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      Montgomery Announces Mississippi Hearing on Persian Gulf Ailments     
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 US Newswire: Rep. Sonny Montgomery announced he has scheduled a Jan. 21    
 Congressional hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs in  
 Meridian, Miss., to look into illnesses reported by veterans of the        
 Persian Gulf War and their children.  The hearing will begin at noon and   
 will be held in the second floor court room of the Federal Building 2100,  
 9th St., Meridian, Miss.  Among the witnesses scheduled to testify are     
 personnel and family members of the 624th Quartermaster Company (now a     
 detachment of the 3656th Maintenance Company), a National Guard unit in    
 Waynesboro, Miss.  As many as 13 of 15 children born to veterans in the    
 Guard detachment since its return from the Persian Gulf have experienced   
 serious medical problems, including blood and respiratory disorders.       
 Officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of        
 Defense, Centers for Disease Control and Mississippi Department of Health  
 have also been called on to testify.  The Meridian hearing will mark the   
 sixth major hearing of Montgomery's committee on medical problems being    
 reported by Persian Gulf veterans, which include chronic fatigue,          
 short-term memory loss, aching joints, dizziness, nausea, bleeding gums,   
 rashes and hair loss.                                                      
                                                                            


