Marine Corps Air Station El Toro

Author : Robert J. O'dowd
Publisher : CreateSpace
ISBN 13 : 9781502340009
Total Pages : 550 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (4 download)

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Download or read book Betrayal written by Robert J. O'dowd and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-09-14 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BETRAYAL is the story of toxic chemical exposure at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro on the West Coast (CA) and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune on the East Coast (NC). BETRAYAL reports the denial of the effects of exposure to toxic chemicals to veterans and their dependents, including the highest incidence of male breast cancer at Camp Lejeune of any demographic in the U.S. None of the veterans that served aboard these two installations were notified of their exposure to deadly contaminants when it was discovered resulting in both bases earning EPA Superfund status. Many have died without 'connecting the dots' between their killing diseases and military service. There is no VA health care for El Toro Marines. The trichloroethylene (TCE) plume at El Toro spreads miles off the former base into Orange County. TCE (a carcinogen) was used at El Toro for decades and contaminated the soil, groundwater and aquifer, cutting a path right through the base's wells. Over 70 toxic chemicals contaminated both El Toro and Lejeune. BETRAYAL reports on the missing water distribution engineering drawings and original well construction drawings (permanent records) at El Toro, the findings from Navy well destruction reports, and the radiation contamination in a 200,000 square foot hangar not discovered until after the base was closed. The documentation at Lejeune and persistence by Marine veterans and their dependents and several Congressmen resulted in the passage of the Janey Ensminger Act in August 2012. Even after approval of health care by the VA for Camp Lejeune Marines, veterans have to fight for VA disability compensation benefits; most of the claims are denied by the VA and some die before their appeals can be heard; dependent toxic tort claims gather dust in the Navy's Judge Advocate General's office files with no interest in processing them. There is no presumptive disability for El Toro and Lejeune. Veterans who served honorably have to secure creditable medical evidence and medical nexus opinions linking their medical conditions to military service. Legal service for VA disability compensation claims can't be obtained until the claim is denied, which can take years before a decision is made. Marines have a long history of service to the country and loyalty to each other. Military service is a duty that citizens voluntarily take up, but if that service leads to toxic poisoning and denial of responsibility by the government, then the impact on the defense of the country will suffer.BETRAYAL includes the story of the murder of Marine Colonel James E. Sabow and other Marines whose deaths have are tied to use of El Toro's assets during the 1980s and 1990s to ferry weapons and supplies to the Contra rebel faction in Nicaragua and cocaine and marijuana into the U.S. to fund an undeclared war in Nicaragua. Relieved from his position pending an investigation of personal misuse of government aircraft, Colonel Sabow demanded a court martial to clear his name of false charges. Until the day before his murder, he had no idea that civilian aircraft used in an NSC covert operation were involved in narcotrafficking. Colonel Sabow had a reputation as a straight arrow Marine and was threat to blow the whistle on those involved in narcotrafficking. The circumstances surrounding his death and the forensic evidence from the crime scene support murder by a government assassination team, crime scene tampering and government cover-up at the highest levels, including a 'doctored autopsy photograph' submitted to a federal district court and in a Defense Department report to Congress to support suicide. There's more than enough evidence to support a formal inquest and criminal investigation by the Justice Department.