Doug DelForge gave his life to his country. He started working at the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons plant at age 20, and stayed at the plant for 21 years. DelForge had his first surgery for brain tumors – meningioma – when he was 31, but continued working at the plant. His father was also Rocky Flats veteran.
DelForge died Sunday, February 10 finally succumbing to a 15 year battle with a disease that left him disfigured, disabled, and tragically disregarded by the government to which he gave his life.
DelForge applied to the Feds for lost wages benefits, but was told that there was no medical evidence of a connection between his work and meningioma. His father searched the internet and says it took "less than 30 minutes to find a site that said it was caused by radiation."
After waiting five years from his application for disability pay to compensate him for lost wages, DelForge was finally approved – that was 14 months ago – but no check has ever been received. And, since he's now dead, the government will never send a check. A disability check from the Department of Labor finally did arrive – six days before he died.
DelForge's wife divorced him long ago, unable to deal with the stress of his disease and his parents are not eligible to collect survivor benefits within the law, so the government will never have to send a check. "They drag their feet and drag their feet until people die, and they don't have to pay them," Cliff DelForge, Doug's father, said.
No one has offered and explanation – or apology – for the bureaucratic pain and suffering, not to mention the physical torture that DelForge endured.
A Line of Sight has written previously about the shameful abuse and neglect by the federal government of the plight of many sick Rocky Flats workers. Too many are already dead just like Doug DelForge.
There are numerous lessons to be learned from Doug DelForge's tragedy. During this Presidential election year health care is a big issue, and both Democrat candidates are promising a government operated universal health care system to solve all our problems. That would be the same government, I suppose, that so miserably failed Doug DelForge. Why on earth would any sane individual think that makes any sense at all?
Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008
by By Bob Beauprez