Read the full article by Jeff McMenemy (Fosters Daily Democrat)
“NEWINGTON – The holidays have not been the same for Doris Brock since her husband Kendall Brock died in June 2017 from cancer.
‘Holidays are not fun for anyone who has lost their spouse, their son or daughter, it’s one of the worst times of the year now,’ Brock said during an interview this week. ‘I talked to a woman who lost her husband 30 years ago and she’s still grieving, it doesn’t end.’
Kendall Brock served 35 years with the 157th Air Refueling Wing of the National Guard at the former Pease Air Force Base before retiring.
In 2015, the retired chief master sergeant was diagnosed with stage 4 bladder and prostate cancer, Brock said.
During his 35 years with the guard, Kendall Brock worked with petroleums, oils and lubricants at the National Guard base and also worked on aircraft maintenance.
She said her husband worked with 12 different chemicals on the base that were known carcinogens. She believes that exposure – along with his exposure to water contaminated with PFAS chemicals – caused his cancer.
Thanks to the efforts of Brock, other Pease widows and family members of guardsmen and airmen who served at the guard base or former Pease Air Force Base, the Air Force launched the Pease Military Cancer Mortality Study earlier this year.
Brock and others believe there have been an unusually high number of people who worked at Pease who were diagnosed with cancer after their service…”