Vet blames Gulf War service for cancer
<>Anna Krejci
Chris Petersen
wde-news@capitalnewspapers.com
Chris Petersen, 36, of Briggsville is fighting cancer that he believes was caused by exposure to chemical weapons while serving with the 32nd Military Police in Saudi Arabia.
His doctor has told him the cancer will likely be fatal, but Petersen -- the father of a 7-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy, and step-father of a 17-year-old girl -- remains optimistic that he will survive.
Petersen first experienced cancer in 2000 when doctors removed one of his kidneys affected by the disease. Petersen was feeling better until last year when he started feeling pain in his back and legs. Doctors said he had a pinched nerve. They eventually discovered the pinched nerve was due to cancerous tumors. The kidney cancer doctors found in 2000 had returned and spread to his lungs and bones.
Petersen used to work at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage until he became too ill. He said treatment makes him tired. He has no energy to hunt or repair cars, the hobbies he enjoys, he said.
In the mornings he wakes up and feels "stiffer than a board," he said.
He said the daily pills he's taking -- 28 pills in a bottle cost $6,000 -- cause his skin to become more sensitive so that it breaks more easily.
When asked about how his attitude is, he said he tries to stay upbeat and busy.
"We take turns being each other's cheerleaders," said Jessica Petersen, Chris's wife. Jessica has been undergoing surgery on her knees.
Petersen suspects the cancer is linked to his service in the Wisconsin National Guard when he was stationed in the Middle East in 1991. He said a friend he served with received a letter from the government informing him that he may have been exposed to Sarin gas when engineers destroyed chemical weapons near Hafar al Batin. The town in northern Saudi Arabia is near where Petersen was stationed.
Petersen worked as a prison guard for four months in Hafar al Batin, overseeing members of the Iraqi Republican Guard. He said they had surrendered willingly to U.S. troops. The prison camp he guarded swelled from zero to 20,000 prisoners in a week and he spent 8-hour shifts searching prisoners for illegal items, patting them down before placing them in the confines of the prison.
He described the experience as full of "boredom" and "monotony."
As members of the military police, Petersen said his company escorted convoys too and conducted routine law enforcement.
His tour of duty only lasted four months because the Saudis wanted to take over the operation of the prison, he said.
Despite the challenges he faces now living with cancer, Petersen said he doesn't regret serving his country in the Saudi Arabian prison.
Iraq, lead by Saddam Hussein, invaded neighboring Kuwait in August of 1990. Kuwait had been stealing its oil, was the rationale Hussein used. But the international community doubted Hussein's claims. In January 1991 U.S. forces conducted an air strike against Iraq, beginning Operation Desert Storm.
Prior to the air strike U.S. troops and military personnel were being stationed in Saudi Arabia, putting themselves in a position to defend Kuwait and Saudi Arabia if Hussein tried to lead his troops to take over more territory.
It was important for the United States to be there, Petersen said.
"We're the 9-1-1 of the world," he added. "I think we did the right thing going over there."
He said the U.S. forces should have removed Hussein from power during the Persian Gulf War. He had been ignoring United Nations resolutions for years, he said. And he had gassed Kurds living in his country, Petersen said.
The Petersen family has been receiving help from the community. Petersen said his co-workers have held fund-raisers. So have the Briggsville American Legion and the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary. Together, the two organizations donated $1,000 to the family.
"I'm very grateful for everything they've done to help," he said.
But facing cancer is not easy.
"I'm worried about it, but I'm trying to keep optimistic," he said.