(CNN)Every
time Army veteran Henry Mayo Jr. looks in the mirror -- his appearance
permanently altered by medical conditions -- he is reminded of his
service to the United States. But the Department of Veterans Affairs
denies the connection between his sickness and his service, a problem
that hinges on the fact that Mayo wasn't sent overseas, but served his
country on US soil.
The
former Army specialist says he developed a number of health conditions
years after he served in the 21st Chemical Company. "I done lost my
skin, my glands don't work. I don't sweat, so I just have to live with
it," Mayo told CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper."
"I started losing my hair and then my skin started getting bad, then
the knots started rising on my head ... that was something to be scared
of, you know. You didn't know what was going to happen next."
VA
records show that Mayo, 80, sought coverage for medical conditions that
include a type of lymphoma often associated with exposure to Agent
Orange.
Mayo
was drafted in 1959 and sent to Fort McClellan in Alabama, where Mayo
says mustard gas was tested on his skin and he participated in radiation
tests without protective gear.
"We
went out to this radiation area and we was there for about three hours.
No kind of instruction or nothing. They just gave us the badge and told
us to pin it on us," Mayo says of the radiation test, during which he
wore a device to monitor exposure. Fort McClellan was closed in 1999
after the Environmental Protection Agency labeled it a "Superfund site,"
a term used for areas so contaminated by hazardous waste that they pose
a threat to human health.
The
Department of Veterans Affairs argues there's no proof Mayo's medical
issues are a result of his Army service, which means it doesn't have to
cover the high cost of care. Other veterans who served at Fort McClellan
say they have gotten the same response.
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