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Proudly Serving All Branches & All Eras Since 1999
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Veterans' Advocate and "all 'round good guy," Jim is available to answer questions for Veterans and their families on a wide variety of issues. He has dealt extensively with the VA and has a background in the medical field.
He offers a wealth of knowledge and it's all free of charge.
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This is not legal advice. You should always seek the advice of an attorney who is qualified in Veterans' law before you make any decisions about your own benefits. Visit Stateside Legal (below) for assistance with legal issues.
NOTE: Letters in my Q&A columns are reprinted just as they come to me. Spelling and grammar are left as is and only small corrections are made to improve readability, ensure anonymity or delete expletives that may offend some readers. This is not legal advice. You should always seek the advice of an attorney who is qualified in Veterans' law before you make any decisions about your own benefits.
Agent Orange Information
There is so much information available about Agent Orange it's not possible for me to list it here. Below are some of the thousands of resources I use to keep up with this constantly changing landscape of knowledge about America's use of the chemical Dioxin.
If you want more, much more, click on one or all of these links here:
Back in the day...the 70's and 80's
"no proof that agent orange causes any problems greater than a temporary ache"
12/12/1979 Carter Orders Study of Agent Orange
08/17/1984 Veterans Groups Attack Agent Orange Study
"The debate continues."
06/03/2011 Bill to probe toxics at Fort McClellan
06/01/2011 Aircraft put servicemen at risk
05/15/2011 Kidney Cancer & Agent Orange
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) completed a rating decision this month, making an evaluation of 100 percent, effective November 1994, for the Clinton County veteran.
Agent Orange & Korea
12/03/2010
Will Pleasants of Kannapolis, NC is a proud Member of American Legion Post 342, Salisbury, NC and VFW Post 3006, Salisbury, NC.
Will wrote to share this helpful bit of data:
"I was denied Agent Orange Benefits after serving in Korea in 1968. I was denied because my Unit, the 2nd Military Police Company was NOT on the infamous "Presumptive Units List" of units DOD said was exposed to Agent Orange. I found out many of my Brothers that served in Korea in the 2nd Military Police Company were also denied benefits and many were suffering the effects of Agent Orange. Many have already passed.
I began a campaign to get the 2nd Military Police Company added to the 'Presumptive Units List.' After a year plus work, digging up documents from 40 plus years ago and support from Senator Burr's staff I received the below e-mail from the DVA C&P Office to Brooks Tucker of Senator Burr's staff.
It would be appreciated if you could help get the word out to those that served and may need medical care they have so far been refused,
After this was sent to me, several of my fellow MP's that had claims pending up to 4 years were approved for Agent Orange exposure in Korea in 1968-69. As I said, they had been fighting the fight for 4 years after being denied benefits due to the Company being left off the Infamous Presumptive Units List."
This is that email confirming his success;
Brown, Justin (VACO)
Subject: VA Inquiry regarding Agent Orange Presumptive List for Units in Korea
Attached is the response to your inquiry. Also, I have received your request for a briefing and will get back to you as soon as possible. Please let me know if you have any additional questions and have a great week!
C&P Service has determined that the 2nd Military Police Company of the 2nd Infantry Division should be added to the list of units that operated at or near the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) between April 1968 and July 1969. DoD has acknowledged that tactical herbicides, such as Agent Orange, were used along the DMZ during that time frame. Although DoD information served to establish the initial list, research conducted by JSRRC (Army and Joint Services Records Research Center) and C&P Service continues to periodically add units to the list. M21-1MR contains the list and is updated as units are added. A proposed regulation has been published in the Federal Register that would create a presumption of tactical herbicide exposure for Veterans who served in one of these units during the time frame of herbicide use.
The 2nd Military Police Company of the 2nd Infantry Division should be added to the list because an official history of that unit, dated February 10, 1969, shows that the unit, "Maintained control of traffic and Korean Nationals crossing Freedom and Libby Bridges." A map of the Korean DMZ shows that Freedom Bridge is approximately one mile from the DMZ. This places the unit near the DMZ and indicates that its members likely responded to incidents occurring even closer to the DMZ.
You can reach out to Will by emailing him <Newhavenwillp@aol.com>
Will Pleasants
American Legion Post 342: Finance Officer
Rowan County American Legion Baseball: Treasurer
The moral of the story: One veteran, working hard and acting in good faith, can make a difference to other veterans.
Thank you Will. We salute you sir.
Agent Orange Basic Knowledge
Agent Orange Registry/Health Exam
Brown Water Navy
My friend Roy Adams is the Service Officer at VFW Post (5025) in beautiful Crossville, Tennessee.
Roy reminded me that official information about the Brown Water Navy, those men who served so bravely and well, is hard to come by.
I was up to the task and put together some data and links here.
Thanks Roy.
I couldn't do what I do without all my brothers and sisters here helping me to put it all together.
This section is for you and all my friends in Crossville. Thanks for your service.
A little history...
It's often accepted that there are 3 waters the Navy sails in; blue, green and brown.
The difference to the Vietnam veteran is one of generous benefits v. no benefits at all.
Now the VA & legal stuff...
Reading in the M21-1MR we see that in
VBA tells us that;
* Service aboard a ship that anchored in an open deep-water harbor, such as Da Nang, Vung Tau, or Cam Ranh Bay, along the RVN coast does not constitute inland waterway service or qualify as docking and is not sufficient to establish presumptive exposure to herbicides. Evidence of shore docking is required in order to concede the possibility that the veteran’s service involved duty or visitation in the RVN.
* Veterans who served aboard large ocean-going ships that operated on the offshore waters of the RVN are often referred to as “blue water” veterans because of the blue color of the deep offshore waters. They are distinguished from “brown water” veterans who served aboard smaller river patrol and swift boats and land ship tanks (LSTs) that operated on the brown colored rivers, canals, estuaries, and delta areas making up the inland waterways of the RVN.
* Brown water Navy and Coast Guard veterans receive the same presumption of herbicide exposure as veterans who served on the ground in the RVN.
Thus, Brown Water Navy Veterans are given the same presumptions as are the veterans who had "boots on the ground" service.
Bruce King at U-Tapao Thailand loading a 750 bomb..1969
Agent Orange (The Presumptive List)
The AO "Presumptive List" is the grouping of conditions that VA has ceded are somehow connected to exposure to Agent Orange during Vietnam service. If you had 'boots on the ground' service in Vietnam, you don't have to prove either exposure to dioxin or the origin of any of these conditions should you be diagnosed with one of them.
For all other conditions, you must be able to provide proof of exposure as well as a nexus to the cause. This is known as a 'direct connection' as opposed to a 'presumptive' connection.
* Chloracne (Must occur within one year of exposure to Agent Orange)
* Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (Must occur within one year of exposure)
* Acute or Subacute Peripheral Neuropathy (The term acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy means temporary peripheral neuropathy that appears within weeks or months of exposure to an herbicide agent and resolves within two years of the date of onset.)
* Type 2 Diabetes
* Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
* Soft Tissue Sarcoma
* Hodgkin’s Disease
* Multiple Myeloma
* Prostate Cancer
* Respiratory Cancers (Including cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea, and bronchus)
* Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
* Spina Bifida
* *VA may provide benefits for children with birth defects who were born to female Vietnam veterans.
UPDATED LIST
The New York Times
By JAMES DAO
Published: October 12, 2009
VA Extends “Agent Orange” Benefits to More Veterans
October 13, 2009
Parkinson’s Disease, Two Other Illnesses Recognized
WASHINGTON – Relying on an independent study by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki decided to establish a service-connection for Vietnam Veterans with three specific illnesses based on the latest evidence of an association with the herbicides referred to Agent Orange.
The illnesses affected by the recent decision are B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson’s disease; and ischemic heart disease.
Used in Vietnam to defoliate trees and remove concealment for the enemy, Agent Orange left a legacy of suffering and disability that continues to the present. Between January 1965 and April 1970, an estimated 2.6 million military personnel who served in Vietnam were potentially exposed to sprayed Agent Orange.
In practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a “presumed” illness don’t have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This “presumption” simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.
The Secretary’s decision brings to 15 the number of presumed illnesses recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
“We must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will,” Shinseki added. “Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence.”
Other illnesses previously recognized under VA’s “presumption” rule as being caused by exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War are:
· Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
· Chloracne
· Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
· Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
· Hodgkin’s Disease
· Multiple Myeloma
· Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
· Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
· Prostate Cancer
· Respiratory Cancers, and
· Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)
Additional information about Agent Orange and VA’s services and programs for Veterans exposed to the chemical are available at www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange.
Be sure to use Jim's: "A to Z GUIDE OF VETERANS DISABILITY COMPENSATION BENEFITS" click here...
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