FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:Jerry Newberry
telephone: 816/968/1168
email: jnewberry@vfw.org

VFW Applauds VA Action For Gulf War Veterans

With Lou Gehrig’s Disease

WASHINGTON, DC, Dec. 11, 2001—Swift action by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to grant immediate service connection for Gulf War veterans suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) drew praise today from the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.

A study, conducted by the VA and the Department of Defense involving some 2.5 million veterans, showed that those who served in the Persian Gulf War are twice as likely to develop ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, than those who did not deploy to the region during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. ALS is a fatal neurological disease that destroys the nerve cells that control muscle movement. Neither a cause nor an effective treatment for ALS is known.

Since 1999 the VFW, noting a higher incidence of ALS among Persian Gulf War veterans, has called for intensified medical and scientific research to determine the cause of ALS among Gulf War veterans. Earlier, in testimony before the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees, the VFW advocated a joint VA-DOD study that received strong support.

VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi’s decision to provide immediate medical treatment and compensation to Gulf War veterans with ALS rather than waiting for further studies was applauded by the VFW as “caring and commendable.”

“The VFW, for some time, has been vocal in our belief that there is a strong indication that ALS is deserving of a presumption for service connection compensation,” VFW Commander-in-Chief James N. Goldsmith said. “This action will benefit not only some very ill veterans but also the families of those veterans who have regrettably died from ALS.”

The 2.7-million-member VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary, committed to a strong national security program, works for the well being of those still serving on active duty, in the National Guard and the Reserves. The VFW, through a system of service officers, provides assistance to all veterans and their families in obtaining veterans entitlements and other services.