Hundreds of thousands of servicemen were exposed to asbestos over decades, especially during the period from 1940 to 1980. Asbestos was used in construction of naval vessels as well as shore facilities. All branches of the military used asbestos, which was also widely used in civilian applications. Asbestos can cause mesothelioma. Because this cancer has a particularly long latency period, many servicemen who were exposed years ago are now developing this disease.
- Mesothelioma Patient & Family Resources: Mesotheliomahelp is provided by Belluck & Fox, LLP as a comprehensive resource for mesothelioma victims and their families. The site provides up-to-date information on the latest news and treatment options as well as an easy to use search feature to find local mesothelioma doctors and health care clinics.
We fight for veterans harmed by asbestos: Veterans with mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer should know they have options: the opportunity to bring a suit against manufacturers and sellers of the asbestos that caused their illness. If you were harmed by asbestos exposure, for example, in ships or military housing, contact Weitz & Luxenberg to get a free case review.
Important Information for Veterans: Asbestos products were often used on military ships and within military housing, and Veterans may have been exposed. Previous exposure to asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma, a fatal cancer that has no cure and affects countless Veterans and loved ones. For more information regarding military asbestos exposure visit Mesothelioma.com
News: Institute aims to identify graves of black veterans
By Jake Palmateer
A local research institute specializing in the study of black Civil War soldiers is expanding its efforts to include Revolutionary War veterans.
So far, the initiative has led to a greater understanding of the life of Cato Freedom, a freed black man who served in a Connecticut regiment, and whose grave was discovered in the town of Burlington, said Harry Bradshaw Matthews, associate dean of U.S. pluralism programs at Hartwick College. Bradshaw is the founder of the U.S. Colored Troops Institute for Local History and Family Research, or USCTI.
The Senate unanimously passed a resolution yesterday apologizing for slavery, making way for a joint congressional resolution and the latest attempt by the federal government to take responsibility for 2 1/2 centuries of slavery.
Features: Seven Civil War stories your teacher never told you
* Hundreds of women in both armies dressed as men so they could serve * Confederate anthem "Dixie" was a favorite of Abraham Lincoln's * Confederate President Jefferson Davis was effectively mugged by a gang of women * Paul Revere's grandson fought at the Battle of Gettysburg
By Eric Johnson
Perhaps your history teachers failed to alert you to these Civil War facts: Jefferson Davis nearly got mugged by an angry female mob; Abraham Lincoln loved the Confederate anthem "Dixie," and Paul Revere was a Civil War casualty.
The Civil War, in addition to being among the defining moments of U.S. history, is also the source of some bizarre and surprisingly cool trivia.
News: Remains make final journey; ceremony today at veterans cemetery in Sierra Vista
TUCSON — Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas says it is time the few remains of soldiers from the 1860s through the 1880s who died in the then Arizona Territory be given a final resting place.
“They need land where they will have final peace,” the bishop of the Diocese of Tucson said Friday morning.
Prior to blessing the remains of 57 soldiers, three children and an Army civilian employee at All Faiths Cemetery in Tucson, the bishop said, “All of us want our lives to be remembered and respected.”
When asked if Georgia would be better off as an independent nation or as part of the United States, 43 percent of Republicans in the state selected independent nation, according to a poll published Friday.Asked, “Would you approve or disapprove of Georgia leaving the United States?” 32 percent of Georgia Republicans said they would approve.
State wide, just 27 percent think Georgia would be better off independent of the U.S. and a mere 18 percent would approve of secession.
There's no question Senate Resolution 632, a legislative proposal that should have been packaged with cases of survival rations and bottled water, a stash of automatic weapons, a mountain hideaway and enough tinfoil to make fashionable headgear for the entire family, was a Republican play to a hard-core segment of its conservative base.
The proposal, which got a 43-1 vote - including the official okey-dokeys of the local delegation, Republican Sens. Bill Cowsert and Ralph Hudgens - is nothing but a none-too-thinly veiled call to arms, a tangible expression of the dark wingnut fears that President Obama is just a pen stroke away from repealing the Second Amendment, dragooning America's young people into the Obama Youth and generally wreaking havoc with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
In essence, the resolution - available for review online on the Georgia General Assembly's Web site - lays out the circumstances under which the Georgia Senate believes the state might be justified in ignoring the U.S. Constitution and/or seceding from the Union.
It also contemplates the circumstances under which the United States itself might be dissolved.
The United States Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis issued a report last week suggesting that current political and economic conditions are energizing right-wing extremist groups, that many of these groups follow extremely conservative ideologies and that some may seek to recruit and “radicalize” veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
True, true and true.
But, conservatives reacted by throwing a knee-jerk hissy fit.
Note:A report issued last summer by former President Bush’s F.B.I. entitled “White Supremacist Recruitment of Military Personnel since 9/11" (http://cryptome.org/spy-whites.pdf) said that “military experience is found throughout the white supremacist extremist movement” and that these groups “have attempted to increase their recruitment of current and former U.S. military personnel.”
As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, I take very much to heart the well being of the republic, not just for my own best interests but for every one elses as well, not the lunatic fringe element how ever that I read about who seem bent on burning down the country now that the People have voted the GOP out of office and continue to at every level.
It seems rather apparent that the GOP have decided to attempt to impose a scorched earth policy if they cannot get their way. For example the Duckworth nomination? Mz Duckworth was as worthy of a VA position as any veteran but Burr of Carolina had some animus he said was related to questions he had? So far as I am concerned he was lying, I spoke to his staff person myself by phone in order to report to you here, and it didnt take long to realize he could not answer me in truthfull terms.
News: Confederate holiday provokes a war between the Souths
Reporting from Atlanta -- In a cultural war that has pitted Old South against New, defenders of the Confederate legacy have opened a fresh front in their campaign to polish an image tarnished, they say, by people who do not respect Southern values.
Special Report: Help Save Memorial Hall, Dedicated in 1915 to the Veterans of the Civil War
by Randy Ark
For over two hundred years, there have been meetings where the fate of Springfield and its properties have been decided and discussed. Last night’s “open forum” at the Heritage Center was no different. As they did then, so we do now.
Over a span of two hundred years, beginning with James Demint, John Dougherty, and Griffith Foos, concerned citizens of Springfield have been meeting to decide things like what to build, where to build, whether to expand, and what to tear down. The meeting last night at the Heritage Center was a reminder to me of all such meetings in the past. Springfield has had its share of historic buildings meet the wrecking ball of progress, but other edifices have been saved, like the Market Building where this meeting took place.
Special Report: Albert Woolson: The Last Living Civil War Veteran
The last surviving veteran of any particular war, upon his or her death, marks the end of a historic era. Exactly who is the last surviving veteran is often an issue of contention, especially with records from long-ago wars. The "last man standing" was often very young at the time of enlistment and in many cases had lied about his age to gain entry into the service, which confuses matters further.
There were sometimes incentives for men to lie about their ages after their military service ended. In addition, there were some impostors who claimed to have served but did not (such as Walter Williams, who claimed to be 117 in 1959). For example, many former Confederate States in the South gave pensions to Confederate veterans of the American Civil War. Several men falsified their ages in order to qualify for these pensions, especially during the Great Depression; this makes the question of the identity of the last Confederate veteran especially problematic. The status of the officially recognized "last Confederate veteran" is in dispute.
Albert Woolson of Minnesota was a Union drummer boy who died in 1956, and the Civil War's last authenticated survivor.
There is a good chance that we have all been asked that question. For those who have indeed had encounters with unexplained phenomenon, author and historian, Mark Nesbitt has written a series of books called "The Ghosts of Gettysburg," which focuses on ghostly haunts and happenings at the site of Civil War battlefields.
The Civil War was a tragic time in our nation's history. More than 2.9 million men served and over 620,000 died. In the Battle of Gettysburg alone, more than 50,000 lost their lives. With so much loss of life, suffering and destruction at all these battlefields, it is not surprising that people claim to have witnessed apparitions of soldiers during their visits to these locations.
Nesbitt didn't have to look far to get the inspiration to write his books.
"The inspiration to write the first 'Ghosts of Gettysburg' book came from the fact that while I was a park ranger at Gettysburg, I had collected a number of ghost stories from other rangers, Gettysburg College employees and visitors. When the first book was out, people who had been reticent about telling their ghostly experiences at Gettysburg realized they were not alone. So far, I have collected about 1,000 ghost stories, published and unpublished, about Gettysburg and about 100 or so about Fredericksburg, Va., another haunted Civil War area."
200th Birthday of U.S. War Veteran Jefferson Davis
Should We Remember U.S. War Veteran Jefferson Davis or Should History Hang Him for Treason?
Some Say We Should Celebrate His 200th Birthday
It hasn't been so easy getting people excited about celebrating the 200th birthday of that tall, gaunt, bearded, Kentucky-bred president who was born in a log cabin and went on to lead his people through a bloody civil war.
No, not Abraham Lincoln. Last week, President Bush himself helped kick off a two-year celebration of the Great Emancipator's Feb. 12, 2009, bicentennial that will include dozens of events in Kentucky, Illinois, Washington and beyond.
It's that other tall, log cabin-born Kentuckian, Jefferson Davis, whose 200th has turned out to be something of a lost cause.
by Randy Ark
The last surviving veteran of any particular war, upon his or her death, marks the end of a historic era. Exactly who is the last surviving veteran is often an issue of contention, especially with records from long-ago wars. The "last man standing" was often very young at the time of enlistment and in many cases had lied about his age to gain entry into the service, which confuses matters further.
Should We Remember U.S. War Veteran Jefferson Davis or Should History Hang Him for Treason? 
