Fighting for veterans

A 2003 Sandusky High School graduate — who, along with her mother, has fought for sick and dying veterans who contracted deadly illnesses related to their service — was a guest of honor at the State of the Union Address on Tuesday. Danielle Robinson, whose husband, Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson died in May 2020 from a rare form of lung cancer, was with first lady Jill Biden in the gallery inside the Capitol Building when the president addressed her during his speech. Watch the "Between the Lines interview with Heath and Danielle Robinson here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkfzhe9RWqs&t=61s) "Danielle says Heath was a fighter to the very end. He didn't know how to stop fighting, and neither did she. Through her pain she found purpose to demand we do better," said President Joe Biden, turning to the gallery and speaking directly to his guest. "Tonight, Danielle — we are." "I'm announcing we're expanding eligibility to veterans suffering from nine respiratory cancers," Biden said. "I'm also calling on Congress: pass a law to make sure veterans devastated by toxic exposures in Iraq and Afghanistan finally get the benefits and comprehensive health care they deserve." For President Biden, helping veterans suffering from war-related illnesses and their families is both personal and an obligation the nation must meet. Biden's son, Beau Biden, who like Robinson, served in both Kosovo and Iraq where the military maintained burn pits, died of a rare cancer in 2016. The U.S. military maintained hundreds of burn pits at military stations — football field-sized fires where it burned medical waste, chemicals, weapons, computer hardware, paint and just about anything and everything — without any environmental oversight. Toxic smoke filled the air surrounding burn pits 24 hours a day, seven days a week for years. The military has mostly denied benefits to veterans suffering from illnesses believed to have been caused by exposure and has sought to limit research that would further prove the links. President Biden is demanding the military meet its obligations. Honor our veterans "Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan faced many dangers," Biden said. "One was stationed at bases and breathing in toxic smoke from 'burn pits' that incinerated wastes of war — medical and hazard material, jet fuel and more. When they came home, many of the world's fittest and best trained warriors were never the same. "Headaches. Numbness. Dizziness. A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin. "I know. One of those soldiers was my son Major Beau Biden. We don't know for sure if a burn pit was the cause of his brain cancer or the diseases of so many of our troops. But I'm committed to finding out everything we can," the president said, turning to Danielle. "Committed to military families like Danielle Robinson from Ohio. The widow of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson. He was born a soldier. (Ohio) Army National Guard. Combat medic in Kosovo and Iraq. Stationed near Baghdad, just yards from burn pits the size of football fields. "Heath's widow Danielle is here with us tonight. They loved going to Ohio State football games. He loved building Legos with their daughter. "But cancer from prolonged exposure to burn pits ravaged Heath's lungs and body," Biden said. U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Youngstown, a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat for Ohio, is a co-sponsor of House Bill 3967, the Honoring Our Pact Act, which, if approved, will grant presumptive benefits for any soldier who served in any of the countries where burn pits were maintained and who contracted one or more of the qualifying illnesses. Ryan also is a co-sponsor of the SFC Heath Robinson Burn Pits Transparency Act, introduced in 2021, which, if it is approved, would give Congress oversight into all claims coming into the VA regarding burn pits illnesses and would require the VA to provide quarterly reports. What she said At a news conference with former "The Daily Show" host John Stewart on Tuesday, Danielle (Kaufman) Robinson said she was hopeful the legislation would finally get congressional approval. Watch the press conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4ICQuAT7yY "As I was getting ready Wednesday for all the events, I got a phone call from Columbus, Ohio. It was from the memorial company that we had to lay (my husband's) headstone. They told me that his headstone was placed (Tuesday), the same day that I would be coming to Washington to honor him and to honor all these veterans who have been suffering for so long to get the care they need to get, to get the diagnoses they need to get," she said after Stewart introduced her. "So if that isn't a sign (that the legislation will be approved) I don't know what is." Danielle, and her mother, Susan Zeier, of Sandusky, have been working with Burn Pits 360, an activist group they joined to fight for veterans. Zeier has been to Washington about 10 times since 2017, lobbying for Congress to help veterans. Danielle is a physical therapist who lives in the Columbus area with her daughter, Brielle, 8. Read more at the links below.