There are more than 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; Published March 19, 2015, North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs- 4201 38th St S,Suite 104 |Fargo, ND 58104-7535 | 701.239.7165, Agent Orange: It's Affecting Veterans and Their Kids, ND Association of County and Tribal Veterans Service Officers, North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs. Kathy, whos struggled physically and financially without her husband, has been fighting the VA for her survivor benefits for the last seven years. has been working on Agent Orange cases since its founding in 1980, said Bart Stichman, the groups executive director. In these cases, VA requires all of the following: Monthly payment rates are based on the Veteran's combined rating for his or her service-connected disabilities. An official website of the State of North Dakota. Depends on which Veteran you ask When this man was 18 he left his farm to push a bicycle loaded with 600 pound of rice, his personal weapon and 30 Competent medical evidence of a current disability. Since the end of the Vietnam War, veterans have reported numerous health effects. Ask about the screening at your next VA health care appointment. After the VA in 2010added ischemic heart disease to its list of ailments linked to Agent Orange, DePodestawho had open heart surgery in 1988 and again in 2010saw his disability rating jump to 100 percent and his monthly payment jump to more than $3,100. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You must provide your name, e-mail address, telephone and/or fax number, and VA file number/Social Security Number. So why is every veteran and widow who files a disability or survivor claim forced to re-litigate the issue?. Agent Orange is the name given to a blend of highly toxic herbicides the U.S. military sprayed from 1962 to 1971 in Vietnam to remove foliage that provided enemy cover. Many U.S. veterans of the war suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. WebAs of March 2015, of the approximately 3 million veterans who served in Vietnam about 300,000 have already died due to AO (dioxin) related diseases. Toxic exposure screenings are available at VA health facilities across the country. There are also other locations where we presume that you had exposure to radiation. The Vietnam war ended nearly 50 years ago, but thousands of Vietnam veterans and their families are still fighting illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure. The NAS has no mandate power over Veterans Affairs. WebAgent Orange was a blend of tactical herbicides the U.S. military sprayed from 1962 to 1971 during the Vietnam War to remove the leaves of trees and other Check the list of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships that operated in Vietnam to confirm whether your service aboard a ship allows VA to concede you were exposed to Agent Orange.. Agent Orange has been linked to a long list of medical conditions, many of which are severe and can be life-threatening. If you are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, And you can file a claim for PACT Act-related disability compensation or apply for VA health care now. Please remember, though, that the English language version is considered the most accurate. Pete met his future wife, then Kate Kane, after returning home to Berkshire County in rural western Massachusetts. Who is reviewing these claims?. Get a list of other radiation presumptive locations. You served your country. If you served in any of these locations and time periods, weve determined that you had exposure to burn pits or other toxins. During the Vietnam War era, the generally accepted definition of territorial seas was three nautical miles offshore. that focused on Korean veterans of the Vietnam War (South Korea sent around 300,000 troops to the fight alongside the United States.) For more information about service qualifications and other eligibility criteria, visit our Agent Orange C-123 web page. If youre a Veteran or survivor, you can file claims now to apply for PACT Act-related benefits. We may be able to reevaluate your claim. This data may be used to help optimize our websites and make them easier for you to navigate. While the VA to date has not budged, the tide now appears to be turning toward the sailors. They may also be used to keep track of what [products, video, links, etc.] On August 10, 2022 Agent Orange Awareness Day we will bring light to the continuing dark toll of the war. You only need to meet the service requirements for the presumption. Shamefully, the deception, fraud and political interference that has characterized government-sponsored studies on the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange and/or dioxin has not escaped studies ostensibly conducted by independent reviewers, Zumwalt wrote, a factor that has only further compounded the erroneous conclusions reached by the government., The government could ignore blue-collar veterans, but an admiral was a different story. She has reapplied for the spousal benefit six times in the last three years, hoping the VA will reconsider its decision. The gathering was part of the National Academies effort to determine if it should recommend any additions to the Department of Veterans Affairs list of presumptive diseases caused by exposure to Agent Orange, the toxic herbicide used by the Department of Defense during the Vietnam War. "Its an everyday question kind of, you know, what's passed on, what's not passed on," said Busby. I can remember three times that the Air Force flew over me and sprayed me with something. As we were out in the jungle, I have to assume that it wa To find out more, view our Privacy Policy. Scarlett said those numbers are misleading because the majority of the hundreds of glioblastoma-related claims submitted to the VA she knows of are not for disability benefitsthey are survivor-benefit claims. An official website of the United States government. In some cases, the resistance to adding more to the list has not been the VA but, rather the Office of Management and Budget, . When veterans dont think to apply for disability benefits based on conditions added to the VAs Agent Orange list in recent years, they can miss out on sizable payments. Agent Orange May Be Responsible For More Veteran Deaths Than The Government Is Willing To Recognize Peter Naylor died of esophageal cancer in 2015, Is There a Test for Agent Orange Exposure? These cookies are essential so that you can move around the website and use its features. If you dont have an upcoming appointment, or if you want to get the screening sooner, contact your local VA health facility. Nearly 3 million service members served in Vietnam and most returned home. The Vietnam Veterans of America nonprofit has been working to expand the VAs list of service-related illnesses for years. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails In March, now-dismissed VA Secretary David Shulkin told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee that he had recommended adding a handful of conditions to the list in a request to OMB last fall, but the agency was still looking at data and reviewing financial estimates. I have spina bifida, it gets worse as I get older. Pegi Scarlett was a bit nervous in the moments leading up to her speech last November at a meeting of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, D.C. It was kind of intimidating at first, with all the epidemiologists and physicians watching, but they gave me a very warm reception, said Scarlett, 65. Pete was honorably discharged on March 19, 1971. For example, a veteran diagnosed decades ago with type2 diabetes may not have noticed when the government later added the condition to its list of ailments linked to Agent Orange, says Linda Schwartz, special advisor on health to the Vietnam Veterans of America. Based on the PACT Act, weve added 2 new Agent Orange presumptive conditions: You may also be eligible for disability compensation based on other Agent Orange presumptive conditions. We're all going to die from it, eventually, or a lot of us will," said Stenvold. Review boards are not required to consider precedent decisions, meaning there are no easy answers for people attempting to navigate the VA the whole thing is somewhat of a crapshoot. DeLeos opinion could help Kates case, however. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Funds (VVMF) In Memory program honors those who returned home from Vietnam and later died. related to AARP volunteering. And your care may be free as well. VA presumes that Veterans were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides if they served: If you fall into either category listed above, you do not have to show that you were exposed to Agent Orange to be eligible for disability compensation for diseases VA presumes are associated with it. About 40 people showed up to hear the speakers. Though the academys past reports have recognized 50 diseases that fall under the limited or suggestive evidentiary category, the VA has only approved 14. Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. The military used Agent Orange to clear foliage during the Vietnam War, depriving enemy fighters of cover. See this episode and all of our previous episodes here at https://www.vvmf.org/echoes. But its only the first step.. It seems to depend on whose desk it appears. Until the late 1980s, the federal government claimed that the connection between the defoliant and the diseases veterans were developing was questionable at best. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. WebHow many REAL Vietnam vets are alive today? These veterans, who served on ships in the bays, harbors, and territorial seas of Vietnam during the war, and their loved ones have been fighting Veterans Affairs for decades to get their claims approved. As of March 2015, of the approximately 3 million veterans who served in Vietnam about 300,000 have already died due to AO (dioxin) related diseases The Reagan White House wanted to cut funding for veterans centers and Agent Orange epidemiological studies that had begun under Max Cleland and Jimmy Carter, said Hagel, who from that era to now has been widely lauded as a champion for veterans. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. The total goes up every day. The total number of is estimated at 2.8 million US veterans who were exposed to the poisonous chemical while serving a By using our website, you agree to the use of certain cookies. He served for nearly three years, including 11 months as a helicopter crew chief in Vietnam. In 1986, the group helped bring the case of. Part of HuffPost Politics. While he would not comment specifically on the type of claims coming from the Blue Water Navy or glioblastoma patients and families because he has not studied their claims, Hagel said all who file an Agent Orange claim need to be heard and respected by the VA. When you are dealing with these deadly toxic chemicals, we owe it to these people to take a closer look, he said. Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service may be eligible for a variety of VA benefits, including disability compensation for diseases associated with exposure. No The report included information from studies published in 2013 and 2014 that focused on Korean veterans of the Vietnam War (South Korea sent around 300,000 troops to the fight alongside the United States.) Pete, a stone mason who lived in Housatonic, Massachusetts, began having difficulty swallowing in the fall of 2014. "You know we killed the jungle with back packs, sprayed so we had a good perimeter," said Stenvold. The VAs resistance to adding diseases to the list of recognized conditions is part of a longstanding government pattern of dismissing soldiers from the Vietnam War, he added. Because disability claims can be complicated, Linda Schwartz at VVA says it's vital for veterans and survivors to use an accredited veteran service officer when filing such claims. Our daughters that can't have children, there's a lot of them. Because the VA decades later added ischemic heart disease to its list of Agent Orange-related diseases, the widow was able to make the case that she should have been getting benefits all those years. This page will help answer your questions about what the PACT Act means for you or your loved ones. My husband was my hero, he took care of me, Josenhans said. As Kate listened to the speakers, it became clear to her that shed have to do more than just repeatedly file appeals with the VA. After Evans spoke, she made a beeline for his table outside the auditorium. But she said she wont rest until the hundreds of other glioblastoma families are recognized by the VA. Im still fighting for all the veterans and widows who havent won, said Scarlett, who, along with Josenhans, Holt, and others, runs a Facebook page for veterans with glioblastoma and their familiesa group that has dramatically grown in the past year. 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