From: "ercgreen" ercgreen@yourinter.net
Subject: DAYS OF OUR LIVES #106
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 08:37:06 -0600

MAIL-call - PRESERVING FORGOTTEN MEMORIES

I welcome articles, BIO's, stories, etc and certainly hope that all ASA Turkey Vet's will contribute and make the newsletter worthwhile. You can write whatever message you would like, and it will show up right here for others to read and I'm hoping it will spur more memories. After all, isn't that why you're reading this now? I will respond to all e-mails and will assist whenever needed, but reserve the right to edit for content and clarity and welcome any errors that may appear herein. Most are proud of their ASA Turkey Tour of Duty and seek the greatest good for our group. - but, the not-so-pretty truth is that few help to seek out new vet's or send me their BIO's! You received this newsletter because you requested it. To unsubscribe from this newsletter send an email to me or your relayer. Thank you, Elder RC Green, aka gH, 3094 Warren Rd., Indiana, PA 15701, 724-349-7305, ercgreen@yourinter.net <mailto:ercgreen@yourinter.net>

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. - - - They are the ones that care.

TAPS

LACOUR, Ronald A., RA18537563, E4, 058, Det 4, 18JL58-JL59, DOB: 12AP34 DOD: 1OC89 at Selma, AL, SSN: 439-50-1512 issued LA

LANE, Robert E., (Bob), RA17493190, E4-E5, 058, Det 4, 18JL58-JL59 & E6, 60-61, DOB: 25AP31 DOD: JA88 at Radford, VA. Gene Cram was a partner with Bob Lane in a Truck Stop on I-81S at Radford, VA.

MESE, Mark L., E4, Pers, Det 4, 73-74, DOB: 25JA52 DOD:15AU93 at St. James, MO., SSN: 524-80-2641 issued CO.

MAIL CALL

THE LEBANON OPERATION - 14 July 1958 thru 25 OCTOBER 1958 - A Brief History Lesson Tension in the Middle East began to increase in 1957, when Syria was about to fall to communism. President Eisenhower acting on his commitment to the region, and in order to protect neighboring Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan approved the deployment of USAF combat aircraft from Germany to Incirlik AFB in Adana, Turkey. The crisis quickly abated, but set the stage for the 1958 upheaval in Lebanon. On 14 July 1958 Lebanese Moslems rebelled in Beirut, Lebanon and rioted over fears that the delicate balance between Christianity and Islam in the Lebanese government was in peril. Adding to the regional tension, and on the very same day (14 July 1958) leftist Iraqi officers assassinated their nation's king (King Faisal II) and prime minister (Crown Prince Abdul-Illah, the King’s uncle) in a swift revolutionary coup that ended the monarchy and brought to power a military junta headed by Abdul Karem Kassim. Kassim reversed the monarchy's pro-Western policies, attempted to rectify the economic disparities between rich and poor, and began to form alliances with Communist countries. This prompted the Lebanese President Chamoun and the King of Jordan to request military assistance from the US. The US participation was conducted by USAREUR and the plan was to occupy and secure the Beirut International Airport, a few miles south of the city, then to secure the port of Beirut and approaches to the city. By 5 August, all of the assigned forces had reached Beirut and the bulk of their equipment and initial resupply had arrived or was en route. The Navy's Sixth Fleet conducted air operations and the USAF Tactical Air Command consisting of F-100’s, B-57’s, RF-101’s, RB-66’s, and WB-66’s were deployed from the US to Incirlik AFB. These aircraft and supporting personnel over-whelmed the facilities at Incirlik. Since no ground fighting involving Americans broke out, the strike force flew missions to cover troop movements, show-of-force missions over Beirut, aerial reconnaissance sorties, and leaflet drops. Stable conditions were maintained until a new government was installed in Lebanon. American troops left Lebanon in October 1958, after the tension diminished.

To keep an eye on the Soviet Union’s intention and possible deployments during the Lebanon Crisis - the USASA command in Frankfurt was tasked with sending 058 Intercept Operators to Sinop, Turkey to keep a SIGINT watch on Soviet military units located near the Black Sea and in particular the 104th Guards Airborne Division. Quickly over thirty 058 teenagers (listed below) who were in-processing at the 251st ASA Processing Company at Gutleut Kaserne were told on the afternoon of18 July 1958 to get shots and draw FULL FIELD gear and that they would be departing Rhein/Main Airport that evening. I guess it is safe to say that things were really jumping for those involved. They were not told where they were going, but most had read the Stars and Stripes reports on the Lebanon situation and thought that they were going to Beirut. Their EASY army life was about to be changed overnight and each had inner feelings that was known only to them. Some regretted that they did not have time to exploit the nightlife and gasthouse adventures near the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, the Fisherstube or fraternize with the ladies of the street during their short stay in Frankfurt. They landed at Esenboga Airport - 21 miles from Ankara, Turkey and were met by First Sergeant Freddy Helton and the next day they were on two Turk buses for the 10-12 hour trip to Sinop. I'm in the process of contacting those involved and the results will be included in a future DOOL.

BLEVIN, Vollie RA15591151 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?,
BULLIS, Delmar L (Del), RA13620441 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-JL59,
CLARK, Robert L RA12545756 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
DENARO, Ronald D RA11342630 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
FELKOSKI, Marion Det 4, 18JL58-?
GAINES, Frazier L RA15591158 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
GLASS, Eugene J RA13626886 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
GREEN, Cecil B Jr RA1466360. E4 Det 4, 18JL58-?
HARRISON, Jonathan D RA146651237 E4 Det 4, 18JL58-?
HARROFF, Ralph E RA18540619 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
HAYNES, Alan J RA16589544 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
HOLLOWELL, Herbert P Jr RA13627973 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
HUBBARD, Allan R RA14668528 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
KORNUM, Kurt K RA17501949 E4 058 Det 4,18JL58-?
LACOUR, Ronald A RA18537563 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?,
LANE, Robt E (Bob) RA17493190 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
LEE, Donald F Jr RA11342508 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
LEE, Richard A RA17512103 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
McCULLOUGH, John T RA15560286 Det 4, 58
MEADOWS, James A RA16589254 E4 Det 4, 57-58
O'DONNELL, Stephen C RA16589188 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
OSBORNE, George F RA12542393 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
POLLARD, Robert S RA13626910 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
ROBERTS, Floyd E RA16598704 E3-E4, 058 Det 4, 58
RODENBERGER, Robert R RA15590429 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
STANCIL, Richard W RA14663600 E4 Det 4, 18JL58-?
STEINMETZ, Kenneth A RA1749317. 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
ST. PIERRE, Eugene H RA11337318 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-DE58
THOMAS, Wallace E RA16588714 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58 -?
TIER, Dale G RA15576770 E4 058 Det 4, 58-59
WOODY, Silas G Jr (Si) RA16589187 E4 058 Det 4, 18JL58-?
YEO, Robt P RA17493166 Det 4, 58

ANDERSON, Jerry E3-E4 341.10-Teletype repair, Det 27, SE56-57, (Sally), 5209, Lindermann Ave., Racine, WI 53406, 262-634-8509, jsa@wi.net . - Elder, I've sent you today via snail mail three more pictures for your book of memories. Sally has not decided on the reunion yet, not sure she wants to spend two days driving to get to Seven Springs as its about 665 miles.

BERGMANN, Chuck (JC) E4 05H Det 27 MY66-DE67, (Helen), 29813 Foote Rd., Bay Village, OH 44140, 440-871-5346 jcbergmann@cs.com & cbergmann@insp-eng.com Hi Elder - 26 February 2003. Just thought you should know I have 238 name on my relay list. It is no problem for me and only takes about 5 minutes to send them out. There is a list of about 10 of them that have a hard time with the graphics and there is a way I can forward the mail with out the graphics. When you get the new book done I will do the CD's for you. That would be no problem for me to do. The problem is that I do not have any addresses for any of the people. Maybe what you might want to do is send a e-mail out to everyone asking them if they want the CD, and if so they can reply with their current address that they want it mailed to. There is a way that I can take the address from their e-mail and print out an envelop with the address they give us. It would be very easy to do. Let me know what you think and when you might be ready to get the book out. From Chuck Bergmann (JC)

BERRYMAN, John T., DOB: 8JN42, E3-E6, 98J40, Det 27 & 4-2, 64-65, (Sandy), 170 Laurelwood Ln., Ormond Beach FL 32174, 386-677-2203, bibliosandy@earthlink.net . Contacted on 21 February 2003. John is a native Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian and since 1950, a transplanted Floridian. He in-processed at Manzarali (Det 27) as a 058 for about 6 months. While there he volunteered for submarine duty, but got instead the Airborne Platform Program at Det 4-2 in Incirlik AFB near Adana. He flew thousands of hours in the A3B and recalls the time that a USAF plane crashed in the Black Sea and the A3B USN pilot, knowing about the crash, did some HOTDOG flying in an attempt to distract the Soviet SAR from the crash site - by going on the air in cleartext and saying that he had spotted the downed aircraft and immediately took evasive action when the Soviet radar had locked onto the A3B which then made rooster tails in the Black Sea and safely made it back into Turkey. John worked for EASTERN Airlines for a short period while attending Miami Dade Junior College, then lived in Europe for a short time and then back to college where in 1973 he graduated from Univ. of Miami with an honors degree in German. Later he again used the GI Bill and graduated from the elite Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. John worked as a Flight Instructor at Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach for 3 years. After this John was a stock broker for Merrill-Lynch for 11 years, then another 11 years with Dean Witter. John has now retired to pursue his avocation, rare book selling. It affords John and Sandy .the opportunity to travel extensively. John is the immediate past President of the Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association. John Berryman is quite frankly, very angry that a 1997 Embry-Riddle alumnus (A Waleed Alshehri) was one of the terrorists who hijacked American Airlines flight 11 (the first plane to strike the WTC) and died in the suicide airliner attack on the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001.

BRUNNER, Louis J., (Lou), RA19657105, E3-E5, 982, Det 27, DE60-DE62, (Joyce), 3254 SE 179th Ave., Portland, OR 97236, 503-761-6103, lojobru@attbi.com (cable) - Elder: Sorry to be so late with this. Where has the time gone? I do remember your TDY in May 1961. I had been working MATSUMS since day one with Jerry Hargrove, Bob Laycock and Tom Brown. We were also roomies. First used mills (lots of 173-1s) then old green Kleinschmidts (yellow paper rolls), then gray ones with 6-ply/tapes. During my last 6-8 months went to Trick one as Trk T/A. After my OJT/replacement Kevin Camson quickly picked up the job, worked in the COMMCENTER. ETS'd Ft Hamilton, NY Dec 62 (3 month early out- Re-entered active duty as E-3 Jan 64 and retired June 87 MSG/E-8. Many PCSs/TDYs. Bob Laycock ETSd and you know of my contacts with him, Jerry Hargrove and Tom Brown went to Ft Bragg in June 62. I know Brown re-uped, as we kept missing each other at various stations.
Following are duty stations after 2d go-around:

TRRS, Petaluma,CA Jan 64-Dec 65. SR Analyst.
313th ASA Bn, Ft Bragg,NC/Nha Trang,RVN. Jan-Mar66/Mar-Sep66. SR Analyst.
509th RR GP, Saigon, RVN. Sep 66-Mar 67. NCOIC Ops war room.
16th USASAFS, Herzo Base,Germany. May 67-May 70. SR Analyst.
USASA SPT GP, Ft Meade, MD. May 70-Oct 74. SR Analyst.
7th RRFS,Ramasun,Thailand. Nov 74-Dec 75. NCOIC COPES.
ASA/INSCOM, Ft Devens, MA. Jan 76-Nov 79. SR Instructor.
856th ASA Co/533rd CEWI BN. Hoechst,Germany Nov7 9-Aug 81. S3/OPS NCOIC.
INSCOM, Ft Meade, MD. Aug 81-Feb 85. NCOIC TCAE/1SG/P09 Report Evals.
501st MI GP, Seoul, Korea. Mar 85-Jun 86. S3 OPS/Plans; RMO NCOIC.
104th MI BN, Ft Carson,CO. Jun 86-Jun 87. OPS NCOIC.

Retired Jun 87. Moved to Pasadena, MD. Was on hiring list for NSA, but then along came an indefinite hiring freeze. Was a maintenance tech for next 9 years before moving back to Portland in Oct 96. Have been working for large retail chain, testing/processing various electronic (tv, dvd, vcr, cam-corders, etc)
Other memories: Ft Devens 980/982 school May-Nov 60.
6thPltn/BCo/1stBN (Spiveys Tigers- 1lt John C. Spivey. Last saw him in 83 at NSA. He was LTC from Ft Monmouth.) MATS flight from McGuire to Frankfurt. 3 days in Gutleut. Shared room with 7 drunk sailors on way back to Naples. Great Lufthansa fly to Istanbul, Overnight in El Cinar (sp) hotel, then to Ankara and the Manzarali post.
Was there from Dec 60-Dec 62. Mostly lived in barracks next to messhall/along football field (only grass on post at the time). Maj Forrest Clark was CO, later replaced by CPT Alwin Sprehe (T/A OIC as 1LT). Orderly room was then called the "Mole Hole". Sid Schutt (Boston area) did perfect imitation of Sprehe. (last saw Maj Sprehe in 73 in FANX III elevator at Ft Meade. He checked my belt buckle to see if it was polished!! (never forgot how bad it used to look.) Names in DOOL's that I remember: Jerry B. Lewis (once dropped his watch down lobby bomb site of the --- Hotel on North Ataturk where Sinopers stayed on 3-day passes); Charlie Parker (last saw Ft Bragg/Vietnam in 66); Roger Browder (San Francisco-did much uniform sewing in upstairs barracks store room); Harold Probert (stories later); Joe DeCaprio; Art Ellis (ran across him several stations later); George Maloof; Richard Funkhouser (also at another station); Julian (Zip) Hargus (carpooled at TRRS 64-65); Lt Jud Reynolds; Robert "Biff" O'Hara (think last saw him at Ft Devens, a fellow SFC); Mike Kunkel. Have been jotting down various names/incidents as they pop into my mind for future DOOL's. We will not be able to make the 2003 reunion. One of my sons and his family are coming out for 2 weeks. However, we would definitely make it in 2004 if at TRRS. Haven't been there since 65. Think DOOL is great!! Lou Brunner

BURNS, Garth E., DOB: 17MR42, E3-E4, Cryptographer, Det 27, 61-62, (Shireen), 1117 Colusa Ave., Berkeley, CA 94707, 510-527-1339, theburns@idiom.com . Found Garth from Vern's ASA Locator website. Chatted with Garth on 21 February 2003. Was trained at Ft. Gordon, GA. Was friends with Winston Welch at Det 27. After Manzarali he was assigned to Camp Wolters in Texas. He and Shireen visited Turkey in 1972 on their way to Iran via bus. Will visit http://dool-1.tripod.com and then get back to me with additional details regarding his Tour of Duty in Turkey

GLASER, Gerald (Jerry) DOB: 11NO40 RA15612661 E3-E4 056 Det 4, 60-61, (Joan), 1211 Lakerise Overlook, Gallatin, TN 37066, 615-822-3672, geraldglaser@aol.com - I have been checking pictures and stories of "The Dogs of Sinop" but have not seen Rowdy and Fluff mentioned. These were Point Site Dogs. As far as I know they never went into the main post. Here is the commentary: I am sure there were many Point Site Dogs over the years. They led a great life. Little competition for food, water and affection as the main post dogs did, or as we called them barracks dogs. My favorite was our barracks dog named Spike who I have seen mentioned numerous times and have seen Pictures on your site. I know I have a good picture of Spike some where and will find and send in future. Now back to Rowdy and Fluff, and the new pup. They would bark if anyone came close to the Point Site Shack at night. On cold nights we would allow them to come into the Shack. They would curl up under the consoles where it was very warm. I believe we were using R220's and lots of other equipment, others can correct me if their memory is better. I remember a night when my Trick partner almost shot me because we brought the dogs in, but that is another story. It will come later. I now live with my wife, a Black Lab and three great cats, but I will always remember two great dogs, Rowdy and Fluff, and a Wannabe Puppy. They were as great as friends as anyone else on the hill. [Never did get the picture of Fluff, Rowdy and Jerry Glaser, or the Point dog that had rabies and bit Jerry Glaser causing him to get rabie shots in Ankara]

GLUBKA, Roger A E1-E3-E1 72B Det 27, FE64-JL65, (CW3 Michelle), PSC 303, BX 25 APO AP 96204-0025 (Korea), glubkar@kornet.net Just sending out a question. Who has used a "George Foreman Grill", any model? Would you send me your two cents either pro or con? I'm told it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Thank You!

JORGENSEN, Gary C., (The Kid and Jorgy), 05H, E3-E5, Det 27 and 4-4, MY66-SE68, (Virgie), 211 W House St., Duluth, MN 55808, 218-626-3676 g_jorgensen@hotmail.com . One day at the end of June 1968 me and a few other 05H friends visited Bursa to get away from the monotony of barracks life. We'd been there several other times and always enjoyed the cruisine, the atmosphere and friendliness of the townfolks. On this particular trip we all partook of Iskender Kebab and I decided to get a haircut and a shave with a straight razor. Maybe that's why I have to this very day an aversion to shaving. I remember watching the barber very closely who was smoking, between clips, those God awful Turkish cigarettes and haranguing his black-faced motley kids who were running hither and yon with mischievous but playful delight and he could not get hold of them. The barber kept shaking his hands in a give up resignation that I thoroughly understood what he was saying!. I guess the kids were trying to impress me. While this was going on I simply sat very still looking at the mirror that was clouded with fly-tracks and remember seeing a framed picture of Attaturk on the dingy yellowish-white wall. The barber observed this and asked me, pointing to the picture, if I knew who that person was. I answered avet and he then tried to give me a Turkish history lesson that I sorta enjoyed but managed to keep silent with a friendly shrug of my shoulders. Soon the barber shop was crowded with passerbyer’s who, I guess, were curious and flattered as to my presence and soon they were interrupting the barber and adding their two cents. Even though I was a perfect stranger to them, they wanted to share their cigarettes and friendliness with me. And, oh yes, his moustached wife appeared briefly with a black shawl framing her head and swept the hair into a little heap just inside the door and then tossed it out the door and onto the street. As I was paying for the haircut a mysterious young female appeared out of nowhere. She kindly smiled at me and asked in perfect English without the slightest display of embarrassment if the haircut and shave met my satisfaction or something like that. I was flabbergasted and thoughts of romance entered my mind, but they were quickly dashed when all of a sudden she rushed out the door to the bus stop and quickly onto a honking bus. It seemed unreal and I was sorta wounded by her departure, but loved the experience. If nothing else I never spoke ill-will of the Turkish females. I really wanted to take a picture of her. I was in no hurry and knew that I would never meet her again. I set my mind as to how to relate the experience to the others when we met up at the covered bazaar and enjoyed some Kestane Sekeri's (candied chestnuts). To this day, I think that they thought the whole episode was made up. When I was done I told myself, been there done that and never again.

LANCE, Harry E3-E5 058 Det 4, AP59-AP60, (Frances), 50 S. Fairview St., Nazareth, PA 18064, 610-746-9141, hipockets40@msn.com - ELDER - PLEASE POST THIS ON THE DOOL. I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF A PROJECT (DET 4 NOW AND THEN) AND NEED PHOTO'S OF THE FOLLOWING:

HEADQUARTERS: 1959-1962

NEW HEAD QUARTERS

MESS HALL

NEW MESS HALL

SPORTSMAN, NCO AND OFFICERS CLUB, NEW

MAIN GATE, NEW

DISPENSARY, NEW

LIBRARY, NEW

MOVIE THEATER,1959-1962

DF SITE, 1959-1962

ATHLETIC FIELDS, NEW

GYM, 1959-1962

IF ANY OF THESE ARE CURRENTLY ON THE SITE PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHOSE PAGE IT IS ON. I THINK I HAVE MENTIONED EVERYTHING HERE. I BELIEVE THERE ARE PICTURES OF THE OPS FOR BOTH PERIODS. HARRY LANCE, hipockets40@msn.com

RIEDY, Richard E4-E5 Det 4, ?-?, burado@earthlink.net . - Sorry to have to retract my previous message concerning availability of Jim Boyte's book "Look Homeward." Amazon.com just informed me that the book is not available from any of its sources. Seems that the Amazon people were remiss in not deleting this title from their listings.

SOWINSKI, Ron E3-E4 058 Det 4, 20JA62-18DE62, PO Box 884, 26175 Rawson Rd., Brush Prairie, WA 98606, 360-253-2383, rothvet@hotmail.com I have been to your DOOL site, and have read and stolen names for my list from #105 through #98 so far!!! I intend to read and will check out every one of them! Good job you are doing Elder. Guys such as us, including Bill Simons and Vern Gruenke, the list makers and list sharers are, as 'she who must be obeyed' here at this house claims...... a bit strange. lol!! I am sure my Sinop list gave you some names that you didn't have. [Yep, sure did and thanks]

WAITE, Daryl L., E3-E4, Det 66, DE63-JA65, (Hope), 33 N. Washington, Carthage, IL 62321, 217-357-2884, k9jpq@hotmail.com - Elder: Contacted George Stelle and encouraged him to send in a bio.
Very interesting career in addition to Manzarali. In a recent DOOL there was a mention of an article in the Stars and Stripes. Articles can be retrieved from Stars and Stripes for a reasonable fee and about 8 weeks response time. Go to web site www.stripes.osd.mil and click on library research. All the information necessary to submit a request. Also, anyone remember the Overseas Weekly? Not certain if they still in business, have been unable to locate a web site.Turkish Daily News still in business, web serch:

WOOD, Jim E3 054.1 Det 4, 60-61, (Kim), Old Peking Restaurant, 604 W. Main St., Collinsville, IL 62234, 618-345-0804, jwoods21@charter.net - Merhaba Elder, Yes, I was at Sinop at the time of the RIOT. I remember being inside the compound, but outside the building guarding the perimeter with the other "duffies". I worked out on the point. My MOS was at that time 054.1. When I first arrived at Sinop I walked guard for 45 straight days with two turks because of my clearance status. Also....remember the problems we had with the Kurds when they were building the new barracks? Fast forward.........I retired from the Army in May 1980 and now own a Chinese Restaurant with my Taiwanese wife. We started the restaurant in on August 3, 1981 and have enjoyed a great business. Ever in Collinsville, Illinois look up Old Peking Restaurant,

Supreme Court considers agent orange case
WASHINGTON - Nearly 30 years after the Vietnam War, the Supreme Court is sorting through a dispute between ill veterans and chemical companies over Agent Orange exposure - and whether it's too late to sue.
Companies that made the herbicide thought their liability ended with a 1984 class-action settlement.
Justices will decide whether people who got cancer or other diseases long after 1984, and didn't even know about the $180 million settlement, get a chance to challenge the deal.
An appeals court ruled that two cancer-stricken vets were not adequately represented when the settlement was reached. By the time the men found out they were sick, the cash was gone.
Business groups contend the case, being argued Wednesday at the Supreme Court, could threaten the finality of all class-action judgments, discouraging companies from settling other lawsuits out-of-court.
Groups like the VFW and the American Legion urged the court to fix what they call an injustice against people "who survived the bullets and bombs of the enemy" but are now dying of cancer.

Joe Isaacson, a vice principal in Irvington, N.J., and Daniel Stephenson, a retired helicopter pilot living in Florida, argue that their cancers are related to Agent Orange, used in the 1960s and 1970s to clear dense jungle growth in Vietnam.

Isaacson served as a crew chief in the Air Force for an F-100 fighter jet in 1968 and 1969. He has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is in remission. Stephenson served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1970 on the ground and as an Army helicopter pilot. He received a bone marrow transplant after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

John McNeill, a VFW officer, said while the justices may be sympathetic to the men's plights, "sometimes the legality part of it can be hard and cold."

One of the nine court members is not participating in the case: Justice John Paul Stevens, whose only son was a Vietnam veteran who apparently suffered from cancer before his 1996 death. John Joseph Stevens was 47. Justice Stevens, a veteran of World War II, said his practice is not to disclose reasons for recusals.

Andrew Frey, an attorney for Dow Chemical Co., Monsanto Co. and others, said companies that were sued decades ago thought they had finality with a settlement that provided money for individual vets and for programs to help all veterans.

"It's not fair to the defendants to say, `Now that we've got your money, let's start over again,'" Frey said.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups said that if people are allowed to bypass court-approved deals, "class-action settlements could hardly be called settlements at all."

Ronald Simon, one of the lawyers for the veterans, said the 1984 settlement was premature.

"The industry got everybody settled and is sitting back now laughing and saying, `You guys have dead-winner cases, too bad you can't even come to bat,'" he said.

The case is Dow Chemical Co. v. Stephenson, 02-271.

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