Air Force veteran David Crete didn’t link his medical ailments, including tumors and pulmonary issues, to his service at the Nevada Test and Training Range in the 1980s until he gathered with former work colleagues about a decade ago.
“He was sitting in his backyard, reconnecting with eight of them and asked them: ‘Does anyone here have tumors?’ And six of eight of them rose their hands and then proclaimed that even some of them had children with tumors,” Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., told Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a budget hearing last month.
Many fellow veterans have been diagnosed with a plethora of illnesses including blood, bone and organ cancers and cardiovascular and neurological issues, Crete told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday. He and his wife blame multiple miscarriages on the toxic poisoning.
The secrecy of the workers’ assignments, limited records shared within the government and the fact that many of them aren’t allowed to disclose where they worked prevents them from receiving full Veterans Affairs benefits and compensation, he said.
Crete founded The Invisible Enemy, an advocacy nonprofit that pushes for legislation to recognize and help thousands of military personnel it argues were harmed by radiation and toxins that remained within the Nevada facility decades after nuclear weapons testing took place.
Crete’s efforts have paid off.
Legislation seeks recognition, compensation
Lee and Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., are introducing legislation next week that calls for the federal government to officially recognize the service members’ illnesses and eliminate red tape that prevents them from receiving benefits and compensation.
They highlighted their proposed companion bills in Las Vegas Thursday.
The Rosen-led “Sergeant Dave Crete FORGOTTEN Veterans Act” in the Senate would require the DOD to acknowledge that contamination occurred at the Nevada Test Site and identify every military member who served there since the first nuclear test, Rosen said. Their records have to be shared with the VA to open a path to submit claims.
“The men and women who served at certain parts of the Nevada Test and Training Range can tell you that they stepped up and they served our nation without knowing the health risks to themselves,” Rosen said. “And since that time, they have carried around an invisible burden — one we have ignored for far too long.”
She noted that the Department of Energy already recognized that there was contamination at the military facility and has compensated its affected personnel.
Rosen said she’s pushing for the legislation to be included in the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act, a bill that consistently passes every year. She noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson blocked an initial version of the proposal in 2025.
Meanwhile, Lee’s companion “Protect Act” in the House would expand benefits and financial compensation for the veterans and establish that those who served between 1972 and 2005 were exposed to the toxic elements, Lee said. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., is a sponsor to the bill.
She said that Hegseth committed to getting back to her after she last pressed him on the issue two weeks ago.
“We’ve sent follow-up letters; we’ve asked him in person,” Lee said. “So, we’re hoping he’ll keep his promise to the men and women who have served this country.”
Invisible Enemy has identified hundreds of veterans whose deaths it believes were caused by the toxic exposure at the Nevada site. Their names are listed on its website.
Lee noted that at least 103 had died in the last 13 months.
Crete said the veterans struggle not being able to tell their doctors how they might’ve become ill. Some of their symptoms are simply ignored, he added.
“We don’t want to talk about what we did, because that always leads into conversations that we don’t want to have, and all the conspiracy theories and myths about what’s taking place out there,” he said. “We don’t want to talk about that, but we want to be able to go to the VA.”
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
