Today marks the American holiday honoring men and women who have lost their lives while serving in the United States military. The holiday we now know as Memorial Day has evolved from an observance called Decoration Day, which began in 1868 as a way to recognize casualties of the American Civil War. Even before gaining National recognition, many cities enacted special ceremonies, community events, and remembrance services in honor their own hometown heroes who died on Civil War battlefields.
Following World War I, Memorial Day celebrations began to evolve to recognize men and women who died in military service in other wars. In 1971, the date of Memorial Day fell under the legislation of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved the holiday's official date to the last Monday in May. The three-day weekend leaves plenty of time for travel, picnics, pool parties, barbecues, and parades, but we should remember the reason for the celebration and festivities. After all, Memorial Day salutes men and women who gave their lives so that we can enjoy these fun activities and delicious food!
Many attributes of Memorial Day have evolved, including the name of the holiday and the honorees remembered on this day. Thinking about these changes leads to possible evolution in giving up one’s life for one’s country. Advances in science, new understandings of disease pathologies, and improving our knowledge of how body systems adapt and interact have all played a role in how we should interpret the development of chronic diseases, like cancer and long-term mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Thus, it’s becoming more and more likely that some military veterans who have made it home from war may still experience ongoing hardships and chronic illnesses that could shorten their lives. These hardships may be things we can screen for, like cancer, but they can also be less overt, such as mental health disorders, and they all have the potential to increase mortality risk for veterans. This underscores the urgent need for increased awareness and support for our veterans' health.
Veterans have a much higher risk of developing many types of cancer compared to their civilian counterparts. Research has established that veterans have an elevated risk of skin cancer, both melanoma and nonmelanoma types, particularly in those who served in the Pacific theater during World War II. More recently, over 3 million American soldiers served in Iraq and Afghanistan, regions far closer to the equator than most of the general US population, creating very high exposure to well-established skin cancer risk factors. Others reported more alarming trends among those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, including very infrequent use of use sunscreen and inconsistent access to sunscreen.
Additionally, veterans often face significant exposure to radiation from various military activities, like testing nuclear weapons or cleaning up radiation spills. The Department of Defense has reported that military aircrew and groundcrew members, who may also experience higher than normal radiation exposure, experience notably higher cancer rates than the general population. Because radiation exposure increases the risk of several types of cancer, including bone, breast, colon, liver, lung, and blood malignancies, many veterans could face elevated risks of these diseases.
Many veterans have had to breathe contaminated air during their military career. Chronic exposure to toxic substances, like smoke, sand, dust, and fuel exhaust, could pose significant cancer risk factors. Recent advocacy about the smoke and fumes generated by burn pits commonly used in Iraq and Afghanistan have prompted the Department of Veterans Administration (VA) to consider many types of cancer, including brain, gastrointestinal, kidney, lymphoma, head and neck, pancreatic, and lung cancers, presumptive conditions of airborne hazard and burn pit exposure.
In addition to significant cancer risks faced by military veterans, extreme hardships relating to mental health and wellness have come to light. Sadly, veteran suicide rates remain an important concern. Before heading out to your Memorial Day festivities, take some time to recognize not only the brave veterans who died in service to their country but also those who returned home but later lost their lives as a result of a military career.
Sources: Int J Dermatol, J Am Acad Dermatol, J Am Acad Dermatol, J Invest Dermatol, Mil Med, Annal Epidemiol