The Cofounders Backstory
Invoking President Obama and the White House to take action required Kathy to inform Victoria, a woman she had never met, that she had been advocating on her behalf without her knowledge for quite some time.
“During research of Atomic Veterans and Children of Atomic Veterans I came across Victoria’s web page and felt a strong connection to her and her story. In late 2016 I began an email campaign to the White House on behalf of Victoria and others, without her knowledge, asking for help. After a few months of weekly emails, to my surprise I received a phone call from a man named Scott Bell from the Washington D.C. Veterans Administration. He said my email had bounced around the White House, made it to President Obama’s desk, then bounced around the Washington VA department with orders from the White House to “help this woman in the email”. I was given a private number to pass on to Victoria, a woman I had never met. Soon after, an autographed photo of the President with a hand signed letter and a Veterans Proclamation showed up on my porch. My next problem was how do I reach out to Victoria and convince her I’m not a crazed stalker.” – Kathy Kirchner-Sinai
“Following his probative interview and informing me I had “bounced around the White House” when Mr. Bell followed up I was yet again in a Stanford Hospital bed, a 48 day stay that time. Scott was “So sorry. We could not find a program or initiative to fit you in.”
Fighting for my life, once again I was clearly abandoned by the United States government, now even at the highest level. With nowhere let to turn, it was clear something should be done to help others like me, and address the genetic and health needs of Atomic Veterans and their families globally . While I hadn’t really focused on it prior to that call, it was a clear call to action for both of us.
ChildrenofAtomicVeterans.org is our initial our to help support the growing and active online Facebook groups, started by others seeking answers and sharing resources globally.
Still Glowing hopes to help bring our group out of the shadows.
When our paths crossed, Kathy and I found ourselves heading in the same direction but that new roads needed to be built to help us get there. So far, no one has discouraged this pursuit or downplayed the importance of it goals. As strange as my story is, it is not unique. Knowledge is empowering and there are modern cautionary tales to tell. Like others, our family sacrificed our lives and futures for their human radiologic experiments, and as our legacy, I want others to be given the chance I was was, to be forewarned of the reproductive consequences. For a variety of reasons, our genetic challenges should serve as a cautionary tale to this and future generations.” – Victoria Moore
In 2020, both received an International Humanitarian Award from the United States Enewetok Atoll Atomic Cleanup Joint Task Force, Republic of the Marshall Islands representatives and supported by Marshallese Americans.