This is a story about a grieving mother, a deceased 22 yr. Old U.S. Army soldier that died shortly after being deployed to Iraq and some stuff called Depleted Uranium…
by Lonnie D. Story
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Let me tell you a story (no pun intended) and it isn’t about a man named Jed. No, this is a story about a grieving mother, a deceased 22 yr. Old U.S. Army soldier that died shortly after being deployed to Iraq and some stuff called Depleted Uranium.
On January 3, 2006, I walked into the lobby of my bank in Ormond Beach, Florida. While joking with a teller about my recently published book, the bank manager took notice. Her name was Lori Brim and she had some questions to ask of me. As I followed her to her office I was concerned this had something to do with my account. As it turns out, it was something far more removed from my day-to-day thinking than I ever could have imagined. I have this gut belief that all things happen for a reason and there are no such things as coincidence. Because of that belief, and some that have developed along the way, I agreed to do what Lori asked. Here is how it goes:
Lori sat at her desk and I watched closely as she clearly braced herself to speak, “Lonnie that is my son over there.” She said as she pointed to a picture of a typical all American young man in an army uniform. My very first thought was of my own son and how similar the two were. At seeing the picture and, of course, thinking of my own 20 yr. Old son, I thought this was going to be a lighthearted conversation. Not so. Lori proceeded to tell me how Dustin was her only child and how rambunctious he was as a teenager. She went further to explain, like any parent, she had become very concerned about where he was headed in life after high school. After careful consideration and inquiry, she thought that the army might be a good place for Dustin. After all, he would get the guidance, training and discipline he needed, all while get paid and full benefits. She spoke with a recruiter and asked, if her son joined, would he risk being deployed in a war. The recruiter explained that, being an only son, Dustin was exempt. This gave her assurance so she proceeded to encourage Dustin and a short time later he did in fact enlist. Dustin’s father and mother don’t come from families with much military background so this was all new to them.
As the conversation continued along that line, Lori paused for a long moment. Her eyes began to well up and she apologized. I knew now this was not going to go well. Lori finally fought through her tears to tell me more. “Have you ever heard of depleted uranium?” She asked. The question took me off guard. “What does that have to do with what your telling me?” I thought but didn’t ask. I just responded “I’ve never heard of it.” She continued to tell me how, in August, 2003 Dustin was deployed to the war in Iraq as a mechanic. He seemed excited and anxious, almost happy. “Dusty was like that, you know, always kind of happy.” She continued. Well, being Dusty, he came home in December to surprise his Mom and Dad. They were indeed surprised and overjoyed at seeing their strong, handsome soldier/son returning. It was only for a short time.
Three months later, in March, 2004, Dustin developed pains in his side. In fact the symptoms were more ominous. Night-sweats, shortness of breath, constipation and the list went on. Eleven times Dustin sought help from the Troop Medical Clinic and others. Each time to be turned away with the answers, “sweat it out. Need more fiber. Anxiety.” They seemed like fair answers until March 31st when Dustin collapsed in the field and was rushed to Baghdad hospital. On April 1st, Dustin called home to tell his mother he had been diagnosed with cancer. Lori couldn’t believe her ears. She repeated to Dustin it was impossible. He was so fit and had never been sick. By April 6th, Dustin had arrived at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Within six months, Dustin had succumbed to a cancer that literally ravaged his body at a pace the doctors could not match. Six diverse types of chemotherapy and multiple contradicting diagnosis weren’t enough to save him.
It was here, Lori explained, for the first time the words depleted uranium had been mentioned to her ‘off the record.’ For time, sake I will save the details.
Lori asked, since she knew I wrote biographies, if I would write Dustin’s story. How could I refuse? Since that time, what seems like a year ago, I have researched the subject over the Internet and spoken with a list of experts in Science, Medicine, Nuclear Study, etc. The lists reads like a who’s who and a cast of characters on the credit lines of a movie. What I found was that this stuff called depleted uranium is used in munitions by the U.S. military and other agencies. The stuff is a so-called waste product of the uranium enrichment process and makes an excellent modern day weapon. This is where it all gets overwhelming, so I will let you the reader to do your own homework. The bottom line to this story is that I discovered a few things. First, depleted uranium is pyrophoric, which is to say that when exposed to extreme heat (200 degrees C) it explodes into very tiny particles and remains for approximately 4.5 billion years. The second thing I found out is that the subject of depleted uranium appears to be pyrophoric at 98.6 degrees F. It is quite interesting. In fact, interesting enough for me to write a book. “Without A Shot Fired: The Dustin Brim Story” is in the making and I am searching for a publisher. In the meantime, Lori, is ready to speak out about her experiences, feelings and beliefs. To that I say “Go Lori!” I wish I could say “see you in the funny papers” But there doesn’t seem to be much funny substance to depleted uranium nor the subject thereof.
Mr. Lonnie D. Story, (email – sail44free@aol.com) is the author of “The Meeting of Anni Adams” and is working on “Without A Shot Fired: The Dustin Brim Story” Lonnie has just begun a new weekly column at www.populistamerica.com
