Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
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Moorhead, MN - Kevin Shores seems too frail to make a 220-mile journey from Moorhead State University to St. Paul, MN in his motorized wheelchair. That is because the health of this 32-year-old Moorhead State University senior, an enrolled member of the White Earth Indian Reservation, is failing. It’s palpable in Shores sallow, sunken face; the medicines, herbs and vitamins that surround his bedside; and the sweet smell of sage that lingers in his apartment from his daily ceremonies.

Within three years this former 220-pound Navy veteran, former captain of his high school swimming team, dropped 80 pounds and is now down to 140 pounds and confined to a wheelchair. The cartilage in his hips has deteriorated, most of the vision in his left eye is gone, and he’s plagued by night sweats, joint pain and a litany of other ailments.

Kevin Shores is convinced his illness is a result of Gulf War Syndrome. Veterans Administration doctors have told him it’s rheumatoid variant disease, an acute arthritic condition. "It’s so discouraging," he says. "That’s why I’m taking this journey."

Shores intends to drive his wheelchair along Highway 10 from Moorhead State to the steps of the Capitol building in St. Paul the second week in May. The goal is to draw attention to an array of mysterious maladies that affect more than 186,000 Gulf War veterans who have registered their health complaints with the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration.

Depending on the weather, the trip should take about seven days, with a little help from some friends.

"There’s a Kevin Shores in every city we visit," says Joyce Riley vonKleist, a former Air Force nurse who’s spokesperson for the American Gulf War Veterans Association. "He’s an inspiration to thousands of other Gulf veterans fighting the same fight. The tragedy is that this wonderful man has been ignored by the government he once served."

The American Gulf War Veterans Association (AGWV) is one of several organizations pushing the military establishment to admit there is a malady called Gulf War Syndrome that is both real and treatable. AGWV believes that many Gulf War illnesses are caused by sinister biological experiments carried out by the United States government.

Joyce Riley vonKleist spokesperson for AGWV, stated, "It’s the worst story in American history." vonKleist is a graduate of the University of Kansas, served as a captain in the United States Air Force. She flew on C-130 missions in support of Operation Desert Storm and is also a victim of the Gulf illness.

Gulf War Syndrome is a non-scientific term used to describe the unexplained ailments of thousands of Gulf War veterans who exhibit symptoms ranging from fatigue and debilitating joint pain to skin rashes, memory loss, night sweats, headaches, neurological disorders and gastrointestinal problems.

A number of potential causes have been investigated, including exposure to chemical and biological agents, pesticides, depleted uranium and smoke from oil well fires. Other possibilities include side effects of vaccines or medications.

One of the more controversial causes the Pentagon has proposed, vonKleist said, is stress. "They’ve been giving victims of this disease Prozac and Motrin as a treatment. vonKleist said, "It’s an outrage."

vonKleist, who spoke in Fargo last month, has been a bur on vestments of the military establishment, she dismisses her critics and continues to dedicate her life to Gulf War veterans. "How can a government just ignore and throw away thousands of veterans like Kevin Shores?" she said. "It’s an abomination. I’ve been around the country speaking to audiences about this problem, and you just can’t believe how many victims there are out there."

Shores is firmly in vonKleist’s camp. "There are so many questions and no answers," he said. "Just look what happened to me. If this is the result of a biological experiment, I just couldn’t express my despair."

Gulf War Syndrome isn’t confined to the 697,000 troops who served in the Gulf. It extends to soldiers who didn’t even get close to the Middle East. That is why vonKleist insists that more than 75 percent of veterans who suffer Gulf War Syndrome contracted the disease from a series of experimental biological immunizations that contained a microorganism that may have been genetically engineered by the government.

vonKleist also has official federal documents proving that the Iraqi government purchased the mycoplasma from a United States firm and that it may have been spread to American troops through the air when the military exploded hundreds of weapons facilities during the 43-day Desert Storm effort. That is assuming the Iraqis used the mycoplasma in biological weapons.

That microorganism, one variety of a bacterial subclass called mycoplasma, has gained some credence through research by Dr. Garth Nicolson, chief scientific officer of the Institute for Molecular Medicine in Huntington Beach, Calif., and a professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

Dr. Nicolson found that about 50 percent of Gulf War Syndrome patients have an invasive mycoplasmal infection that can be treated with antibiotics such as doxycycline. "This infection is so unusual and contains such unusual gene insertions that we suspect that it has been genetically tampered with and may be a biological weapon", stated Dr. Nicolson.

Shores sent a sample of his blood to Dr. Nicolson for testing, and it came back positive for mycoplasma. "No wonder the anthrax vaccine is so controversial in the military today," Shores said. "If I knew then what I do now, I’d never have taken those immunizations when I was in the Navy."

Worse yet, vonKleist said, the mycoplasma is infectious, which could explain why so many wives and children of Gulf War veterans are also showing symptoms of this strange malady.

Last year, the Veterans Administration allocated $20 million for a series of trials on Gulf War veterans who have tested positive for mycoplasma infection. They are being given the antibiotic doxycycline for several months.

The Fargo Veterans Administration is one of 25 sites in the country selected for these trials.

"It’s hard to determine any single cause of Gulf War Sydrome because it’s a disease defined by its symptoms," says Cindy DuBord, a research coordinator for Gulf War illness studies at the Fargo VA . "There are just so many possible explanations. But these mycoplasma infections are systemic and may well have caused Kevin Shores’ medical problems."

Gulf War veterans who have questions about these trials or anything about Gulf War Syndrome can contact the Fargo VA office by phone: 1-888-298-2121 for information. It is the only testing site for this study in the Upper Midwest.

Although the Fargo VA is no longer recruiting subjects for the mycoplasma study, it is still recruiting veterans for another study to determine the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy and exercise therapy in treating victims of Gulf War Syndrome.

After conducting over 145 studies and spending more than $160 million, the federal government still doesn’t know what causes Gulf War Syndrome. An ongoing Pentagon investigation found no evidence so far of possible exposure to Iraqi chemical or biological agents. Last year, however, the Pentagon reported that a pill soldiers were ordered to take to protect them against nerve gas during the Gulf War may play a part in the disease.

A Senate veterans committee supported the military’s assessment that there doesn’t seem to be any single cause for these illnesses.

That is no consolation for Shores, who grew up in Minneapolis and enlisted in the Navy after graduating from Kellogg High School. Trained as a radio operator, he was stationed on the USS Fox. Shores ship was the first dispatched to the Persian Gulf in 1987 after a missile hit the USS Stark, a U.S. frigate that was attacked by an Iraqi air-to-sea missile and severely damaged. Thirty sailors were killed in that attack, which was later deemed as accidental.

"I received innumerable inoculations during my time in service and just before we were sent to the Gulf," Shores said. "I had no idea what they were for and I’ve had no luck getting my medical records from the Navy."

After three years in the Navy, he returned to Minneapolis and worked a variety of odd jobs before earning a scholarship to a Minneapolis cosmetology school.

"I worked as a hair stylist in the Twin Cities for eight years," Shores said. "That’s when I began to notice some health problems—muscle aches, joint stiffness, night sweats, muscle twitching, chronic fatigue. I lost 70 pounds. So I went to the Veterans Administration Hospital to find out what was wrong with me." Doctors diagnosed rheumatoid variant disease and prescribed a variety of treatments, including steroids and pain killers. "Nothing helped. Within three years, I was confined to a wheel chair."

No longer able to work, he earned an associate degree at Minneapolis Community and Technical College and started classes at the University of Minnesota. That is when he was introduced to the American Gulf War Veterans Association and began his quest to get the military to answer his questions.

In 1998, Shores hit a wall. "I was finding no answers so I decided to focus on school. I started wondering if I was crazy or paranoid."

Shores moved to Moorhead last fall to enroll at Moorhead State University where he expects to earn a degree that will allow him to teach Native American studies at the White Earth Indian Reservation. "I own land up there," he said. "I’m tired of being a concrete Indian and I want to return to my traditional roots."

Today Shores is battling his illness with alternative medicines and diets while receiving some treatment from the Veterans Administration. His religious interest in Native American beliefs began in earnest after his sickness hit. He now wears his hair in traditional braids and around his neck hangs a medicine pouch and hemp bag filled with spiritual stones and a bear claw indicating his clan.

Shores prays daily and burns sage, sweet grass, willow and tobacco in his apartment as part of traditional religious ceremonies.

"You can smell it all the time," says Philip Kelsven, a junior history major at MSU who lives in the next apartment. "He’s very serious about his traditions."

Shores calls Kelsven his guardian angel, and Kelsven said he’ll accompany Shores on his trek to St. Paul.

vonKleist will also be on the steps of the St. Paul capitol with Shores, demanding answers about Gulf War Syndrome.

"In one respect," Shores said, "this disease has been a blessing of sorts, opening my eyes to a spirituality that I never would have discovered. On the other hand, I want some answers and I want a future."