European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 18, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday june 18, 1994 the stars and stripes Page 3baby s ills tied to Gulf War syndrome by Cindy Killion Washington Bureau Washington a Richard and Penny Grove did no to set out to be Legal pioneers a they just wanted their son Home. Yet their ongoing Battle with the Montgomery county ind., child Protection services is sending them into uncharted territory As they use the Gulf War syndrome birth defects theory As a defense against child neglect allegations. Their Case  to be the first time that the syndrome will be tested by any Type of court action. The situation boils Down to this Indiana child welfare officials believe the Groves 11-month-old son Jacob has been deliberately starved by his parents since his birth. The Groves of Crawfordsville ind., say the boys a failure to thrive is caused by toxins that Richard Grove a former Marine was exposed to during the persian Gulf War. The couple believes these toxins altered Richard Groves sperm which caused genetic damage to the child at Conception. Grove served with the 1st Marine div which Oscr ated in several areas of the Gulf from Dhahran saudi Arabia to the City of Kuwait. A Jake has been sick since he was born a Penny Grove said. A the was in the Hospital a in intensive care a five times in the first 10 months because he was dehydrated his potassium Levels were Way off and his electrolytes were so out of Wack that he was in danger of  she said that during the Hospital stays the boy was intravenously fed Vitamin enriched fluids supplemented by High caloric liquids until he stabilized and gained weight. A but then we would take him Home and within a few weeks he would be sick again a losing weight dehydrated a she said. Quot we started asking the doctors if his problems could be related to Richards duty in the Gulf but the doctors always said  a the idea of the Gulf War syndrome As a cause for Jacob Groves illness Isnit being dismissed outright said Keith Weedman director of the Montgomery county division of children. A in any proceeding the parents have the right to Legal representation to provide testimony a and All testimony is Given serious consideration a Weedman said. The goal of his office is to keep families together he added a and the decision to get involved with a family is not done lightly. Its an action that a carefully scrutinized and is Only taken if we believe that the child is at risk because of neglect or  Weedman said juvenile Laws prevent caseworkers from publicly discussing the details of specific situations. These same Laws also prevent staffers of the Indianapolis children a Hospital from commenting on the Case. Possible link Between syndrome birth defects still being studied by Cindy Killion Washington Bureau a panel of medical experts could not confirm claims of persian Gulf veterans that ailments they suffered caused birth defects in their Newborn children. In late april an Independent panel of medical experts a put together by the National institutes of health a said there was not enough information in the medical or scientific communities to establish a connection Between birth defects and the Gulf War syndrome. A congenital malformation has Beer reported in the offspring of people who served in to Gulf area a the panel report said. A but the currently available data is not enough to determine if the incident rate is increased Over the general population a yet nonmedical reports of such defects Are piling up sen. Donald Riegle d-mich., said he has received a hundreds of reports that Many Gulf War syndrome symptoms Are being experienced by family members including children born after the War. A out of 400 veterans interviewed three quarters said their families were suffering too a Riegle said in a report released May 25. Rep. . A Sonny Quot Montgomery d-miss., has held a number of hearings in his Home District concerning the ill health of children Horn to members of the Waynesboro based 624th quartermaster co a National guard unit that spent four months in the Gulf Region. Montgomery has said he is convinced there is a connection Between the fathers Gulf War service and the numerous health problems of the children. Since the end of the War 15 babies have been born to veterans in Montgomery a District. Of these 13 have had problems serious enough to require hospitalization including respiratory problems such As asthma and underdeveloped lungs blood disorders such As anaemia enlarged livers High spiking fevers and constant diarrhoea. To Date the Only scientific evidence to make a possible link was presented monday when the environmental Protection Agency released the results of its Long term study on dioxin a a principal ingredient in agent Orange. Dioxin also is found in leaded gasoline which was sometimes used in the Gulf As fuel for vehicles and tent Heaters. The report concluded that even Small amounts of dioxin can cause Long term physical damage that can be passed on to children at Conception. Jacob eventually was admitted to Indianapolis children a Hospital where a every possible test was done to find out the problem a Penny Grove said. A but All the tests came Back  at that Point she said doctors started asking her if she wanted the child and a hinted that i was not feeding him because i was angry that i got  a nothing is further from the truth. Richard and 1 both wanted Jake very very much Quot she said. In late May Jacob was in the Hospital again. Penny Grove said the usual pattern of intravenous feedings and weight gain was falling in place. A but then he started going downhill a she said a the Hospital staff said he got worse after we had visited him a one nurse said she believed we had done something to him in the Hospital room like Given him a  officials from the local child Protection services were called in to investigate. The caseworkers decided to temporarily remove the boy from the Groves Home and recommended to the regions circuit court judge to place the boy in Long term Foster care. On wednesday the judge will hear arguments for both parties. Donaldson said the Gulf War syndrome will be the defense that he will use to show the cause of the boys illness. Even though the syndrome is a new and controversial idea a a we re still going to throw it out there a he said. A a what a working in our favor is that the Burden of proof is on the state not on the  he also said there a a a very Good chances the judge will continue the Case for another 30 jays a which will be hard for the Groves but will give us More time to gather information. This is a whole new idea for me and i know very very Little about the Gulf War syndrome and birth  the Groves Hope that with the evidence they and their attorney compile the judge will at least entertain the idea that their songs illness is real. A for almost a year we be gone from doctor to doctor saying something is wrong a but no one would listen to us a said Penny Grove. A maybe now they  absence slows Down murder trial by Joseph Owen Heidelberg Bureau Frankenthal Germany a the continuing absence of key american witnesses in the sgt. Douglas Buckmaster murder trial has made any ruling in the Case unlikely to occur before september. One former Soldier now living in Washington state refused several times to travel to Germany to testify judge Gerold Kraayvanger told the participants in the trial during a one hour session Friday at Frankenthale a state court. The former Soldier a said that he knows what its All about and he does no to want anymore to do with the Case a Kraayvanger said summarizing the results of several Telephone Calls to the sex Soldier. An agent from the army a criminal investigation come testified earlier that the sex Soldier told him in late december 1992 that Buckmaster a wife Deborah l. Buckmaster had offered him $25,000 to help her kill her husband. Deborah Buckmaster and two German men Are charged in the slaying of Buckmaster who plunged to his death from his 17th-floor bedroom window in Frankenthal on dec. 12, 1992. Two other germans Are charged As accomplices. Al five defendants Are on trial together. _ two other witnesses who Are married to each other Are willing to travel to Germany to testify but the husband is still in the army and is awaiting orders to make the trip Kraayvanger said. The news threw the trial schedule into chaos. Faced with overlapping vacation schedules and other commitments of the five defense lawyers two expert witnesses and court officials Kraayvanger set aug. 25 As the Date for hearing the testimony of the additional american witnesses. The court also plans to View a videotaped reenactment of the crime aug. 18. Kraayvanger also said the court May split the defendants into two groups whose trials then would continue independently of each other. The judge showed obvious impatience Friday with Stefan Tanski one of the germans charged with murder because Tanski continued to withhold testimony. Tanski has said he plans to testify eventually. However a psychiatrist briefed the court Friday about his evaluation of Tanski. Tanski claimed to have met Deborah Buckmaster about five years ago while she was having an affair with another Man said or. Michael Schmidt Degenhard. Tanski became romantically involved with her in Early 1992, during the Buck masters second tour in Germany Schmidt Degenhard said. According to the psychiatrists testimony Tanski also claimed that a sgt. Buckmaster aware of the affair Between his wife and Tanski agreed to divorce his wife but reneged. A Deborah Buckmaster had been planning her husband s death several months before she allegedly killed him she had mentioned several possible methods of carrying out the plot and she even had hinted that she might kill her husband during a trip to his mothers la neral in the United states in the fall of 1992. A after the slaying Deborah Buckmaster became increasingly paranoid about the possibility that police would determine that her husbands death was a murder and not the suicide she originally reported. A As she was departing for her husbands stateside funeral she threatened Tanski at the Airport saying a if you crack. Ill kill you  Tanski professed no urge to Call the police about Deborah Buckmaster a intentions before the killing having fallen hopelessly in love with her Schmidt Degenhard said. Instead according to the psychiatrists account Tanski said he persuaded his Friend Dietmar a did in Scebold one of the other defendants to help him commit the crime. Even so the psychiatrist said the 24-year-old Tanski claimed to have hesitated a moment before finally letting the Drunken sergeant a already bleeding profusely from three whacks with a baseball Bat a drop to his death. Perhaps he could haul the sergeant Back in put him to bed and convince him the next Day that he had injured himself by falling while drunk Schmidt Degenhard testified that Tanski said. According to the testimony Tanski recalled that he finally loosened his grip on the sergeant after Deborah Buckmaster allegedly yelled twice at him a let him go a _ a a then 1 had the Leeling that i had died just As he had died and that As human beings Debbie and Didi had died too Quot Schmidt Degenhard said quoting Tanski