On Friday, November 16, life-long Ellenville-area resident and retired Marine Sergeant Carmelo Rodriguez, III, age 29, died of Stage IV melanoma. While many Americans are diagnosed with some form of skin cancer every year, what's different about Sgt. Rodriguez's case is that his illness began as a treatable skin-cancer condition that was misdiagnosed by a military doctor in 2005 during his tour of duty in Iraq.

Upon first enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1997, the doctor administering his physical noted Rodriguez as having a melanoma on his right buttock. The doctor never told the future sergeant about it, nor did he alert any other medical personnel within the military or recommend any kind of future treatment. Eight years later, while Sgt. Rodriguez was serving in Iraq, the melanoma had grown in size and had begun to bleed. He sought help from a Dr. Hegde, who diagnosed the condition as a "wart" and advised him to get it looked at in five months upon his return to the United States. It was early 2006 when the Marine managed to finally get a biopsy on the growth, and was diagnosed with Stage III melanoma.

Take Action View the You Tube video of the CBS story Email the family Go To The Carmelo Foundation Sign the petition to overturn the Feres Doctrine

Over the next 18 months, Rodriguez went from a muscular 185 lbs. to under 80 lbs. A skeletal, bed-ridden Rodriguez and his family contacted CBS News to cover his ordeal, culminating in a story that aired on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric on the evening of January 31, 2008. The footage shows how journalist Byron Pitts traveled to meet with the former Marine, and that eight minutes after their introduction, Rodriguez died.

Buried in The Fantinekill Cemetery in Ellenville, his family was charged $8,000 for a military funeral. The reason the military did not cover the funeral costs was due to the fact that once Rodriguez was forced to retire from the service because of his illness, the US Military was no longer required to cover funereal expenses. Instead, they offered to reimburse his family $500 of the cost.

The Feres Doctrine

The CBS piece also focuses on the Feres Doctrine, a law protecting the United States government and military from being sued by military service members or their families for injuries sustained during active duty. The doctrine effectively eliminates the Rodriguez family's ability to hold the United States liable for the Marine's misdiagnosis and eventual death.

Average American citizens have the right to seek damages and hold other parties accountable for injuries sustained because of them. Those serving in the United States military, however, have no such recourse.

Professor Jonathan Turley, a nationally renowned legal scholar, explains the origins of 1950's Feres Doctrine on his website, jonathanturley.org. "It was named after Army Lt. Rudolph Feres, who died in a fire allegedly caused by an unsafe heating system in his New York barracks," he writes. "In this and later opinions, the Supreme Court interpreted the Federal Tort Claims Act to effectively bar any tort actions by service members, even though Congress exempted only 'combat-related' injuries. The court unilaterally decided that even injuries in peacetime that are far removed from any combat-related function are still 'incident to service.'"

Among past examples of military personnel affected by the doctrine he lists, Turley includes Lt. Cmdr. Walter Hardin, who, "spent 11 months with red lesions from his legs to his torso that a doctor classified as eczema. It was correctly diagnosed as cancer shortly before he died," an incident chillingly similar to Rodriguez's own.

Rodriguez Contacts Congressman Maurice Hinchey

Rodriguez's family is currently taking up his fight to overturn the Feres Doctrine, a battle the Marine began after his diagnosis in 2006 and continued during his treatment in North Carolina. He wrote a letter to Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D) on January 14, 2007, wherein he reveals that he had heard of another Marine from Cherry Point, his Marine Corps Air Station, who had died from melanoma, also misdiagnosed by Dr. Hegde.

"Sir," he wrote, "this isn't a sob story, but I wanted you to hear this and take note at the lack of attention, and even more importantly, the lack of expertise that these doctors have that are assigned to our aid stations. What can be done to make their education more in depth and better?" The letter continues, "If there was a difference I could make, this would be it."

Congressman Hinchey spoke about Rodriguez's case during a phone interview: "It doesn't make any sense," referring to the Feres Doctrine.

"We're going to try to deal with that and get the Supreme Court decision overturned. We're going to do everything we can to press it. We're looking at legislation having to do with the ability of families to bring legal action against the military operation when this kind of medical incompetence, which is apparent here, takes place. And we are also continuing to press the military to ensure that there is an upgrade in the quality of health care that the military personnel receive...we see very clearly in a situation like this, and those of Eddie Ryan, how this administration has no interest in supporting the troops."

Rodriguez is survived by his seven-year-old son, Carmelo Rodriguez, IV, who now lives with his mother in Chicago. He will be receiving 55% of his father's benefits, and according to his aunts Elizabeth and Ivette, his father's sisters, he's a strong kid, "just like his father," and instead of being sad, seemed proud after the CBS broadcast last week.

At this time, there are two foundations to which people can contribute. One will help provide for Rodriguez's son in the future and pay off the funeral's bill, which can be found by e-mailing the Marine's sister, Elizabeth, at lizrodriguez11@yahoo.com. The other is the Carmelo Foundation, and was started by his cousin Eric Santiago the night of the CBS broadcast, which will help fund efforts to try to put an end to the Feres Doctrine: http://www.carmelofoundation.chipin.com.

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