I'm Lt. Col. Lucas Kunce, USMCR, 13 years of active duty.
After three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, I never imagined I would return home and face more attacks. But that's what happened two years ago, when Josh Hawley and 40 other Republicans blocked a bill to expand healthcare to millions of veterans like me who were exposed to toxic burn pits during their service.
Let me tell you what happened, so you know why I'm running for U.S. Senate.
In Iraq, I deployed to the Sunni Triangle where I led a police training team. Twelve Marines and a Navy Corpsman, running missions through Habbaniyah, Fallujah, and Ramadi. From our camp, the base's burn pit loomed over us.
Smoke columns filled the sky and blew through our living space. We ran through it, joking about how we should be doing gas mask runs. For three months that pit bathed us in toxic fumes. We accepted it and focused on our duty.
When I got home from that deployment, I had developed a persistent tickle in my throat. Constant irritation. I never had allergies before and annoyed myself with the constant throat clearing. Eventually, I was so embarrassed by it that I went to the base clinic. They said it was postnasal drip and that they could give me allergy medicine. There was no formal diagnosis. But over 10 years later, it's still there.
Bothersome. Uncomfortable, but certainly manageable. And that's about the best story you'll hear about a vet who's been exposed to burn pits. Many struggle with chronic respiratory issues. Migraines. Cancer.
So imagine how we all felt when politicians who have never worn the uniform, like Josh Hawley, threw us a giant middle finger and voted against aid for veterans who were exposed to these toxic burn pits.
I know that's harsh language, but it has to be. Because what they did was about as anti-American as it gets. Patriots don't attack veterans who suffered injuries or illness from being around those toxic pits.
Many of these same Republicans spent years voting to keep us in these forever wars, lying to the American people about what was really going on over there, and getting rich off their defense contractor stocks that skyrocket when we're at war.
These people profited off of sending us over there only to screw us when we came back messed up. It's criminal — and I'm ready to do something about it.
I served my country for 13 years in the United States Marine Corps. I'd give anything for this country — and that's exactly why I'm running to replace Josh Hawley in the U.S. Senate.
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Thank you so much.
Lucas Kunce
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Paid for by Lucas Kunce for Missouri
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