From Deseret News archives:
'Atomic veterans' sift fallout from court ruling
This week, a court ruling sliced away at her bid for redress.
In a quiet ruling that nonetheless resonates nationwide, a federal appellate court rejected efforts by Broudy and others seeking claims on behalf of "atomic veterans," exposed to radiation during nuclear tests and in post-war Japan. The same court simultaneously rejected bids by other veterans exposed to biological and chemical agents.
Taken together, the dual rulings by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will likely impede many veterans hoping for compensation. At the very least, it will complicate future claims.
"It's a significant ruling," Washington-based attorney David Cynamon, who represented veterans in both cases, said Friday. "Unfortunately, it's a significantly bad ruling."
A Department of Veterans Affairs spokesman couldn't be reached to comment.
Broudy, a resident of California's Orange County, has long been seeking full compensation for the death of her husband, a Marine major who was repeatedly exposed to radiation. She has company.
"It isn't just my personal case," Broudy said Friday. "It's the entire veterans community. It makes me so angry."
Broudy married her husband, Charles, in 1948. Three years earlier, he'd walked the war-poisoned streets of Nagasaki. Within a decade, he was facing radiation in the Nevada desert. He died of lymphatic cancer in 1977. Though she has since received partial compensation, Broudy has been confronting the federal government for more. She has now lost three separate lawsuits.
"This closes the door," Cynamon said of the latest appellate court ruling, which was issued Wednesday. "It will make it very difficult, if not impossible, for individuals who are victimized by government cover-ups."
All told, an estimated 220,000 U.S. soldiers were allegedly exposed to radiation in the 1940s and 1950s. Some, such as William Yurdyga of Sacramento, Calif., claimed in an earlier lawsuit that they were exposed following the Hiroshima or Nagasaki atomic blast. Others claimed exposure during Cold War testing.
Recent comments
I was a member of Joint Task Force 8 during the Christmas Island...
Paul D. Cannon | April 28, 2009 at 12:08 p.m.
My husband took part in operation teapot in May 1955. He died of...
J. Schonmaker | Nov. 13, 2008 at 1:39 p.m.
I took part in operation tea pot in 1955 in feb and in june and in...
joseph s cohen | April 23, 2008 at 6:15 a.m.
- Food drive to benefit Road Home 10:13 p.m.
- EPA proposes sulfur dioxide limits 10:11 p.m.
- USU tops Idaho State 77-44 10:05 p.m.
- Mitchell lawyers lose motion to leave 10:00 p.m.
- Woman who fell off shuttle identified 9:59 p.m.
- Somali boy wears tragic face of war 9:58 p.m.
- Impeachment scope to widen 9:58 p.m.
- No change in policy on land mines 9:57 p.m.
- Lambert bumped from morning show 9:57 p.m.
- Birthdays for Wednesday, Nov. 25 9:56 p.m.
- Utah, BYU are top choices for bowls
- BYU would like friendlier rivalry
- Protests against Phoenix LDS temple
- Best prep football games of 2009
- KSL: Prostitution in Utah County
- Man trapped in own body for 23 yrs
- Kirilenko climbing blocks list
- Woman describes stabbing, killing
- Boys basketball rankings
- 'Dancing' will fill out finale
- BYU would like friendlier rivalry
229 - Glenn Beck to enter politics?
224 - RSL wins MLS Cup on penalty kicks
202 - Protests against Phoenix LDS temple
185 - Palin plans tour stop in Utah
179 - Bronco, Kyle rubber match
137 - Palin's book shows she's unqualified
136 - BYU records with win
133 - Letters: Rushing to judge Palin
119 - Officer cleared in Cardall Taser case
104
This one is on Sloan. There are coaches out there who know how to disrupt the...
Evidence shows that the globe was warmer 10,000 years ago than it is now....
Just so everyone is on the same page here, this is not a religous battle. It...
Seattle University and Idaho, come on Utes this an embarrassment to the...
This makes Utah States loss look really bad. Do they still claim to be the...
You took the Sonics right down to the wire. how many other college teams...
Honestly, I know nothing about the rest of the MLS. I consider myself to be...
Sorry from the beginning they were Rahe's players and not Craven's seeing as...
BYU loses to the Utes, who do not pound inferior opponents, but will almost...
I am not coaching anymore so I can pick the game as I see it. I go with...


