ustxtxb_obs_1983_09_30_50_00014-00000_000.pdf

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Reveley Memorial Services offers you the following possibilities: A service at the location of your choice, with or without the casket present Graveside Services in the cemetery of your choice Cremation Donation to medical science Shipping We have a selection of caskets, including a cremation receptacle, a plain pine coffin, cloth covered woods, or metals. We can travel anywhere, and serve a 100 mile radius of San Antonio at no addi tional fee. We believe that money lavished on funerals should be spent on your family, your church, or your favorite charity. Discuss this with your family now, while you can. Call us for pre-need planning, or any information you may need. REVELEY MEMORIAL SERVICES 533-8141 San Antonio of San Antonio Simple Funerals Austin/441-7500 Information everybody else. I'm the only one carrying the Strickland name, and that's hard." But after his girlfriend was killed in a plane crash in New Mexico, and after he discovered he had skin cancer, Strickland resolved not to get involved with anyone else. Strickland has no complaints with the VA. He says they have treated him well. "They have given me the best treatment," he said. "I'm not asking for compensation. I'm just pleased that they're taking care of me medically." West, too, said he has no problem with the medical benefits, but he knows other men who are bedridden. Both men say being self-employed is what saved them, because they don't have to leave jobs to get treatment. "Who in the world would hire me?" Strickland asked. "When I go to the skin-care specialist, it shoots about three-fourths of my day." He used to own a furniture store in Denton but sold it because he couldn't move furniture around. West went into cabinet-making because the blood clots in his legs often kept him from being able to stand for any length of time. He has trouble mowing his lawn and says that his lungs make getting a good night's sleep impossible. But not all veterans involved in the atomic testing complain of problems. Louis Todd of Bridgeport says as far as he can tell he's had no medical problems stemming from radiation exposure. But he has a greater worry, one that everyone associated with the issue raises but no one seems to have an answer for. "They say it might show up in our grandchildren," he said. "What if two, three generations down the line something happens because of something we caused? That's where the big liability is, I think." Ron Pruner of Certified Direct, the company doing the NAAV's Texas fundraising, said that is the ultimate question. "The real significance of this is not the men but their families. Some radiologists have said these mutations could go on for generations. If they grant full pensions it automatically takes care of dependents," he said. The VA's Lucas said the verdict on extended coverage is still out. "There has been no medical evidence to establish that it carries over," he said. Dr. Earl Brown, a VA deputy assistant director in the medical division, said experiments are still being conducted. "The research that has been done doesn't indicate that there are any effects on the offspring, but that again is not conclusive. Our research is not complete," he said. Congressmen who have supported atomic veterans' legislation don't have an answer either. Cong. John Bryant, DDallas, a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said the issue needs more study. "My strong inclination is in the direction of helping them get disability," he said. "Everyone who was genuinely exposed to radiation and is having problems because of it deserves whatever we can do for them. If it was known by the military scientists in advance that it was dangerous, [the men] should have been warned." But because they were serving their country, a warning shouldn't preclude treatment, Bryant said. "Whether they were told or not, if they were injured serving their country, they should receive full medical aid and disability," he said. Todd said he went on the mission because he wanted to see the explosion. A warning might not have kept him away. He said the men were promised things that the military didn't deliver, but it didn't make any difference. "I would have gone if they hadn't promised us anything,' he said. Strickland, who was attached to a general's staff at the time, said the blast 14 SEPTEMBER 30, 1983