Gulf War veterans, including fibromyalgia, fatigue and gastrointestinal disorders, was added to the list of VA presumptions in 2001. Nine infectious diseases were added in 2010. To secure benefits, veterans must have served on active duty in Southwest Asia after Aug. 2, 1990, and have an illness that falls into one of those categories. From 2010 to 2015, the VA approved 29 percent of claims for chronic multi-symptom illnesses and 14 percent for infectious diseases. Combining both catego-

ries, Gulf War veterans saw a 17 percent approval rate — 18,000 out of 102,000 claims.

Lack of training The VA attributes the low approval rating to the complexity of Gulf War Illness, which complicates the claims process. Brown said veterans contribute to the confusion by filing for conditions that aren’t presumptive, and misinformation in the veteran community spreads rapidly. “If you break that denial rate down, I think 60 percent of that falls on the veteran. Most veterans, they don’t understand the procedures and regulations with the VA, and, quite frankly, I don’t think the VA makes it that simple for them to,” Brown said. “But on the VA side of this — a tremendous amount of training needs to be done there.” In an official response to the GAO report, VA Deputy Chief of Staff Gina Farrisee said the VA would work to determine a single case definition for Gulf War Illness. The process is expected to take several years, and it’s already been attempted once. In 2014, the VA spent about $2 million to fund an Institute of Medicine report on the issue. The committee couldn’t determine a single case definition. Melissa Emrey-Arras, who authored the GAO report, said there are other things the VA can do to clear up confusion. SEE PAGE 4

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COVER STORY FROM PAGE 3

She found that VA medical examiners — key in providing information for veterans’ claims — lacked training on Gulf War illness. The training was optional, and about 90 percent of them hadn’t taken it. Farrisee said examiners would go through training on Gulf War illness by November. The VA said earlier this month that all examiners were on track to complete the course by October. Bunker has asked VA officials to have personnel trained specifically in Gulf War claims work out of one office. Right now, raters spread among 63 offices nationwide handle all types of claims. “That way they can work [Gulf War claims] more often and [be] very familiar with how to do it,” Bunker said. “Right now, they’re spread out, and some people may not be acquainted with them or understand.” Brown has asked that the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs increase its oversight and require quarterly or biennial reports on VA staff training on Gulf War claims. Brown was critical of a hearing hosted by committee members in July addressing the GAO report. He said lawmakers missed opportunities to ask hard questions and showed little urgency about the issue. “It was extremely frustrating to see a lack of understanding about the gravity of the situation that these veterans face,” Brown said. “There’s more they can do.” Following Brown’s recent meeting with committee staff, he said he was optimistic there would be more accountability, and that there could be a potential legislative fix to the complexity of Gulf War claims. Griffin Anderson, press secretary for Democrats on the committee, said lawmakers and staff have been meeting with veterans service organizations about the GAO report “to figure out the best way to address the issues.” Tiffany Haverly, communications director for the committee and its chairman, Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., said committee members would continue to take input, but “no additional legislative action is planned at this time.”

Working for change Brown, Jarrett and Bunker handle claims from veterans all over the country. Brown recently worked on claims from California, Texas, Maryland, New York and Florida. Bunker has helped train service officers with Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans, as well as smaller state agencies. He held a seminar about Gulf War claims in northern Wisconsin last year and will hold another in Tampa, Fla., in

NIKKI WENTLING /Stars and Stripes

In his home office on Aug. 16, Operation Desert Storm veteran Ronald Brown works on an Illinois veteran’s claim for VA benefits. November. Often, they help veterans figure out what kind of medical evidence or military documents they need to submit. But sometimes other types of errors come up. In July, Brown handled a claim that was denied because a veteran misspelled the name of the country Qatar. The veteran spelled it “Quatar,” which the VA said was “not considered part of the GW theater of operations.” Brown intervened, and the VA quickly reversed its decision, he said. “I see a lot of stupid errors being made by everyone, all around,” Bunker said. Other cases are much more difficult. In 2016, the VA attempted to create a fast track for hundreds of veterans with terminal brain cancer. The White House denied the VA’s recommendation, citing a lack of scientific evidence. Though the VA didn’t succeed, it put out new directives advising health care providers to determine whether it’s more likely than not that a veteran’s brain cancer was brought on by hazardous exposure during the Gulf War. Doctors are now asked to provide a medical rationale for their decisions. That made a difference for Laura Edwards of Warrensburg, Mo. She had been fighting the VA since 2014, attempting to prove the glioblastoma that killed her husband, David, a retired Air

Force sergeant, was caused by toxic exposure. In May, the VA denied her claim again, and she was ready to give up. She found Brown’s group on Facebook, and he suggested she get a letter from one of her husband’s doctors. His neurologist wrote just a few sentences, saying it was likely that Edwards’ brain cancer was caused by his military service. Laura Edwards sent the letter to Brown on July 10. A week later, she received a package from the VA, dated July 18, awarding her eligibility for dependency and indemnity compensation. Those payments go to survivors of veterans whose deaths resulted from a service-related injury or disease. “I sat on my porch and read and reread it. I had my daughter read it,” Edwards said. “I’m still just stunned.” Brown quickly went on to get another widow’s similar claims approved. But he doesn’t believe that two wins are enough. He remains unflinching in his fight to have it declared a presumptive condition. The issue was a priority for former VA Secretary Bob McDonald, Brown said. He wants Shulkin’s administration to prove it’s important as well. “I haven’t given up on it,” Brown said. “I want someone [at the VA] to explain to me why they won’t take this to the White House again. How much

discussion has to take place before anything is changed?”

Continuing the fight In his office in mid-August, Brown sorted through claims on his computer — ones he had helped get approved and others he is working on. He printed pages and pages of documents from a well-used Epson printer and talked absentmindedly to his two English bulldogs, Tigger and Ms. Piggy. A framed recognition of service in the 82nd Airborne Division — originally belonging to McDonald, who gifted it to Brown — marks the relationship between the two men. They both served in the same company, about 15 years apart. When Brown looks up from his laptop out the window in front of him, he stares directly at the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s a nice spot, Brown said, and close enough to Washington for periodic visits to VA headquarters and Capitol Hill. Still, he and his wife and daughter are looking to move to a warmer climate because the cold worsens his chronic pain. That won’t affect his commitment to helping other veterans. “I’ll do what my health allows,” he said. “I’ll do what I can.” wentling.nikki@stripes.com Twitter: @nikkiwentling

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Passed over for promotion, Pacific leader opts to retire BY WYATT OLSON Stars and Stripes

JEFFREY J. H ANSHAW/Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

Adm. Michelle Howard addresses sailors at Navy Operational Support Center in Atlanta in 2015. U.S. Naval Forces EuropeAfrica announced that Howard plans to retire by January.

First female 4-star admiral set to retire BY SCOTT WYLAND Stars and Stripes

NAPLES, Italy — Adm. Michelle Howard, the first woman to become a four-star admiral, will end her groundbreaking Navy career when she retires by January. Howard, 57, will relinquish command of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples to Vice Adm. James Foggo, who will be promoted to admiral when he takes over Oct. 20. Capt. Pamela Kunze, Naval Forces Europe-Africa spokeswoman, said Howard will retire but could give no specific date or any information on Howard’s post-Navy plans. Howard, who declined to comment, has commanded naval forces in Europe and Africa since June 2016. Her 35-year naval career is marked by firsts. In 2014, Howard became the first female four-star admiral and took over as vice chief of naval operations. Two years later, President Barack Obama chose her to head Europe and Africa, making her the first female four-star admiral to command operational forces. She was the first black woman to achieve two-star admiral rank, as well as the first female graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy promoted to flag officer. In 1999, Howard was the

first African-American woman to command a U.S. naval warship when she took the helm of the USS Rushmore, a dock landing vessel. Howard planned the 2009 mission to rescue Capt. Richard Phillips from Somali pirates who had seized his cargo ship at the Gulf of Aden. The hijacking and rescue were depicted in the 2013 film “Captain Phillips.” Howard has talked about the discrimination she and other women have faced in the military. Early in her career, a group of female officers on an aircraft carrier asked her to confront a new captain for acting chauvinistic toward them. Howard told an audience in March at an International Women’s Day event at Allied JFC Naples. Howard feared that calling out a superior for sexism in the 1980s, when women were just beginning to move up the military ranks, could be career suicide. But she confronted him. At first he was defensive, then he agreed to bring aboard a team to train the crew and himself, she said. “I thought if I didn’t have the courage to talk to the captain, how will I ever have the courage to lead sailors into battle,” Howard said. wyland.scott@stripes.com Twitter: @wylandstripes

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii — The Navy’s top Pacific commander has chosen to retire after learning he will not be tapped to lead U.S. Pacific Command. Adm. Scott Swift, Pacific Fleet commander, said in a statement Monday that the chief of naval operations has informed him he will not succeed Adm. Harry Harris, who is slated to retire next year. “In keeping with tradition and in loyalty to the Navy, I have submitted my request to retire,” Swift said. A retirement date for Swift has not yet been requested, the statement added. Commanders of Pacific Fleet, which oversees U.S. naval forces from California

to India, are often nominated to head PACOM. Swift took command of the Pacific Fleet in May 2015 after Harris’ promotion. Swift’s tenure included a string of accidents involving Navy ships in the Pacific. In January, the USS Antietam ran aground and spilled roughly 1,100 gallons of hydraulic fluid into Tokyo Bay. In May, the USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing boat while operating off the east coast of the divided peninsula. In June, a collision between the USS Fitzgerald and a Philippine-flagged merchant ship killed seven sailors. Last month, a collision between the USS John S. McCain and a civilian merchant vessel killed 10 sailors. The commanders of 7th Fleet, Task Force 70 and Destroyer Squadron 15 were

relieved after the collisions. While Harris has been a fierce critic of China’s aspirations in the South China Sea, Swift often expressed the need for the U.S. and Chinese militaries to find common ground. However, Swift made headlines in July when he was asked during a security conference in Australia whether he would launch nuclear missiles toward China if the president ordered him to do so. “The answer would be yes,” he said. “Every member of the U.S. military has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic and to obey the officers and the president of the United States as the commander in chief appointed over us.” olson.wyatt@stripes.com Twitter: @WyattWOlson

Fort Benning infantry training commander removed from duty BY COREY DICKSTEIN Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — The Army quietly removed the commander of one of its two infantry training battalions at Fort Benning recently, a spokesman for the Army post in Georgia said Monday. Army Lt. Col. Robert Howard was relieved of command of the 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade, “for a loss of confidence in his ability to command,” said Ben Garrett, a spokesman for Fort Benning’s Maneuver Center of Excellence, which is responsible for infantry recruit training. Garrett declined to provide additional information, including why Howard was removed from duty or who made the decision to fire him. The unit is one of two battalions that oversee the Army’s One Station Unit Training for infantrymen, which combines Basic Combat Training and infantry Advanced Individual Training into a single 14-week class. Howard’s removal comes about one month after the Army announced it had suspended several Fort Benning drill sergeants amid an investigation into allegations of sexual assault raised by female trainees.

That inquiry began after one female trainee alleged a drill instructor sexually assaulted her, and a preliminary investigation revealed indications of additional “sexual misconduct” involving drill sergeants and trainees, officials said Aug. 23. The Army’s Criminal InvestiHoward gation Command is leading the probe. Garrett said the investigation is ongoing and declined to comment on it. Howard is a 28-year veteran of the Army. He served initially as an enlisted infantryman before he commissioned as an infantry officer in 1998. He has served combat deployments in Iraq, including Operations Desert Shield/Storm and Iraqi Freedom, and in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division and 3rd Infantry Division, according to Army records. His awards and decorations include four Bronze Star Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Ranger Tab. dickstein.corey@stripes.com Twitter: @CDicksteinDC

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Veteran awarded Purple Heart 40 years after war BY M ICHAEL S. DARNELL Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — There is a quality common among combat veterans, a quiet, unassuming nature that belies experiences few can match, let along understand. Mike Sanzaro, a veteran of more than 300 combat patrols during the height of the Vietnam War, is soft-spoken and matter-of-fact, a man who speaks about extraordinary events in the way some would recount a trip to the grocery. Perhaps that’s why it took the urging of Department of Veterans Affairs doctors for Sanzaro to request a Purple Heart that had been due him for more than 40 years. In 1969, Sanzaro was a young man who spent his free time flipping through old issues of Leatherneck magazine. It was a lifelong dream, he said, to join the Marines — even though he had a comfortable life with a steady job as a movie theater manager and a girlfriend he planned to marry. It didn’t take much for a Marine Corps recruiter to lure him away from all of that. “ ‘We can guarantee you a rifle,’ ” Sanzaro was told. “He lied to me. I got a machine gun instead.”

Just doing the job He went to boot camp in San Diego in July 1969 and soon found himself in Vietnam, working as an ammunition carrier for a seasoned machine gunner. When recounting the

early days of his tour, Sanzaro mentioned that he single-handedly saved the lives of his entire squad. His squad was on a routine patrol through the jungles about 15 miles west of Da Nang, when they were ambushed from the left. His squad leader formed them into a fighting line and ordered them to advance on the enemy position. “We just walked slowly toward the enemy,” Sanzaro said. They laid down fire and received plenty in return. “You can hear those bullets go right by your head. I’ll never forget that feeling.” As they fought, a group had circled around to the Marines’ left flank. The Viet Cong guerrillas — distinguished, Sanzaro said, from North Vietnamese Army troops by their poor accuracy — began firing right down their line. “It was the worst situation you can think of,” Sanzaro said. “So, I just ran toward them.” With bayonet affixed, he charged the bushes and cleared the ambush with a grenade and a full magazine’s worth of rounds. He had saved the lives of the men behind him, at great personal risk. Afterward, no one said anything and Sanzaro believed he did nothing special. “I’m being paid $214 a month to do that. So that’s what I did,” he said. One of the sergeants whose life Sanzaro saved felt differently, and wrote him up for an award. It materialized more than a year later, as a Navy Achievement Medal awarded to

‘ You can hear those bullets go right by your head. I’ll never forget that feeling. ’

Mike Sanzaro

DAVID WESTMEYER /Special to Stars and Stripes

Retired Lt. Gen. Terry Robling pins the Purple Heart medal on Vietnam veteran Mike Sanzaro in a ceremony in San Diego on Saturday. him as he was preparing to exit the Marine Corps. He almost didn’t get that chance.

Stepping into a kill zone If the events of Jan. 10, 1971 — nearly a year after that ambush — had gone slightly differently, Sanzaro’s life could’ve ended in a cornfield deep in the heart of Vietnam. At that point, he was a hardened lance corporal and veteran of hundreds of combat patrols. He and a squad of eight other Marines from Company G, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, were on patrol near Fire Base LZ Baldy. On that day, they spent most of the day trekking through the jungles “taking a few sniper rounds here and there.” But it was mostly quiet until the point man triggered a booby trap. Their patrol was a small one, too small for a corpsman to be attached. So, the non-wounded — Sanzaro included — began to tend to the wounded as the radioman called for a medevac. “As I was patching up this guy, I looked over and I could see a couple of trip wires,” Sanzaro said. They had walked into a kill zone of a half-dozen booby traps, marked with piles of rocks and other small, telltale signs.

Sanzaro ordered the squad to freeze as he picked his way to an old cornfield so that he could throw a smoke grenade to signal to the medevac pilot where it was safe to land. “I knew they never boobytrapped areas where they grew food,” Sanzaro said. A chopper drew near, prompting him and another Marine to grab the wounded man and carry him to the field. It wasn’t a medevac chopper, though. Instead, it was a command chopper, carrying Maj. Cornelius Ram, Capt. Douglas Ford and Capt. Robert Tilley. They landed to provide medical assistance as best they could. “As they’re walking, the point man’s feet fell off,” Sanzaro said. Badly shattered, they flopped toward the ground. “Even though he had a shot of morphine in him he gave out a bloodcurdling scream.” Sanzaro squatted down to ease the stress on the man’s legs. That’s when Ram stepped on a land mine, estimated to be an 81 mm mortar fashioned into a booby trap. “The next thing I knew, some Marine had rolled me over and was trying to wake me up,” Sanzaro said. “My entire helmet was split wide open. I thought, ‘I’m the luckiest son of a bitch in the world.’ Had that guy’s feet

not fallen that split second, if I had not squatted down, that shrapnel from the booby trap would’ve cut me right in half.” Ram was killed in the explosion. Ford was hit in the neck by shrapnel and died in Sanzaro’s arms as he attempted to get him to his command chopper. Sanzaro and the other Marines managed to get the previously wounded Marines to the now-waiting chopper. Afterward, he took point for the remainder of the patrol and got his men back to the base. “It was just my job,” he said. “I never expected anybody to pat me on the back.” Nobody did.

Return to normal? He served the remainder of his tour in Vietnam and went home to southern California. He went back to his job, and picked up where he left off with his girlfriend. It was an easy transition in that regard, he said, but it was difficult in others. “Everyone still talked about dates and all kinds of stuff like that. And here I am, I’ve experienced war and death … my mind-set was just totally different than everybody else I had left. It was kind of weird fitting back in. But I did.” SEE PAGE 12

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MILITARY

Sailors to get more sleep under new Navy directive BY T YLER HLAVAC Stars and Stripes

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Sailors will get more sleep at sea under a directive issued Sept. 20 by the head of Naval Surface Forces. Vice. Adm. Tom Rowden has ordered ship captains to establish routines no later than Dec. 20 that will give sailors predictable watch schedules and sleep periods, according to a copy of the directive obtained by Stars and Stripes. A Naval Postgraduate School study shows that 21 hours without sleep results in impairment equivalent to being legally drunk, Rowden said in the directive. “You would not operate your car under these conditions; we should not ask our crews to stand watch and operate shipboard systems in a similar mental and physical state,” he said. Irregular schedules can dis-

rupt sleep patterns and make it hard for people to fall asleep or stay awake, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Some have suggested that tired and overworked sailors may be partly to blame for recent accidents involving Navy ships in the Pacific that killed 17 sailors. A Government Accountability Office report released earlier this month said crew size reductions have left some sailors on ships working more than 100 hours a week, creating safety risks. The new sleep schedules may not be suitable in some training situations, and commanders should use their best judgment, Rowden said. Littoral combat ships and mine-countermeasure and coastal patrol vessels are exempt from the guidance, but Rowden said he expects commanders of those ships to implement them to the best of their abilities. Petty Officer 3rd Class Cole

Breedlove, a fire controlman aboard the Yokosuka, Japanbased USS McCampbell, said rested sailors would mean less chance of accidents. “You can’t ask something from someone who has been sleep deprived,” he said. “Trying to do that task with no sleep, there is a really high chance that they’re going to do it wrong and something could end up happening that gets somebody injured.” Petty Officer 3rd Class Asha Byrd, a cook assigned to the USS Fitzgerald, said regular schedules would allow sailors to use their free time more efficiently. “You get a rhythm,” said Byrd, whose ship was involved in a collision off Japan on June 17 that killed seven sailors. “If I know I’m going to get off work at this time, I can work on [qualifications] or I can work out and then go to sleep. … I can have a decent cycle.” hlavac.tyler@stripes.com

FROM PAGE 11

He missed the Marine Corps, and just a few years later rejoined, this time as an officer. He graduated The Basic School in 1977 and stayed on for five relatively quiet years.

Hidden injuries

Family photo

Mike Sanzaro poses while deployed to Vietnam as a machine gunner.

He had put the war behind him — until March 10, 2010, when he suffered a heart attack. Doctors at the VA told him the heart attack was caused by exposure to Agent Orange. It also triggered dormant feelings of anxiety, anger and severe nightmares — all telltales signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. “All the sudden Vietnam hit me like a ton of bricks,” Sanzaro said. “I was back for 40 years when it hit me.” Eventually he sought help from the VA. He was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and 2 decades-old cracks in his neck. The doctors determined that, like his resurgent PTSD, the injuries had remained hidden for more than 40 years. They told him he rated a Purple

TARRA SAMOLUK /Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

Seaman Daniel Oo stands watch aboard the USS Pearl Harbor on July 30.

Heart. The problem was, with four decades having gone by and no medical records of the event, he would have to find a witness. Sanzaro decided not to pursue the medal he deserved. One of his two daughters, Melissa Oldham, felt otherwise and tracked down Tilley, now a retired colonel. Tilley provided not only a statement but the official after-action report from 1971. Even that paperwork wasn’t enough. The regulations required two witnesses. “My daughter had tried, but she could not find anyone else. I thought the application for a Purple Heart was a dead issue,” he said. That’s when two officers from Sanzaro’s TBS class got involved. Retired Col. John Rankin and retired Lt. Col. Paul LeBlanc joined the search. They found a member of Sanzaro’s squad, and after a couple of letters, the man provided the Navy Personnel Records office with a statement.

Finally pinned Rankin said Sanzaro’s story isn’t uncommon. Plenty of servicemem-

bers have gone unrecognized for their efforts. “You don’t go out there and strive to earn a Purple Heart. It’s the circumstance that you’re dealt with that create the recognition,” Rankin said. On June 28, 2017, Sanzaro received word that he would finally be awarded his Purple Heart. It was pinned to his chest by retired Lt. Gen. Terry Robling in a ceremony in San Diego on Saturday, in front of other members of Sanzaro’s TBS class. Sanzaro, now 66, said he was “totally overwhelmed” by the support he received from LeBlanc, Tilley and Rankin. Overwhelmed, but not surprised. They were just doing their jobs — much like Sanzaro did many decades ago — as Marines. “A fellow Marine asks you for something, you step up to the plate,” Rankin said. “You don’t ask a lot of questions. You see somebody that needs some assistance, you do what you’ve been trained to do.” darnell.michael@stripes.com

Friday, September 29, 2017

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MILITARY

Navy technician awarded Silver Star BY COREY DICKSTEIN Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — A Navy explosive ordnance disposal technician received the Silver Star earlier this month for his actions during a deadly 10-hour firefight with Islamic State militants that helped his fellow sailors navigate a minefield, the Navy announced Sept. 22. Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Thomas exited his vehicle in the midst of the fight on Oct. 20, 2016, as bullets, rockets and mortar rounds targeted his unit. Thomas swept the area for explosives just after a roadside bomb struck another vehicle, mortally wounding a sailor, according to the Navy. His actions allowed medics to get through the minefield and reach injured sailors to provide critical care. “No one who was present on the 20th of October knew better than Jeff the dangers he was facing,” said Navy Cmdr. Geoff Townsend, the commander of Thomas’ unit, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3. “After the EOD supervisor, a friend and mentor, was mortally wounded, Jeff knowingly exposed himself to hazards in order to protect the lives of his teammates and brothers in arms and secure a [medical evacuation] for his wounded teammate. His actions that day saved the lives of his teammates and exceeded all measures of selflessness and devotion to his country.”

C HRISTOPHER A. VELOICAZA /Courtesy of the U.S. Navy

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 1st Class Jeffrey Thomas stands at attention alongside Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran after being awarded the Silver Star during an awards ceremony for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 at Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado, Calif. Navy Adm. Bill Moran, the vice chief of naval operations, awarded Thomas the nation’s third-highest honor for valor on Sept. 20 during a ceremony at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in California. The Navy’s statement did

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not include details about the location of the firefight or identify the sailor who died as a result of the wounds that he received from the roadside bomb attack. However, the Pentagon previously announced Navy Chief Petty

This publication is a compilation of stories from Stars and Stripes, the editorially independent newspaper authorized by the Department of Defense for members of the military community. The contents of Stars and Stripes are unofficial, and are not to be considered as the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, including the Defense Department or the military services. The U.S. Edition of Stars and Stripes is published jointly by Stars and Stripes and this newspaper. The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the DOD or Stars and Stripes of the products or services advertised. Products or services advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use, or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation, or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user, or patron.

Officer Jason Finan, 34, was killed in action in an improvised bomb attack on his vehicle on Oct. 20 just north of Mosul, Iraq. Finan was an EOD technician assigned to the same unit as Thomas. The sailors were attached to a SEAL team charged with advising and assisting Iraqi security forces fighting ISIS on the march toward eventually liberating Mosul. Two other sailors with EOD Unit 3 also were honored dur-

ing the Sept. 20 ceremony. Navy Lt. Morgan Dahl received the Bronze Star with “V” device for valor for safely guiding a tactical advance of a convoy through a firefight. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Jon Hamm was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with combat “C” device for clearing a route through ISIS territory under fire that helped his teammates suppress the threat, the Navy said. dickstein.corey@stripes.com

‘No one who was present on the 20th of October knew better than Jeff the dangers he was facing. ’

Geoff Townsend Navy commander

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Friday, September 29, 2017

MILITARY

Temple grave may hold pilot’s remains BY SETH ROBSON Stars and Stripes

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The Defense Department has confirmed the existence of a grave that Japanese townsfolk say contains the remains of a downed World War II Navy pilot. Researchers from the Hawaii-based Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency visited the burial site at a temple in Saiki City on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu earlier this month. “There is a grave there, but since we’re an investigation team, we don’t exhume graves,” said agency research analyst Terry Hunter, who was collecting evidence in Tokyo on Sept. 15 about a separate World War II plane crash. U.S. officials will work with the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to potentially have the grave opened to see if it contains human remains, he said. The agency doesn’t release the names of missing personnel it’s searching for. However, the aviator was the pilot of an F4U Corsair fighter-bomber launched from the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid in 1945, said Hunter, who is a former Air Force intelligence officer. Parts of his plane, including its engine, a propeller and a wing, were dragged up by a fisherman in 2006, and the wreckage was returned to the Navy last year. It was at that time that locals told U.S. officials that a body, thought to be the pilot, had washed up on a beach after the plane went down and that the man had been buried at the temple, Hunter said. The investigators also traveled to Niigata prefecture to look for the missing pilot of an Army Air Corps P-38 Lightning reconnaissance plane that went down in the mountains during bad weather on a trip from Tokyo to Hokkaido just after the war ended, he said. Team members made their way to the mountain village of Takane and spent two days hiking the backcountry

with local guides. The group found parts of the aircraft but couldn’t pinpoint the wreck or the crash site, Hunter said. “The terrain is so mountainous and there are so many peaks and ravines that the parts are scattered around a wide area,” he said. Over the years, pieces of the plane have been flowing down the mountain in streams, Hunter said. “We know there is an aircraft up there but, given the rough terrain and the expanse of the debris field, we can’t pinpoint the crash location,” he said. Capt. Joshua Caragan, an executive officer at Pacific Air Forces and a Japanese linguist, hiked the mountain trails as a translator during the mission. “The experience is great,” he said. “It teaches me a lot about bilateral relations and it’s good to get out in the field.” In Tokyo, the team sought information about an Army Air Corps B-29 Superfortress bomber that crashed during a March 10, 1945, raid. The plane crashed in an area known as Sunamachi, killing all 11 crewmembers. Their remains were recovered in 1947 and buried as unknowns in Manila, Hunter said. Isao Arai, a Japanese national who has been investigating U.S. military aircraft crashes for three decades, said he would take the investigators to see an aircraft propeller stored at another temple near the crash site. “I want to know if the propeller at the temple is the propeller from the aircraft,” he said. The investigators are looking for photographs of the crash site and planned to visit the Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage — a museum that holds hundreds of photographs from the raids. “This is for the families [of the fallen soldiers] to try to find them something that has to do with their loved ones,” Hunter said. Stars and Stripes reporter Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report. robson.seth@stripes.com

K EN -YON H ARDY/Stars and Stripes

Betty Casselman, a World War II Marine Corps veteran, enjoys lunch during her Honor Flight visit to Washington on Sept. 20.

102-year-old vet impressed with World War II memorial BY K EN-YON H ARDY AND M ICHAEL DARNELL Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON — Every honor flight is packed with stories. The Flag City Honor Flight was no different when it landed last week carrying 79 veterans traveling from Ohio to see war memorials built in their honor in the nation’s capital. The group included Betty Casselman, 102, a WWII-era Marine who taught pilots the difference between friend and foe during the war. Casselman, a minor celebrity in Freemont, Ohio, thanks to her sharp wit and WWII veteran status, relished the chance to see the memorials that dot Washington. “This is a dream come true,” she said. “I haven’t been in Washington since I was in the Marine Corps — which is a long time ago. I’ve enjoyed it.” Casselman took time to reflect briefly on her time in service. She enlisted in 1942 and served two years, leaving as a sergeant. Most of her time was spent as an instructor stateside, far away from the front lines. Casselman was so good at her job, she was able to teach the difference between enemy and allied ships and planes using only silhouettes projected onto a

Watch a video about the group of Ohio veterans’ trip to Washington on the Honor Flight stripes.com/go/casselman screen. There were pitfalls inherent in teaching Marines anything important in a relaxed environment, she said. “I taught them in a darkened room … and sometimes when we put the lights on half of them would be asleep.” She spoke proudly of the men and women — “Oh, there were some women. Not all ladies, but women,” she quipped — with whom she served, and of the city and the WWII memorial. “I don’t know if I can put it into words but I was very impressed with the beauty of the whole thing and how neat it is — and how inclusive it is,” she said. Also on the flight was Marianne Cochran, of Perrysburg, Ohio, who escorted her mother-inlaw, Dorothy Cochran, 93. The WWII veteran had dreamed of visiting the DC memorials. “A lot of family in the past have promised that they’d take her, and all three of her daughters have passed away,” Marianne Cochran said. “So, this is how we’re going to make this dream come true for her.”

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Sat Sep 30

9am - noon Kids Fishing Rodeo Mistletoe State Park For those ages 15 and under, this event will also include raffle prizes and lunch afterward. No fishing license required. $5. Call 706-5410321 or visit gastateparks.org/ mistletoe.

3pm - 5pm Garden City Chorus Show

Grace UMC Wesley Center, North Augusta “You Gotta Have Heart” show features renowned quartet Forefront, as well as Garden City Chorus, the Harmony River Chorus and several local quartets. $20, advance; $25 day of show. Proceeds support the Garden City Chorus Music Scholarships for local high school seniors. Visit gardencitychorus.org or call 803-599-4228.

7:30pm Chanticleer

AU’s Maxwell Theatre Grammy-winning male chorus Chanticleer performs. $18, general public; discounted tickets available for military and children. Call 706667-4100 or visit augusta. edu/ maxwelltheatre.

10am - 2pm Pink Pumpkin Party AU Health Sciences Campus, 1301 R.A. Dent Blvd.

Friday, September 29, 2017

A family and community event designed to call attention to breast cancer, raise funds for free mammograms for women in need, and to honor breast cancer survivors and including pumpkin decorating and best dressed in pink contests, music, dancing, children’s activities and more. Visit giving.augusta.edu/ pinkpumpkin.

11am - 6pm Peace in the Park

Brookfield Park A meditation and mindfulness fair featuring feature meditation seminars, live meditation experiences, mind games, mind spa, face painting, henna, live music, dancing and more. Visit peaceintheparkcsra.org.

Sun Oct 1

4:30pm The Swanee Quintet 78th Anniversary Show

Bell Auditorium Gospel comedy show featuring Rickey Smiley. $35, advance; $45, day of show. Call 877-4AUGTIX or visit georgialinatix.com.

Thu Oct 5

7:30pm ‘A Tribute to the King’

Jabez S. Hardin Performing Arts Center Featuring Travis LeDoyt as Elvis. $36. Visit AugustaAmusements.com or call 706-726-0366.

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