Tragedy inspires ex-soldier to fight for veterans rights
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11/10/2007 -
Gulf War veteran Daniel Craig enlisted in the Army when he was 17 years old. The recruiters told him it would be fun, he'd get to travel and he'd have adventures.It was traumatic, he said. He enlisted in December 1980 while he was a senior in high school. In July 1981, one month after he graduated, he was in basic training.
"Just going through basic training is traumatic," Craig said.
The memories of what happened as a result of his involvement in the Gulf War still haunt Craig — including the death of his first son and difficulties in getting GI benefits for school.
When he enlisted, his recruiter said he would have GI Bill benefits waiting for him when he wanted to attend college. Three years after he enlisted in the Army, he finished his active duty he came home.
"I just wanted to come home and go to New Mexico State University," Craig said.
He enlisted with the New Mexico Army National Guard and planned to attend college. When he visited the Veteran's Administration, he found out some upsetting news.
"I found out I didn't have any GI Bill because my recruiter had lied to me," Craig said. "It took a congressional investigation to get my GI Bill money."
Despite his troubles, he went into active duty again four years later. He was deployed to Iraq, where he operated M1 Abrams tanks, which fire depleted-uranium munitions.
In 1992, Craig's first son, Aaron, was stillborn because of developmental birth defects, including the lack of kidneys and a bladder. Craig suspects that his son was not developing kidneys and a bladder due to his exposure to depleted uranium and other toxic substances.
"Basically we were poisoned," Craig said. "So when my son died it took me years to understand what the hell happened. I thought it was just a fluke, but it turns out thousands of Gulf War veterans have experienced the same thing I have."
According to a June 3, 2003, article in USA Today, the children of Gulf War veterans are more likely to have three birth defects: heart valve defects, genital and urinary defects and kidney defects. Researchers in a study conducted by the Department of Defense Naval Health Research Center and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention denied the soldier's exposure to poisonous gases and toxic substances was to blame, but the USA Today story also stated many Gulf War veterans feel differently.
"Fortunately for me, Veterans for Peace came into my life, because I was so pissed and traumatized," Craig said. "I met this group of veterans who were working to change things and make things healthier by educating people and giving them a full picture of the military."
Craig joined the Joan Duffy Chapter of Veterans for Peace November 2002 as a means to deal with his anger. He said it provided an outlet in every way, "intellectually, emotionally and spiritually."
"A big part of (my involvement) was because of my disillusionment with the government," Craig said. "I always knew the government lied to us, I knew that since I was a kid ... I was so frustrated, angry and hurt that I needed an outlet for it. Veterans for Peace, when I came across its path, made sense to me."
He said he wants for other individuals to know what they're getting themselves into before they sign the contract. He might have made a different decision had he known all he would go through, he said.
Craig, now the president of the chapter, seeks to tell potential recruits what it's really like to be a person in the uniform through the chapter's Full Disclosure Recruiting program. Through the program, chapter members travel to high schools in New Mexico and tell students what they've experienced so young people can make an informed decision.
"The point is not to dissuade them from joining but to make sure they understand a more full picture of what it means to wear a uniform," Craig said. "We don't tell people not to join, we just tell them to think before they join."
They want to tell potential recruits about the realities of military service, not just the "glory stories."
"All that (glory) in some way is true and it's valid, but there is also a price that some of us pay," Craig said.
Veterans should be honored every day for that price, he said. He is disillusioned because it seems veterans are only honored during Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
Craig himself doesn't have any Veterans Day traditions, but over the last few years has started to recognize the holiday.
"Over the last few years as I came to understand what my military service meant ... I've recognized it for a few years now," Craig said. "Before, it was just another holiday on the calendar, even though I was a veteran."
He is proud of the Joan Duffy Chapter's new tradition — being in the Veterans Day Parade.
He said the best way the government can honor the veterans is to make it easier for them to take advantages of their GI benefits and to offer them all better health care.