Tarawa Commemorated in Kiribati Inside
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HAWAII Marine Doi,ornor r r 2, 1993 Vol. 21, No. 47 Serving MCAS Kaneohe Bay, 1st MEB, Camp N.M. Smith and Marine Barracks Preliminary study shows chemicals and illness unrelated ,11.1Ali,111S ..t I /, len:, agent Panel to con- Isarim in very ,ow e...ccotratitins on about 40 minutes ap,,rt on Jan, tinue studies 19, 199l, mirth-ast of Haar Al Gulf War veterans Hatin, and deits usi a small patch of liquid mustard iigeot. near King persistant health Kahlid Military City on Jan. 24, 1991, problems Acting f,, the Ilefense Department, the Army conducted an examination of Hie Czech reports, and the POS:,:ble health Marine Corps News -effects on U.S. for, es of the presence of Hui t. Them: al weapon agents. The findim..s of that Secretary of Defense Les Aspin examination were released said recently a preliminary review recently. has found no linkage between The Army's report said no small amounts of chemical weapon symptoms were recorded among agents reported early in Operation personnel in the area, and could Desert Storm and continuing find "no reasonable linkage" health problems suffered by some between chemical agents in the Gulf War veterans. low concentrations reported by the At the same time, the Czechs and persistent health department announced it was problems experienced by some Gulf forming a panel of outside experts War veterans. to further examine the issue. The The report said it was unlikely panel will be headed by Nobel the source of the agent was Iraqi Laureate Joshua Lederberg of The offensive ac;;-in. It alsi ruled out Rockerfeller University in New the possibilit. that allied tombing LOU P0171101V/ York, and will include Professor of Iraqi ch-inical facihits could George Whitesides, Mallinckrodt have caused the dei'i ons. For Professor of Chemistry at Harvard the agent to reach the detection Rounds Away! U niversity. points from that cause, the initial "I want our Desert Storm release wood have Ih.m so large 1,12 Marines received hands on experience at Schofield Barracks. The Marines were able to shoot We rounds with the 105mm veterans to know that I personally as to cause considerate casualties Howitzer. take these health problems along the v iv. No such casualties stemming from the war very, very, were present around chemical very seriously and the whole facilities bonilaxl by allied forces. department takes these problems The department has said there very, very seriously," Aspin said. was no verifiii',ie use of chemical The chemical agent detections weapons dud .g the Ytir. That Tarawa commemorated in Kiribati were reported by Czechoslovakian remains trie For ex , le, the fully more than the Un chemical warfare detachments Czech prcceoures did cot Also participating were World the tiny island produced Stackpole represented deployed with Saudi Arabian comply w.' eraational By Capt. Philip Thompson War II veterans, Marines from III 3,000 Marine and Navy casualties. States government and the United Deputy, PAO Morino Forcer Poolle forces. The detections occurred Oest,iii a it verify Marine Expeditionary Force, The Germantown, homeported States Commander in Chief protocols a Pacific. within Saudi Arabia in the opening chemical use. Et.: -- :,awed interest sailors of the USS Germantown in Sasebo, Japan, embarked days of Operation Desert Storm. reports prompted the BETIO, Pacific detachment of Marines from the At sunrise on Nov. 20. the in the Czech Tarawa-The (LSD-42), and LtGen. H.C. A U.S. of experts ,tds VO4L to 1)t.teo.,e 3d Combat Engineer Battalion, HI Germantown initiated the team Prow,. island nation of the Republic of Stackpole III, commander, Marine dispatched last month to Prague Department experts in October to Kiribati hosted the 50th Forces Pacific. MEF, based in Okinawa, to commemoration of the 1943 D- provide a color guard, honor Day with ceremonial flares and and assessed the training. learn what more they could about Anniversary Commemoration of About 50 veterans flew to Betio equipment, technical competence the Czech detections. the Battle of Tarawa, November to mark the anniversary of one platoon, and engineer support for gunfire, which was viewed by of from and measurement procedures As far as health effects were 1993 on Betio Island in the Tarawa of the Marine Corps' bloodiest the commemoration. Elements hundreds of Tarawa natives review the III MEF Band flew to Kiribati the beaches which Marines crossed employed by the Czech personnel. concerned, the Army Atoll. battles. The three-day assault on The U.S. team concluded the assumed that chemical agents were to provide musical support. 50 years ago. agents. official commemorative A including the Marines Czechs did detect present in the concentrations The parade is no way now began 10 a.m., Nov. Kiribati However, there detected by the Czechs and asked ceremonies at and sailors, as well as the to impact would 19, with an open house and Police Band and local school and independently confirm the what the possible sightseeing aboard the organizations, commenced at 9:30 detections. have been. The study found "no Germantown. Later that day, a.m. on Betio. The parade ended "We have no independent reasonable linkage" between the LtGen. Stackpole participated in at the Betio Playing Field, which verification of the detections so reported agents and the illnesses a groundbreaking ceremony for a is a segment of the original we cannot confirm them but we reported by Gulf War veterans. school which will be built in the Japanese airfield. do not rule out the possibility," "This report is a first step. Were atoll with United States assistance. After the marching units took said Under Secretary for creating this outside minel to Acquisition John Deutch, a double check our findings to make In the brief ceremony, LtGen. up positions, President Teannaki iivediiiked Stackpole stressed the need for arrived. The President and other professor of chemistry on leave sure we haven't education in a free society. At guests were welcomed in the from a leading university. Deutch anything." Deuteh said. 4:30 p.m., the Germantown hosted traditional Kiribati manner by a has direct responsibility for review The Saudi Arabian government an on-board reception for the Betio native, who introduced the of the issue. has pledged it, iii ,.1, in the President of Kiribati, the honorable President The Czech units reported two effort. Teatao Teannaki. Local and President Teannaki spoke not of foreign government officials also war, but of peace, and his nation's Copt. Phillip IhOMpSOP attended, including representatives desire to remain a peaceful, Kingdom, New A Japanese from the United democratic country. coastal defense gun stands as a mute sentinel over today's Zealand, and Australia. LtGen. peaceful beaches at Tarawa See Tarawa, A-12 Inside December declared Drunk Driving Prevention Month drinks and food," he said. "Also, Joint Public Affairs Office some clubs on base and restaurants outside offer discounted Every year, traffic accidents kill sodas for the designated driver." more Americans between the ages In addition, many installations of six and 33 than any other sponsor programs for people cause - and almost half of these needing rides. deaths involve alcohol. Nationally, drivers and To highlight the problem, pedestrians impaired by alcohol Department of Defense and accounted for 17,700 deaths last national safety officials designated year, or about 45 percent of the December as the National Drunk nation's 39,235 traffic fatalities, and Drugged Driving Prevention according to Tarry Hess, a Kids strut their stuff Month. The theme for the month National Highway Traffic Safety is "Let's Take a Stand; Friends Administration spokesperson. As Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk." had as these figures appear, they Mokopu Elementary School students stretch out their legs dun, The percentage of DoD motor are an improvement from 1972, the school's 3rd annual watkathon , B-8 vehicle fatalities involving alcohol when 54,589 died on U.S. continues to decline, said John highways, half in alcohol-related Lemke, DoD assistant director for crashes. Ads B-5 occupational safety and The proportion of teen-age occupational health policy. drivers involved in fatal crashes Blotter A-2 During the first three quarters while intoxicated has dropped Briefs A 14 of 1993, traffic fatalities took the significantly, from 31 percent in Lives of 316 military members. Of 1982 17.1 1992. to percent in Still, Equal Opportunity B-9 these, 65, or 19.2 percent stemmed said Hess, 2,452 youths aged from alcohol-related accidents, said between 15 to 22 died in alcohol- Movies B-5 I nmke. For the first three quarters related crashes last year, about of 1992, alcohol was a factor in eight every day. MWR Offerings B-9 55, or 19.6 percent, of the 280 "That is a lot of parents who Spice Of Life B-5 military highway deaths will never see their children again," I emke said the continued decline she said. She said surveys show Sot Morton 1 Mani; Sports Commentary B-1 is due to Dot) prevention efforts fewer eighth graders today believe F Marine Expeditionary Brigade ax well as a change in society's underage drinking is bad than a BGen. R. Vercauteren, 1st Religion B-4 attitude toward impaired driving. commanding general, and Col. R.R. Crawford, Marine Corps Air similar survey in 1989. "This system" to Tickets B-4 Dot) will continue to emphasize means that without prevention Station Kaneohe Bay commanding officer use the "buddy the designated driver program. tie a red ribbon on the station commanding officers car in support efforts, we may see more teen-age Against Drunk DrMng This Week Around the World A-3 "It's a good idea for friends to fatalities in the near future." of a red ribbon campaign hosted by Mothers (MADD) buy the designated driver's soft See DrMng, A-10 A-2 Hawaii Marine December 2, 1993 MarForPac Band carolling schedule The Marine Forces Pacific Band Marine Corps Exchange, also at Dec.