“They fought together as brothers-in-arms, they died together, and now they sleep side by side. To them we have a solemn obligation,”
- Admiral Chester Nimitz

Most have never heard this quote, inscribed on a plaque at the Admiral Nimitz Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. Few could tell you to what it refers. Even fewer could tell you they truly understand it. I don’t mean grasp it at an intellectual level, but truly know it, to honestly feel it, to experience it down to one’s soul. But one man, 88 year old Frank Curre, lived it.

For 70 years, Frank Curre honored that solemn obligation. Through Frank, generations of Americans have lived December 7, 1941. At 18 years old, Frank Curre was a boson’s mate on the USS Tennessee stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As a teenager, Frank was tested more than most of us will be in our entire lives. Barely able to shave, he witnessed more death, experienced more suffering, and knew more tragedy than could be fairly asked of any man by his country. Frank did it and never asked for a thank you, he just asked that we remember, and he did his best to make sure that happened.

Frank told audiences of millions about that infamous day, either in documentaries in which he appeared, like Ken Burns’ “The War”, or through the middle and high school classes to which he appeared every Memorial or Veteran’s day. Frank even granted my own two sons a private audience. For an hour, in the living room of his modest home in Waco, Texas, my boys sat in rapt attention as they listened to Frank make December 7, 1941 come alive. My 9 and 12 year old sons, whose attention spans would make a gnat’s life seem an eternity, sat mesmerized for an hour, as Frank made them feel what he felt. Frank had the remarkable ability to transfer the emotion of that day to these two boys whose only understanding of war up until that moment, and I pray for their entire lives, is what they played on their favorite video game. For the first time it was real. My sons knew these heroic men through Frank, they smelled what they smelled, they sweated and feared for Frank Curre himself, wondering if he would come out of it alive, even as they sat listening to him tell it. Frank told them about war in a way they didn’t get in history class at school, or in a sanitized video game that glorifies the experience as much as it desensitizes it. My youngest son, born on December 7th, afterwards turned to me and said, “Daddy, my birthday was the first 9-11 a long time ago.” While it saddened me to think that one of the greatest days of my life, the day Nicholas Chandler came to us, would ever be associated in his mind as “the first 9-11,” I thank God he met Frank Curre, one of the greatest teachers either of us will ever know.

Today, we remember, Frank Curre. I was not at all surprised to receive a call from his daughter yesterday afternoon telling me that hospice now believes Mr. Curre would not live through the night. I was not surprised because for a couple of days now Frank has been speaking to his wife, Elma Louise. Elma was his wife of 50 years, but she passed on years ago. I have heard the same story many times. The families of those I represent will often tell me that their father or mother was having conversations with, or visits from, relatives lost long ago. The visits are always comforting and bring peace, but the families usually dismiss them as delusions brought on by pain medications or advanced disease. I don’t pretend to have a greater understanding of such matters than my mortal condition allows, but I find solace in the thought that we all may just have angels waiting for us to make our transition easier.

I was also not surprised to have spoken to Frank’s daughter moments ago and to have learned that he did survive the night, but that he died just a short time ago. No one who knew Frank Curre doubted for a second that he would make it to December 7th. Either through divine intervention, or shear force of will, and what is likely a partnership of the two, Frank lived to see December 7th again.

I met Mr. Curre over a year ago; that I am writing about him as he is alive today is something of a miracle itself. You see, Frank had mesothelioma, an invariably fatal form of cancer caused by asbestos, or as much by the profit earned with it, as by the magic mineral itself. Mesothelioma is an unforgiving and invariably fatal form of cancer that in many cases takes its victims within months of a diagnosis. That Mr. Curre lived to see the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor is as much a tribute to his indomitable spirit as it is the wonderful medical care and family support he received.

The seed of this cancer was planted 70 years ago at Pearl Harbor as Frank ran from ship to ship trying to save his buddies. Each blow of a torpedo released the asbestos that would one day take his life and that covered the miles of steam lines so ubiquitous in naval vessels of the day. That day, Frank survived bombs dropped on his ship, torpedo’s blasted through its hulls, fire raging throughout bulkheads and on the surface of the water, but he could not survive the asbestos cancer. Nor did it help that after the war he came home to a job that required him to work with asbestos on a daily basis. At work he faced a silent killer, no obvious explosions, fire, or his buddies’ screams to warn of the danger sellers of asbestos had not. The imperial forces of Japan took his life that day, and the forces of greed piled on after, they just didn’t know Frank was too damn stubborn to stick around for 70 more years to tell everyone about it.

There are days, like those that I meet men like Frank Curre, that I Love my job as an advocate for people with mesothelioma. I thank God everyday that I am blessed to know and help men like Frank and their families. So many, who like Frank, gave so much and asked for nothing in return. I am better for the experience of them in my life. But, there are days that I dread, like today, as I stand a post on the grizzly watch of death that I have stood for far too many now, waiting for the call to tell me that their asbestos lawsuit is a wrongful death case now.

To know Frank Curre is to be infected by his optimism and a new appreciation for what you have taken for granted in your life everyday until the day you met him. Frank embodied the idea that everyday is a gift, every person is precious, and the God in all life matters. It is an understanding that only those that have stared death in the face and have beaten it back seem to truly know. But Frank’s life was lived to tell each of us that we do not need to live through what he did, to truly be alive. We do not have to know death, to experience life. We must not wait for tragedy, to experience Joy. For 70 years, Frank woke up everyday appreciating that day for what it was, a God-given gift, each and every hour of it, every breath taken in it, and every precious experience granted by it.

Frank ended every presentation he gave, whether to a middle school, or a television camera, by quoting Admiral Nimitz’ plaque from the museum, then he would add, “Me personally, I can think of no greater honor on this earth than to lie side by side with all those magnificent and courageous individuals that I had the God-given privilege of serving with in World War II, ” and so now he will. For all those you touched in your 88 years Frank, we can think of no greater honor on this earth than to have known you. Thank you, my friend. May God keep you and your family in his loving embrace on this day, and all the days that follow.

His case was simple. God loves you, and whosoever shall believe in him will never die. He made his case although he labored under the ultimate burden of proof, “No greater love has one man for another than to lay down his life for him.” His crucifixion and resurrection was a three day closing argument, the greatest closing argument of all time.

You carry on his work today. You sacrifice your labor, your sweat, and many times your tears to prove your case and to make the lives of your clients better. We have a great example to follow. On this week-end, remember we fight the good fight. Your sacrifices are worth it. You make a difference in what you do.

I was happy just to be invited and brought my camera to take pictures of the event to show others in my office who also worked on Mr. Juarez's case.  Imagine my surprise when I was asked to cut the ribbon for this dedication.  As happy as the church and family were with the work we did on the case, it doesn't compare to the happiness in knowing what you do on a daily basis can help in so many ways. 

Whether its a newly remodeled church, a college education for a grandchild, much needed home repairs, or a much-needed vacation to see family or friends just one last time, the settlements we are able to obtain can do a lot of good for people whose lives have been irreversibly changed, through no fault of their own. 

In Texas, "Attorneys or parties who shall bring a fictitious suit as an experiment to get an opinion of the court, or who shall file any fictitious pleading in a cause for such a purpose, or shall make statements in pleading which they know to be groundless and false, for the purpose of securing a delay of the trial of the cause, shall be held guilty of a contempt.  If a pleading, motion or other paper is signed in violation of this rule, the court, upon motion or upon its own initiative, after notice and hearing, shall impose an appropriate sanction…upon the person who signed it, a represented party, or both."  Tex. R. Civ. P. 13.  Ample case law exists on this topic.  And most attorneys will not file lawsuits that could violate this rule. 

That said, there are a handful who will, and they tend to give the entire profession a bad name.  And there are others who file lawsuits, whether or not valid, that sound ridiculous to most people.  Take, for example, a recent lawsuit filed against the Oakland A's for excluding men in a Mother's Day promotion.  Really?  Did the lawyer want a floppy hat from Macy's?  No, he was obviously looking to make a buck.  The reason these cases make headlines is because they are out-of-the-ordinary.  They enrage listeners, including most lawyers. 

The reason lawyers are referred to as "counselors" is because that is part of the job – we counsel people, oftentimes, to advise them they do not have a claim that we can file.  Even the sponsor of the ads to be released in theaters has a section on its website dedicated to the "most ridiculous lawsuits."  There will always be a small number of people who will file the most outrageous lawsuits.  And some of the "facts" section is based on public perception of lawsuits.  When the worst-of-the-worst lawsuits make headline news, of course public perception is going to be skewed. 

This coverage, and the ads coming to your movie theater, will take the focus far from any wrongdoing of defendants in legitimate lawsuits.  It victimizes the victims all over again.  Yes, of course there are companies who are wrongly sued.  But more often, companies are sued because they have or haven't done something to protect someone from getting hurt.  When someone is injured or killed because of the actions or inactions of another person or a company, they or their family deserve their day in court.  It is a right granted to every citizen of this country.  I would urge the popcorn-eating public not to support organizations that are working to minimize or take away our rights.

As I was debating on what to do about my dog, I thought about the decisions our mesothelioma clients must face.  I can only imagine the hours of time these victims' families spend talking to doctors, researching the internet, talking to other friends and family, and praying for an answer as to what they should do.  Mesothelioma (meso for short) is such a terrible disease.  Some patients respond well to chemo and radiation.  Others are too frail to treat, and are sent home for care with their families or hospice just to make sure they are comfortable.  Dr. Roy Smythe at Scott & White has performed extra-pleuralpneumonectomies on some of our clients, but it is rare for a meso victim to be in a position that such a drastic surgery would be recommended.  It involves removing various organs and tissues in an effort to get rid of the cancer.  It is not a cure, and is painful, but it is also a way to lengthen life for some victims of this terrible disease. 

For my dog, chemo will only be a shot, a pill and an IV drip, if I understand correctly.  Side effects are less severe in dogs than in humans.  My decision wasn't too difficult.  A meso victim has a much more difficult decision to make.  Everyone is different.  As an attorney who represents meso victims every day, I can understand each and every treatment decision made by clients.  There is no right or wrong.  I hope the decision I had to make for Claire will be the only cancer treatment decision I ever have to make.  I wish she could speak and let me know what she wants to do.  Then again, I remember an old Far Side cartoon where all the people were wearing headsets called canine decoders, and all the dogs were just saying "Hey!" "Hey hey hey!" 

For the last 17 years, I have had the great, yet sad honor of representing victims of asbestos exposure which has caused mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.

Mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer only caused from exposure to asbestos. I have represented mesothelioma victims from all walks of life: a 39-year old mother of nine (exposed to asbestos via her father’s work clothes), a 79-year old asbestos worker who worked with asbestos every day, a 54-year old wife and mother of two exposed to asbestos by shaking out and laundering her father’s work uniform, a 46-year old principal who worked two summers at a steel mill. You name it, I have seen it. While I have never stood in the shoes of a mesothelioma victim, I have walked side-by-side with them and know firsthand about the fight of their life that they have in front of them, especially since this type of cancer is very aggressive, incurable, and mostly untreatable.

While mesothelioma can occur around the lining of the abdomen or the heart, most mesothelioma cancers occur in the lining of the lung – called the pleura. While science tells us mesothelioma is caused from asbestos, it cannot tell us why some people get mesothelioma and some do not, no matter how heavy or how light the exposure to this deadly material.

When I consult with victims of mesothelioma, I know what lies ahead for them. Representing mesothelioma victims can be a very heavy burden and can take a toll emotionally, psychologically, and even physically for the attorney. When you are the advocate who is fighting for a person’s legal rights, there is a great deal of personal responsibility. I know of no other way to represent my clients than to get extremely close to them to better understand what they are going through, what they are feeling, what they are scared of, what their dreams were before the cancer, and what their worries are after the diagnosis of asbestos cancer. Mesothelioma is a very personal cancer and the only way I know how to do the best job possible in representing my clients, is to get up close and personal with my clients’ and their families. While my job entails a great deal of legal strategy with my opponents, it also involves a great deal of psychological and emotional counseling with my clients.

While there is always the business aspect and arrangement when representing asbestos clients, there is the personal nature of representing victims who have incurable cancer. You have to be able to counsel these innocent victims, who are somewhat in shock regarding their diagnosis, about treatment options for the cancer, depression that comes with cancer, financial hardships, estate planning concerns, family issues, and a wide array of topics not only from a legal standpoint, but from a personal and emotional standpoint as well.

As strange as it sounds, I TRY TO FALL IN LOVE WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF MY CLIENTS. I know that what they are going through is very personal to them and if I make it personal, I will do a better job in representing their interests.  While yes, leading with your heart has taken a toll on me these last 17 years, physically, mentally, and emotionally, it is the only way I know how to truly represent my clients to the best of my
ability.

I love and hate my job at the same time.  I love fighting on behalf of those who need an advocate, a voice for the voiceless, and the strength to fight for them when they have been struck down suddenly and through no fault of their own. I hate my job because I know that my client will have to endure days, weeks and months of unbearable pain and discomfort, loss of weight and appetite, nausea, shortness of breath, chemotherapy, depression, anxiety, physical impairment and yes, ultimately death on many occasions.

I am a firm believer in faith and prayer. I pray each and every day for the strength and wisdom to give my clients the best representation possible. Moreover, I pray that my clients will have the power to endure all that mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases will throw at them.

While leading with one’s heart in my line of work can cause tumult and heartache for all involved, it is the only way I truly know how to lead my client’s to the promise of hope of better days ahead, satisfaction and comfort in the knowledge that their families will be taken care of, and justice yet unfulfilled, for being misled for years by companies who knew about these dangers, but chose profits over people.

Michael B. Patronella
Attorney & Counselor at Law

Boson's Mate Curre was barely 18 years old on December 7, 1941, and according to Frank, "Never thought he'd live to see 18 and a half."

Now, 87 years old, Frank Curre is losing the breath he needs to tell his story.  In November, this otherwise healthy and very active Pearl Harbor survivor was diagnosed with Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused by asbestos.  Mesothelioma disproportionately strikes our Navy veterans due to exposure they suffered to asbestos used as insulation throughout naval ships.   Frank survived the attacks on December 7, 1941, but now faces a more determined enemy, one that has never signed an unconditional surrender, and one not susceptible to the will of a nation hell bent on retribution, if not its very survival.  Mesothelioma has claimed the lives of thousands of our Greatest Generation, and many more from the generations that followed.  It is an insidious and invariably fatal cancer whose origin is found as much in the search for profit as in the magic mineral itself.  Frank Curre offered his life to his country many years ago, now, so many decades later, those who profited from the sale of asbestos will take it.

Frank has made it his life's mission to "always remember, and to never forget, those brave and magnificent men with whom [he] had the God-given honor to serve."  Frank explains, "I tell the story to the children at schools and I tell it in a way they won't read about in history books, not in a sanitized way, but with all the graphic and vivid detail that is seared into my memory.  I want them to know how bad it really was, so that maybe they will never have to experience anything like it ever again." 

We are all better for the Frank Curre's of the world.  Frank demurs, "I ain't no hero, the heroes are them boys that never made it home. I just want everybody to know them, if even for a moment, through my own experiences." 

Frank wants you to understand he is a fighter, a believer in causes greater than himself, and a follower of what he knows is a compassionate and loving God.  So he wants you to know he intends to tell those who will listen what so many went through on that fateful day in 1941, and in the months and years that followed.  And he will do so for as many days as he is allowed to do so, he feels he owes it to his friends who could not be here to tell the story themselves.

Your gratitude will be for the service and sacrifice made by Mr. Vernon, and the two generations of Vernon men who came after him. Your apology will be for other things.

There is much all of us have to be thankful for in the life of Leslie Vernon. His life was a living testament to living for a cause greater than ones’ self.

You see, Leslie Vernon was a United States Marine, his son is a former Marine, and his grandson is a Marine. Mr. Vernon left his blood on the sands of Iwo Jima, his son his in the jungles of Vietnam, and his grandson has seen his share of spilled blood in the deserts and mountains of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The steel that makes the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor of the Marine emblem worn by these Men was forged in battle. They earned it with the sweat of their brow, the blood of their bodies, and the fight of their very spirit. The lessons Leslie Vernon learned on Iwo Jima were most certainly passed to his son, who, with his father, handed them down to his son. Lessons about sacrifice, and serving a cause greater than one’s self. About friendship, the real reason all Marines fight, and about fidelity, the "Fidelis" in "Semper Fidelis, " a slogan to the rest of the world, but the code of a life worth living to a Marine. Great indeed is the tribute the next generation of Marine pays to the father who came before him when he too, takes the oath, dons the uniform, and earns the title — they are born a son, and become a brother.

Leslie Vernon fought on Iwo Jima. A place respected by all sides of that war as one of legendary courage, where men were tested, friendships forged, and memories seared. Iwo was the place "Where uncommon valor was a common virtue." Leslie would recall that Guam was much worse, more infamous in his memory than Iwo Jima. Iwo got his blood, Guam, his soul. A fate-filled photograph would relegate Guam to the history books, and Iwo Jima to the headlines. Deserved to be sure, but not because of a photograph.

What the enemy could not do to Leslie Vernon, asbestos, and the companies that profited from it, did. He is one of 3000 men and woman who will die this year of mesothelioma, an invariably fatal cancer, caused as much by the search for profit, as by the magic mineral itself.

Today, a once great civil justice system, one of the great and lasting features of this democracy Leslie Vernon, and so many like him, fought to protect, is used by those who profited from asbestos to victimize so many once more. In Leslie Vernon’s home state of Texas, politicians, insurance companies, and special interests have bought the courts and legislature. They use the First Amendment like a security blanket. On the one hand they wrap themselves in it to justify millions paid to politicians and judges under the guise of free speech, and with the other, they use it to smother the Leslie Vernon’s of the world under the pretext of "tort reform."

Mr. Vernon was a Texas veteran, a life long Texas citizen, and a Texas tax-payer for 84 years, yet his state closed its court house doors to him. The special interests that have bought the likes of the Texas Supreme Court have determined that it is just time for the Greatest Generation to go away. In the last 6 years Texas has enacted, by legislation, or judicial decree, the most draconian restrictions on the exercise of individual rights in the country. Through outright corporate immunity or caps on civil damages, there is no longer a standard of care for corporate behavior as it applies to senior citizens, the young, or even the stay at home parent. Texas has determined that a person’s worth is measured by the dollars they make, rather than the lives they affect, and it tells these people, "Your rights are less worthy, we will dictate your life’s value, and at the price we have set, it's just a cost of doing business."

So, Mr. Vernon, I am sorry you survived an epic battle for peace and freedom only to be faced with an enemy you could not defeat. I am sorry that by the age of 19 you knew more sacrifice and sorrow than most could fathom in a lifetime, and that many years later, you would know even more. I am sorry that you earned your place among the greatest of generations by protecting all of us, only to face a civil justice system that dishonors the very security you provided by protecting those who harmed you for a profit. I am sorry that for your bride of these, oh so many years, I can provide little recovery, no sense of justice, and no security. The state you fought so hard to keep free has closed its doors to you. It never knew the motto by which you lived your life, "Semper Fidelis", "Always Faithful." I am sorry, I could not do more to stop it, and I am sorry, so many cared so little they didn’t even try. Semper Fi, my friend, Semper Fi, my brother.

With deep gratitude and regrets,
our Lawyer,

Troy D. Chandler
USMC 1985-1992

Click hereto see Leslie's service records.

According to supporting documents, Dr. Snyder was paid around $600,000 from these clients, who were commonly defendants in asbestos litigation. Dr. Snyder posed as an expert witness in at least six cases and claimed that the asbestos his clients used in their products was incapable of causing mesothelioma. His employer, the National Institute of Health, has quite a different take on the danger of asbestos and its ability to cause mesothelioma. In fact, asbestos is currently the only known cause of mesothelioma.

The blatant lies that Dr. Snyder made under oath outraged me. I promptly sent letters to Dr. Snyder's boss, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, and the Office of Inspector General.  We called for an immediate investigation into Dr. Snyder's side work as a consultant.

My letter eventually caught the eye of the U.S. Attorney and an official investigation was launched to uncover the legality behind of Dr. Snyder's actions. According to the investigation, Dr. Snyder was running a private consulting practice out of his government office and home, and was earning a higher income testifying for asbestos product manufacturers than he ever had as a government doctor. Dr. Snyder was recently convicted of one count violating 18 USC §1001, Making a False Statement on his Financial Disclosure Forms.

Other Supporting Documents

• Official Press Release
• Plea Offer and Agreement
• Letter to Elias Zerhouni, MD
• Transcript of the Proceedings
• Statement of Facts Plea

For more information, contact the mesothelioma lawyers of Williams Kherkher by calling 800-220-9341.