Former Area 51 workers sue United States government saying they developed cancer and heart issues after guarding F-117 stealth bomber during 1980s nuclear testing area

Two Air Force veterans are suing the federal government over alleged health problems after working at the government’s Area 51 base in the 1980s.

Dave Crete and Pomp Braswell were employed by the Air Force’s Security Police squadron to guard the F-117A stealth bomber at the then-top-secret Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.

The pair now claim they have serious health problems, including cancer and cardiovascular disease, due to radiation contamination caused by the Department of Energy’s nuclear tests at the site decades earlier. This is reported by Arizona Family News.

Braswell and Crete claim their health problems arose after the land they lived and worked on was contaminated with toxic materials from government tests.

Area 51, an area of ​​over 2.9 million acres, is adjacent to the Nevada Test Site, where US nuclear weapons were tested from the 1950s to the 1990s.

United States Air Force F-117 Stealth bombers led the way in aircraft design in the 1980s

Area 51, an area of ​​over 2.9 million acres, is adjacent to the Nevada Test Site, where US nuclear weapons were tested from the 1950s to the 1990s.

“The thing is, we were all hand-picked to get permission up there,” Braswell, who worked at the site between 1987 and 1990, told the outlet.

“Having said that, we were all at the top of our game, always,” he added.

“The government said they had secured the area so that there would be no further spread of the contamination,” said Kreta, who worked at the base between 1983 and 1987.

“The way they secured it was with a barbed wire fence. Now I don’t have a PhD in physics,” he added, “but a barbed wire fence isn’t going to do that.”

Crete, now a campaigner for wounded or injured government workers, said he realized something was wrong after attending a reunion with those who used to work in his unit at the test track.

“There are eight of us and six of us have tumors, that just can’t be normal,” he explained.

“One of the guys who didn’t say his kid was born with a tumor,” he said.

The Ministry of Defense has claimed to the men that they were not in the area at the times they indicated.

Dave Crete and Pomp Braswell were employed by the Air Force Security Police squadron to guard the F-117A stealth bomber

The Air Force base, Area 51, at Groom Lake, a dry lakebed in the Nevada desert, 84 miles north of Las Vegas, was established in 1955 but was not officially recognized until 2013.

This means that they have not been entitled to compensation for themselves or their families.

“They say their plane was there, but we weren’t, so the plane flew itself, guarded itself, parked itself, and repaired itself. It pisses me off,” Crete said.

“Because we are not recognized as a sense of duty, people with children die without any benefit for those children or that widow.

“It’s disheartening,” Braswell, now a professional golfer, said of the government’s response.

“It’s infuriating, especially when our government and company take care of other countries, and they don’t take care of us.”

Nevada Republican Representative Mark Amodei told Arizona Family News he is working on a bill to provide compensation and restitution to U.S. military personnel and their families who have suffered exposure to toxic materials.

The Department of Defense told DailyMail.com that they do not comment on pending or ongoing litigation.

The Air Force base, Area 51, at Groom Lake, a dry lakebed in the Nevada desert, 84 miles north of Las Vegas, was established in 1955 but was not officially recognized until 2013.

It was established during the Cold War as an aircraft testing and development facility and it is believed that the area is still used to develop and test aircraft.