Where I Stand: A new set of eyes to seek facts of Gulf War illness

Monday, May 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

THE APPOINTMENT of former U.S. Sen. Warren Rudman to seek out the facts about the health problems related to the Gulf War is a step in the right direction. The New Hampshire Republican is highly respected by other combat veterans and public officials at all levels of government.

Another upfront man, Secretary of Defense William Cohen, says that Rudman's role will be to "find the facts." Rudman, who served 12 very productive years in the Senate, will learn the truth. He's not going to be concerned about stepping on the toes of people who try to keep him from the truth.

Seeking out the truth won't be an easy job after so many people have denied that there is any such thing as a Gulf War Syndrome and even more people claim they are suffering physical problems from their service. Certainly, the Pentagon and the CIA have fumbled the information ball and sown serious seeds of doubt in the minds of most Americans. Because of this mishandling, the people of this country have sided with the veterans claiming medical problems after returning home. Many of us can recall the military disclaimer for the damaging effects of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Later, it was recognized as a very serious and legitimate medical complaint.

The few short months our soldiers spent under combat conditions in the Persian Gulf make it even more difficult to grasp the seriousness of some complaining veterans. As recently as last month came an exchange of letters in the Wall Street Journal between respected writers. One of the writers, Michael Fumento, the science correspondent for Reason magazine, continues to see the illnesses reported as not being part of a syndrome.

Fumento wrote: "The question is, among the 700,000 vets who served in Desert Storm, are they having any more illness than one would expect in a group that size? The answer from federal panel after panel, study after study, is, that with the exception of a few types of stress-related illnesses, no." This doesn't mean that the complainers aren't really ill or are faking their illness.

Three years ago, Fumento, writing in another magazine, referred to a basic study when writing: "Some veterans and one advocacy group that opposed the Gulf War deployment, the Military Family Support Network of Fort Bragg, N.C., have also attributed both miscarriages and birth defects to exposures in the gulf. Virginia Stephanakis of the Army surgeon general's office, however, said the miscarriage rate at the Army's largest installations both before and after the war, 'was the same -- about 8 percent of all pregnancies. That's half the national average,' she said."

Despite the results of several studies, the medical problems haven't gone away and, in some cases, appear to worsen. Rudman, who served as an infantry combat leader in Korea, will probably find difficulty in piercing the lead shield that surrounds both the Pentagon and the CIA. Until now, only bits and pieces of negative information have been allowed to seep out of these fortresses. Very likely, these giant agencies are also hiding information that would clear their skirts of cover-up charges. Sometimes military and intelligence agencies get so wrapped up in playing games of hide and seek, they forget what really is the truth.

So what are the facts? I believe that the right man has been assigned the job of finding them. If they slam the door in Rudman's face, they can expect him to kick it down if he believes they are hiding facts he seeks.

If you want to participate in honoring one of Nevada's outstanding athletes and a true gentleman, then go to Arizona Charlie's for cocktails and dinner Friday at 6:30 p.m.

David Humm will be honored as the first inductee to the Southern Nevada Hall of Fame.

I first watched David as a Bishop Gorman High School star quarterback and then followed his career as an All-American at Nebraska. Then came 12 years with the Oakland Raiders and a stint with the Buffalo Bills. He was good, but his success never interfered with his love of home and Southern Nevada.

Some of the nation's outstanding football players and coaches will be on hand to honor Humm. Among them will be his college coach Tom Osborne and the Oakland Raiders' Al Davis. Some of my favorite football players, including Willie Brown, Otis Sistrunk, Jack Tatum, Frank Hawkins, Jim Plunkett, Napoleon McCallum, Abe Woodson, Raymond Chester and Morris Bradshaw, will be at the dinner. Sure hope Otis is here only to honor Humm and not reclaim his warmup jacket he lost to me more than 20 years ago.

Bob Blum tells me that "true to David's character, proceeds from the event go to continue scholarships for high school scholar/athletes through the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, plus the UNLV Football Foundation. It will be a great evening for a nice guy who finishes first ... the first inductee in the Southern Nevada Hall of Fame."