Janet D. Radtke, Air Force veteran who served during Operation Desert Storm/Shield as a flight nurse.
When people think of military service, they often imagine moments of action: a battlefield, a deployment overseas, or the completion of a difficult mission. Less visible are the experiences that continue long after service ends. For many Wisconsin veterans, military service resulted in physical injuries, chronic illnesses, or mental health struggles that followed them into civilian life.
These disabilities may appear immediately or years later. Some are visible, some unseen. As we transition to the stories of Wisconsin veterans, we see that disability is a continuous journey of adaptation, advocacy, and resilience.
Some veterans developed illnesses long after exposure to environmental hazards during their service. Gulf War Air Force veteran Janet Radtke began experiencing severe breathing problems years after returning home from Saudi Arabia. Doctors eventually determined that she had pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare disease that may have been caused by exposure to oil fires, jet fuel, sandstorms, and burn pits during the war.
She remembered the shock of receiving the diagnosis:
“He said, ‘You don’t have asthma. You don’t have environmental issues. I don’t know what you have, but we’re going to find out.’”
After extensive testing, her doctor delivered difficult news:
“He says, ‘There’s no cure. You’ll progressively get worse. We don’t know how fast, but we can slow it down.’”
Radtke spent years fighting to have her illness recognized as service-connected. Yet despite the difficulties she faced, she remained proud of her military service:
“I try to stay active because I think that's the main thing with this disease process, you know, you don't want to sit and not do anything, but if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't hesitate. Even though I'm ill, my military service means a lot to me."
Experiences like Radtke's represent just one type of lasting impact. For other veterans, their disabilities serve as direct reminders of wounds received in combat. Vietnam War Marine veteran Vernon W. Berg, Jr. reflected on how his injuries changed the course of his life. While he recognized the opportunities and experiences that his disability had taken from him, he also maintained a perspective rooted in gratitude:
“Well, probably could have had a different kind of job might have a good job right now. If I'd had my legs back and stuff and all, but that's the price you gotta pay. You don't know what's going to happen when you get in there?”
When asked how he continued to live with his disability, Berg explained:
“I live by my philosophy. Nothing isn't so bad where it couldn’t be worse. I could be dead and not have no legs or whatever. Look, I got legs and I can, I got a guy that ain't got no legs, so he's worse than me. So I--So why should I cry? I can get around in a wheelchair, and this or that. A lot of guys can’t do that.”
Just as combat injuries impact veterans immediately, some effects of military service emerge much later. For other veterans, the effects of military service did not become apparent until many years after they returned home. Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange often faced illnesses that emerged decades later.
Wisconsin Vietnam Army veteran William Olson described how diabetes and peripheral neuropathy slowly changed his everyday life:
“I have diabetes type two and I have peripheral neuropathy. I have damaged nerves through most of my body. It's sort of progressive. Well, it is progressive because I'm barely able to stand up even though I go up a few stairs, but I've fallen so many times. And now, in the last few months, I cannot move my toes anymore.”
Olson remembered struggling to understand the cause of his symptoms before learning that his conditions were connected to Agent Orange exposure:
“Once I got to diabetes, then it-- diabetes is linked to peripheral neuropathy. I didn't know that at the time. But when I had the civilian doctor in Fort before I went to the VA for all my medical later on, he told me, you're 'pre-diabetic, pre-diabetic,' and then finally when I started going to the VA, they said you are diabetic, you're type 2. Along with the neuropathy and all the medical reports. I even had a civilian neurologist. She was a neurologist, she's still working. She was supposed to retire. She'd been a neurologists for 35 years at St. She had an office in Madison and one in Fort Atkinson. But uh yeah, Agent Orange is what did it you know”
While some disabilities gradually develop and become a central focus, for others, the experience of disability alters their understanding of sacrifice. Vietnam War Army veteran Robert Malewski contracted malaria during his service and received disability payments from the VA after the war. However, he remembered visiting the VA and encountering veterans whose disabilities were much more severe than his own:
“I went to the VA—there was guys in on [inaudible] you probably didn't know in--on a gurney and with another guy in a wheelchair I talked to. He didn’t have no arms and legs, he had a stick in his mouth mounted to his chin that ran his wheelchair. And the other guy, he was on a gurney, but I don't remember if there was some question--just laying there but them two guys I can remember, but I walked out of there thinking that I had malaria, it was like having the flu, I mean it was no big deal. These guys were sitting—especially, you take your arms and legs off, it’s remarkable. I walked out of there and these guys spent their whole life in that hospital. And people probably never—just forgot about 'em.”
The encounter stayed with Malewski throughout his life and shaped the way he thought about the lasting effects of war. Malewski’s reflections demonstrate that disability takes many forms. Some veterans live with visible injuries; others with conditions not immediately apparent. Each experience is a different kind of sacrifice and journey after service.
The emotional journey can be just as complex as the physical one. For many veterans, one of the greatest challenges is accepting that they deserve assistance. Iraq War Army veteran Rae Anne Ho Fung explained why she waited years before filing a disability claim:
“Feeling like I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t see combat. I was only in for nine years. I only had one year where I was wearing equipment like full-time. There’s no, you know, people have had lots worse experiences that are much worse than mine--all that.”
Her words reflect a common feeling among veterans who compare their own struggles to those of others, even when their injuries have significantly affected their lives.
Ultimately, the experiences of Wisconsin veterans with disabilities are not defined solely by their injuries. They are stories of adjustment, perseverance, and continued service. Some veterans became advocates for others, helping fellow service members navigate the complicated process of receiving benefits and care. Others focused on their families, communities, and finding new ways to live with the changes brought on by military service.
Disability is one chapter in a veteran’s story—it does not define the whole journey. During Disability Pride Month, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum honors the countless ways veterans display strength, adaptability, and continued dedication. Their stories remind us that the true impact of military service endures long after uniforms are retired, inspiring future generations to recognize, support, and value veterans' lasting contributions in every community.
These and other Wisconsin veteran stories are preserved through the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Oral History Program, ensuring that the voices and experiences of those who served will continue to educate and inspire for years to come.
To watch and listen to the complete interviews click on the name: