Richard Gable

Mechanicsville, MD - The long ongoing war of Richard Gable versus the United States may soon be over.

The Mechanicsville resident says he is fighting for all American veterans who have fought in service of their country.

If his 10-year battle concludes the way Gable says it appears now it will, he asserts it will mark the first time in the history of the United States a veteran has successfully held the country accountable for the medical care it provides its military veterans.

He stresses that the money is not as important (he is asking for $5 million in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) as bringing awareness to the health care veterans receive at the Veterans Administration.

Gable readily admits he is no angel, but adds a lot of his problems stem from the 18-month tour of duty he spent in the U.S. Army in Vietnam conducting long-range reconnaissance patrol.

The LURPS, as they were called in 'Nam, were referred to in Michael Herr’s book "Dispatches" as some of the war’s darkest warriors.

He was a gunner on a helicopter. Gable said he was shot down four times in different choppers and survived each crash.

Gable has suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, psychotic episodes, delusions, acute depression, schizophrenia and violent tendencies.

“A lot of nights I fear to go to sleep because of it,” he said.

When Gable was given a knee replacement at Veterans Administration hospital in Washington in 2006, fecal contamination in the surgery wound later prompted surgeons to remove his leg.

That procedure, Gable stressed, was performed in August 2006 without his permission.

“I woke up and my leg was gone,” he explained.

At one point, VA doctors removed him from his psychotic medication causing him to suffer delusion, terror and violent episodes.

Other times, he asserts, they gave him an antibiotic, rifampin, which directly interferes with his psychotic medication.

“I didn’t receive a shower or bath the entire time I was at the VA, and that was from January until October,” he said.

Gable claims sanitary conditions at the Washington hospital were deplorable, citing filth on the floor and spoke of witnessing rats roaming the hallways. He alleges the unsanitary conditions at the VA were responsible for the staph infection that caused doctors to remove his leg.

"I've spent the past 10 years just trying to have my day in court," Gable stated, adding the government has sent as many as seven to 10 lawyers up against him in proceedings that have dragged on for years.

“They kept trying to get me to give up,” Gable said. “I told Judge [G. Michael] Harvey in the last hearing, ‘I’m not quitting. I’ll never quit.’ ”

He claims the file on his case is 4,000 pages long.

“When I was a kid growing up, my father told me, ‘you will fight for your country,’ ” he added. “I had an uncle who was on the first line at Normandy in World War II. I’m 70 years old. Before I die, I want to give back to our veterans.”

The case is scheduled for mediation and settlement in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Sept. 12.

“If I win, I’ll be the first veteran to ever hold them accountable,” Gable said. “I will set precedence. It’s too important to turn my head. It’s too important to my country and to my fellow vets.”

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com