Frank E. Josenhans III, served in the Navy as a UDT/SEAL Diver (Underwater Demolition Team) from 1972 to 1978.
He was drafted into the Army. But a Naval Officer got on the bus and said; “who here doesn’t want to go to Vietnam and die?” and my husband along with a few others raised their hands.
Frank’s father was a Master Diver in the Navy. Frank did 6 years, his father actually retired from the Navy as a Chief. Part of Frank’s training was 26 weeks at the Navy Diving & Salvage School, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC. He served on the USS Shenandoah AD-26, USS Raleigh, USS South Carolina and the USS Nimitz to name a few. During Naval School he was exposed to many herbicides and toxins. The Washington D.C. Navy Yard is an EPA Superfund Site. He was also exposed to radiation in 1976 while aboard the USS South Carolina. There are a million things that divers are exposed to. Diving in the Military is very dangerous and many things happened, even poisoning. Navy Divers were tough guys and they never really talked about it after they got out of the military. During the time when Frank was a diver they were making it safe for our Navy personnel now. He also worked in the experimental diving unit.
Most Navy Divers were prescribed Afrin for headaches and nasal congestion. Divers were usually sent to the Navy Corpsman on board and almost always released back to work the next day. Divers were supposed to pick up the pieces and get back to work. Frank worked as a diver all over the world and saw many beautiful places.
One time in particular he was diving at Pier 22 on October 6, 1975 and 30 feet of water for approximately 20 minutes when he noticed a bad smell in his air at which point he became disoriented and nauseated due to inhalation of unknown noxious substance while 30 feet under water. He passed out while underwater from being delivered those toxic poison gases (as stated on medical record). He had many nightmares about underwater accidents and lost a friend or two. I would be jolted awake during our 18 years of marriage from nightmares. I sometimes had bruises on my legs because he was underwater in his dream. I would shake him to wake him up and say, “you are swimming”… he knew what that meant.
Frank loved motorcycle rides, spending time with family, singing and cookouts. In later years, he retired as a Deputy Sheriff for Volusia County, FL after 23 years of civil service.
I began noticing Frank’s symptoms slowly over the years. We met in 1991 and married in 1993. We took many motorcycle rides over the years. One trip stands out more than the others; we took a cross-country motorcycle trip from Daytona Beach, Florida to San Francisco, CA in 2005. While traveling through Utah, he stated he was having some weird sensations in his left hand and not chills but shudders. He also repeated himself a lot and others were noticing it also over the last 8 to 10 years before diagnoses. I really thought maybe early onset of dementia, though no family history. He already had hearing loss in his left ear from a ascending and descending from diving but his eyesight was going, which was very strange because he had 20/20 vision. After begging him to go to the VA over the years, he finally did in March 2010. I got him to go to our local VSO to begin the process of filing for disability from the VA. He filed for loss of hearing, eyesight, radiation exposure and the scars on his back and arms that he got while diving in dirty water in the Navy. In the midst of waiting to hear from the VA about his claim I had to rush him to the trauma center in August of 2010 after I thought he was having a heat stroke. Forty-five minutes later the doctor told us he had a brain tumor the size of a California navel orange in his right temporal lobe. We ended up going to Duke University in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and saw Dr. Friedman. This was the Neurosurgeon that Ted Kennedy used. The sad news was that Frank’s brain tumor was inoperable. So back home we went to FL and did the standard chemo and radiation. After five short months, my love was gone. Frank had just turned 58 years old and I was 49 when he died. Sadly when we lose our loved ones to this disease, families suffer and communication can be broken down. It’s a tough road to go through this because people speculate what causes a brain tumor. My in-laws broke all communication with me, sadly. However, I speak with my brother in law a lot and our kids a lot. Frank had two daughters from a previous marriage who I helped raise and love very much, Mary and Christina. I had one son, Steven, from a previous marriage and Frank was instrumental in helping to raise him. Here is a picture of our 3 beautiful children. Our son Steven was serving in the Army while Frank was fighting for his life. He served for 6 years and has now relocated to Florida.
Since his passing it’s been hard to get a grip on life without him. He was my very best friend, a great father, grandfather and the best husband any gal could have been blessed with. Frank was the glue that kept us together. He was so funny and made everyone laugh. He had respect for all his brothers in the Military and Law Enforcement. He was patriotic and always had our Flag flying on Veteran’s Day. He eventually gave his life to his country and felt honored in doing so.
There are military missions that we will never know about. My husband was such an honorable and brave man that he actually wrote his own memorial for me to find the day after he died on January 28, 2011. The following is an excerpt from what he wrote. He would pass this on to the young men in his life and those who he felt were worthy. I read this often and also live by it. Frank was amazing with his thoughts and words and recited poetry. He didn’t believe in pity parties. He was indeed a man of principles. I am crying as I read this again.
“Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. Honor is a guiding set of principles that you select and build upon to live by. Honor sets you apart from other men. No man can take honor from you. It is yours. Honor is an ideal of conduct though it may be inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so. Honor is not something you obtain; it is something you work to satisfy. Live your life with honor and you will always know who you are and what you stand for. Only you can add to your list of principles, the foundation of your honor. Choose your guiding principles and try to live by them.”
Glioblastoma Brain Tumor, Grade IV is the deadliest and among the most rare types of brain tumors. Yet, here we are losing so many Vietnam Era Veterans. We will not rest until the VA puts this on the presumptive list. It takes many years for a GBM4 to develop according to many articles and by the time they find it, it’s too late. We were not prepared for him to die so young at the age of 58. I almost lost my home, vehicle among other possessions. No widow should have to walk the steps I did. When Frank died, he took most of me with him. I finally worked myself through most of the mourning, but you grieve forever.
I have found purpose helping others that are new to this journey. I make calls for them to Congressman, bill collectors and anything they need help with. We are not the first widows who have encountered this. Other widows have tried very hard to convince the VA that there is a connection to GBM4 and herbicides (not just Agent Orange) PCBs and metal exposures including radiation exposure. TCDD is a component of Agent Orange but Dioxin in itself seems to be the killer along with many other things that Veterans were exposed to.
~ Kathy-Lynn Carroll Josenhans
We thank Kathy for sharing her courageous story and encourage Vietnam Veterans and their families whose lives have been touched by GBM4 to join www.facebook.com/groups/VietnamVeteranGlioblastom/?__mref=message_bubble where Kathy and her administrators can help guide you through the process.
Veteran Stories Compiled by Jenny La Sala www.JennyLasala.com
