The Area 51 Veterans Battling Illness & Government Secrecy

For decades, Area 51 has been at the heart of conspiracy theories, secrecy, and speculation. While much of the public intrigue has focused on UFOs and advanced military aircraft, a more human and troubling story is emerging - one that has nothing to do with extraterrestrials.

A group of veterans and former Department of Defense (DoD) contractors who served at the Nevada Test and Training Range, which includes the infamous Area 51, are now battling serious health conditions, including cancer and tumours. They claim that their exposure to hazardous materials at the top-secret site has left them with life-altering illnesses, yet the US government refuses to acknowledge their service. Without official recognition, these veterans are struggling to access the medical benefits they believe they are owed.

The Nevada Test and Training Range covers a vast stretch of desert, including Area 51, a highly classified military installation that has been the subject of speculation since the Cold War. Officially, the site has been used for the development and testing of advanced aircraft, including the F-117 Nighthawk stealth bomber, but secrecy has always shrouded its true operations.

Long before it became synonymous with UFO lore, the area was used for nuclear testing. Between the 1950s and early 1990s, hundreds of nuclear detonations took place in the Nevada desert, both underground and in the atmosphere. These tests left behind radioactive contamination, with elements such as depleted uranium, beryllium, and plutonium present in the environment.

Despite this, military personnel and contractors were stationed there for classified work, often with no knowledge of the risks they were facing.

The health crisis affecting these former servicemen only became apparent in 2016 when a group of Air Force veterans gathered for a reunion barbecue at the home of Dave Crete, a veteran who had served at the Nevada Test Site. As they reconnected, a disturbing pattern emerged - six out of eight men in attendance had developed lipomas, a type of benign tumour. One veteran, who hadn't suffered from tumours himself, revealed that his son had been born with one.

This revelation set off a wave of concern. Many of these men had developed aggressive cancers - throat, bladder, colon, and salivary gland cancers - at relatively young ages. One veteran, Mike Nemcic, described his battle with multiple forms of cancer, including tumours around his eye. He recalled the terrifying thought that he might not live to see his children grow up.

The illnesses weren't just limited to the veterans themselves. Many reported that their children had been born with serious conditions. Crete's own son was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Even more disturbingly, another veteran, Bob Morton, passed away in 2021 from lung cancer at just 58 years old. A former DoD contractor who worked at the base during the same period suffered catastrophic health issues - losing 80% of his tongue, his vocal cords, all his teeth, and now relies on a feeding tube to survive.

Despite the mounting evidence, the veterans' medical claims have been repeatedly denied. The secrecy surrounding their work means their service records are "data masked," a classification that effectively erases any official proof that they were ever there. Without these records, they cannot claim benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), leaving them without the financial or medical support they need.

Crete began digging into the history of the test site and uncovered a 1975 Department of Defense environmental report that confirmed nuclear contamination in the area before he and his fellow veterans were deployed there. The report openly acknowledged the presence of dangerous substances, but concluded that "discontinuing the work done would be against the national interest."

This discovery fuelled outrage among the veterans. They believe the government knowingly sent them into a hazardous environment without warning them of the dangers. Air Force veteran Pomp Braswell, now battling thyroid cancer, told NewsNation, who ran a special report on the revelation: "Our government knew that area was contaminated. And they put us there anyway."

The veterans' frustration is compounded by the fact that in 2000, President Bill Clinton signed the Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, which provided medical compensation for Department of Energy workers who had been exposed to radiation at the same site. However, military personnel and DoD contractors were excluded from the program, leaving them to fight their battles alone.

When NewsNation reached out to the Department of Defense for answers, officials refused to comment and redirected inquiries to the Air Force. The Air Force, in turn, claimed they had no available records from that time period.

Dr David Montgomery, a medical expert consulted by NewsNation, reviewed the cases and stated that the number of cancers among this group was statistically alarming. "It's clear that there was a common exposure because the number of cancers and deaths in this cohort is much higher than expected under normal circumstances," he said.

Beyond their own suffering, many of these veterans fear they may have unknowingly exposed their families to contaminants. Dust from the test site frequently covered their uniforms, and some believe this exposure may have led to miscarriages, autoimmune diseases, and other serious conditions in their loved ones.

Jennifer Page, whose parents both worked at the test range and died prematurely, is one of many seeking answers. Before her mother passed, she worked to declassify images she believed could one day help uncover the truth about what happened at Area 51 and its surrounding sites.

Despite decades of secrecy, these veterans are determined to fight for transparency. They have launched advocacy groups like The Invisible Enemy to connect with other affected service members and push for government accountability.

However, with their records still classified and no presumption of exposure granted by the VA, the fight for recognition is an uphill battle. Each veteran must prove, on a case-by-case basis, that their illnesses are linked to their service - an almost impossible task when official records deny they were ever there in the first place.