Area 51 has been cloaked in secrecy for decades. This has led to numerous conspiracies that the base is home to aliens or secretive military operations. Recently, several individuals who once worked there have revealed that their health is deteriorating. There have been allegations of modified DNA and an invisible killer that left many who worked there with cancer from radiation. One major issue is that their work there was so secretive that the Department of Defense does not officially even acknowledge their existence.
Unexplained Deaths After Working at Area 51
All of these veterans served at the Nevada Test and Training Range in the mid-1980s and through the 1990s. They were all tasked with top-secret work and weren’t even allowed to share what they were doing with their own spouses. However, due to their classified status, they are not able to access the health care they need and are dying. When their story first broke in February, 446 of these veterans had passed on. Since then, the total number of deaths has risen to 491. Since then, two bills have been introduced in order to assist the veterans: the Forgotten Veterans Act and the Protect Act.
The 2016 Barbecue Reunion
In 2016, one of the veterans who had previously worked at Area 51, Dave Crete, threw a reunion barbecue for his former co-workers. It was meant to be an opportunity for them to share memories and reminisce over the old days. At one point during the barbecue, one of the veterans, Randy Groves, brought up the subject of tumors. According to Groves, “We’re just sitting around drinking beers. I said, ‘You guys, I got this lump on my back. Does anybody else got that?’ And Dave goes, ‘Yeah, I had a big one cut out.’” It was, in fact, one of 20 such lipomas that he had developed all over his back.
The Moment of Realization
The lump on Dave Crete’s back grew as large as a grapefruit before he had it surgically removed. One by one, six of the eight men present at the barbecue revealed that they had all also developed such lumps. Furthermore, a seventh veteran added that while he had not developed any, his son was born with one. This was the moment of realization for the veterans. As Groves put it, “It just kind of confirmed it. There was an issue where we were. That’s the one common denominator. We were all there.”
The Nevada Test and Training Site
This remote site in the Nevada desert was home to many top-secret military operations. It was also known that nuclear tests were carried out there since the 1950s. However, the full scope of their work there will never be made public, and the veterans aren’t allowed to talk about it either. Another of the veterans present at the barbecue, Mike Nemcic, had also developed tumors and multiple cancers. Starting when he was just 38 years old, he developed salivary gland, throat, colon, and bladder cancer.
A Kick in the Gut
A DOD contractor who worked alongside the veterans, Robert Krouse, developed two cancers. He had to have 80% of his tongue removed in addition to his teeth and vocal cords. As with all of the other men and women working at the site, they all assumed it was safe to do so. However, newly unearthed documents reveal that the government was aware of the risk they were placing the workers in. As Nemcic put it, “It’s like a kick in the gut. It’s just a matter of betrayal. These folks knew, and they purposefully kept it quiet because it was more beneficial to them not to tell us.”
Nuclear Weapons Testing
From the 1950s to the early 1990s, there were apparently hundreds of nuclear weapons tests conducted in the vicinity. Yet, the government started to explore the idea of building a military installation there for top-secret projects in the 1970s. This was despite the fact that an environmental report from 1975 revealed nuclear contamination from depleted beryllium, uranium, and plutonium. However, the report went on to conclude that “Discontinuing the work done … would be against the national interest.”
The Invisible Enemy
And so, these men and women were unknowingly sent to a contaminated site, despite the government being fully aware of the risks they were exposing them to. Additionally, since their work was classified, it is “Data-Masked”. This has resulted in all their claims being denied by Veterans Affairs. This is what prompted Crete to go public with their story and start a nonprofit organization calling for governmental transparency, called The Invisible Enemy. The organization is currently pushing for changes in legislation that would provide compensation and medical treatment for those affected by the contamination.
The Bottom Line
Considering the classified nature of this work, those affected have found it extremely challenging to have their case heard. Speaking at the House Veterans Committee roundtable, Dave Crete remarked, “We’re not talking about making somebody rich. We’re just talking about making them not forgotten.” For Dave, this is not only a policy issue, it is a promise to those he served alongside. However, as long as their information and past remain Data Masked, the Department of Defense will continue denying that they ever even worked there.
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