return to top Health Care 877-222-8387 Benefits 800-827-1000 TDD (Hearing Impaired) 800-829-4833 By continuing to use our website, you agree to these updates. The Vietnam Veterans of America nonprofit has been working to expand the VAs list of service-related illnesses for years. If you think you may be eligible for VA health care or benefits, we encourage you to apply now. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site. Petes oncologist, Dr. Michael DeLeo, said in an amended death certificate that he believes his extensive Agent Orange exposure during his time in Vietnam is the only thing could have caused his cancer. My husband was my hero, he took care of me, Josenhans said. you viewed to avoid repetition. 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. "I had a close friend who died a five years ago from lymphoma and he's laying in Minot, he's from Minot, dying and he says, "you know we all took a bullet over there, some of us just didn't know it. Even if you did not serve in Vietnam or the Korean demilitarized zone during the specified time periods, you can still apply for disability compensation if you were exposed to an herbicide while in the military and believe it led to the onset of a disease. Note:If we denied your claim in the past and we think you may be eligible now, well try to contact you. We encourage you to apply, no matter your separation date. We did everything they told us to do. And your care may be free as well. If you are interested in obtaining orange, battery-operated candles, feel free to visit www.100candles.com to order them. Javascript must be enabled to use this site. What her husband would have wanted is for the VA to take care of those who served. "Agent Orange" refers to a blend of tactical herbicides the U.S. military sprayed in the jungles of Vietnam and around the Korean demilitarized zone to remove trees and dense tropical foliage that provided enemy cover. We did everything they told us to do, she said. Additionally, Agent Orange is an extremely powerful herbicide. These cookies collect information about how you use our website. The VA says it encourages veterans in such cases to gather medical and scientific evidence that their ailment was caused by Agent Orange and submit it to see if it qualifies them for a service-connected disability benefit. "You know we killed the jungle with back packs, sprayed so we had a good perimeter," said Stenvold. The federal agency sent its sympathies but no money. If you apply for benefits at any time in the next year and we grant your application, well likely backdate your benefits to the date of the bill signing. In a 2007 ruling. VA recognizes certain medical conditions as being associated with Agent Orange exposure and thus provides presumptive service connection for these conditions to veterans with qualifying service. We have updated our Privacy Policy. The two spoke for about 10 minutes, and Evans suggested she ask for a hearing. Of the 105,000 claims received by the Payment Program, approximately 52,000 Vietnam Veterans or their survivors received cash payments which averaged They quickly filed paperwork with the Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA, for disability payments. WebVA presumes that Veterans were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides if they served: In Vietnam anytime between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975, including brief To access the menus on this page please perform the following steps. A 2016 study by the American Cancer Society estimated 2-3 cases per 100,000 people worldwide, with a median survival time from diagnosis of one year. to the list in a request to OMB last fall, but the agency was still looking at data and reviewing financial estimates. These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. Veterans with glioblastoma and their family members say the process of filing a VA claim is painstaking and at times downright cruel. You can also manage your communication preferences by updating your account at anytime. Were extending and expanding VA health care eligibility based on the PACT Act. Attention A T users. 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. The full name of the law isThe Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. David DePodesta, a 69-year-old veteran who lost sight in his right eye due to enemy shrapnel while serving with the Marines in Vietnam in 1969, was fortunate that he did pay attention to the list as it grew. The National Veterans Legal Services Program has been working on Agent Orange cases since its founding in 1980, said Bart Stichman, the groups executive director. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. 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. Cookies help us deliver the best experience on our website. Can a Fathers Agent Orange Exposure Cause Birth Defects? You can also file by mail, in person, or with the help of a trained professional. The site is secure. The VA informed her that it has received her request, and she is now waiting to hear whether she will get one. Veterans and their survivors are still fighting the VA over their exposure to Americas notorious chemical weaponand the latest lethal conditions theyre confronting. Most of them are deceased. If you served during the Vietnam Waranytime between November 1, 1965, and April 30, 1975you may be at risk of certain health conditions. Twenty-eight years later, the VA says not all the claims in the Zumwalt report held up to scientific scrutiny, but it was an important initial step in examining relationships among military environmental exposure and illness, said VA Public Affairs Officer Randy Noller. Pete took up stone masonry, from which he retired in 2012. Roughly 300-thousand veterans have died from Agent Orange exposure -- that's almost five times as many as the 58-thousand who died in combat. to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Several other diseases bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, hypertensionandParkinsons-like symptomshave been under consideration to be added to the list. But then Navy Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who had personally ordered the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam, delivered a report to the VA in 1990 arguing that the chemical was dangerous to everyone exposed to it and that the government knew of the risks as far back as the 1960s. EIN: 52-1149668, Copyright 2023 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display, Place your shirt order (online only) through our vendor Custom Ink between now and when the sale ends on, Shirts are produced and shipped after the order window ends on. WebVietnam War Veterans health issues. 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. Have you been affected by Camp Lejeune water contamination? Pete Naylor was born on March 18, 1947, and enlisted in the Army in July 1968, at age 21. IN MEMORY. Veterans and survivors also can learn more abouteligibility for benefits. And what he found was that, obviously, the veterans had been telling the truth.. See this episode and all of our previous episodes here at https://www.vvmf.org/echoes. Chuck Hagel, a Vietnam vet with two Purple Hearts who went on to be a U.S. senator and secretary of defense, said the current fight over Agent Orange benefits is all too familiar. Rab Cross, a doctor with the Central Western Massachusetts Veterans Health Administration, said he could not comment specifically on Naylors case without all the information, but cautioned against making such definitive claims on the causes of a disease. My husband and 69 percent of the veterans in our group were treated for their glioblastoma at a civilian hospital and never seen at a VA facility, she said. You served your country. Do You Have Long-Term Disability Insurance Coverage? No That toxicity is coming back to haunt veterans and it's also affecting their children Well my dad was a Vietnam veteran, my brother has brain cancer believed to be caused by Agent Orange passed through my father, said Ashely Busby, daughter of a Vietnam Vet. But the VA has The medical opinions of doctors who arent familiar with the science of service connection may be well-intentioned, Cross said. Learnabout evidence needed for accrued benefits, Learn how to apply for a Survivors Pension, Expands and extends eligibility forVA health care for Veterans with toxic exposures and Veterans of theVietnam, Gulf War,and post-9/11 eras, Adds 20+ morepresumptive conditions forburn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic exposures, Adds morepresumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation, Requires VA to provide atoxic exposure screeningto every Veteran enrolled in VA health care, Helps us improve research, staff education, and treatment related to toxic exposures, Respiratory (breathing-related) cancer of any type, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis, The airspace above any of these locations. 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 Part of HuffPost Politics. Is There a Test for Agent Orange Exposure? That hasnt happened.. Learn more about featured topics of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. There are 14 diseases now presumed by the VA to be caused by Agent Orange exposure. Last November, I traveled to the East Coast to attend the burial of a friend of over 50 years who also served in Vietnam. By Haley FosterValley News Live Office of Accountability & Whistleblower Protection, Training - Exposure - Experience (TEE) Tournament, Outreach, Transition and Economic Development Home, Warrior Training Advancement Course (WARTAC), Staff Appraisal Reviewer (SAR) Information, How to Apply for Nonsupervised Automatic Authority, VALERI (VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface). The VAs internal policies on whether to recognize a disease as related to exposure to the defoliant are based on biannual reports from the, evidence for a link between esophageal cancer and Agent Orange. You can find your regional office on our. Agent Orange is taking a huge toll on Vietnam Veterans with most deaths somehow related to Agent Orange exposure. How Does VGLI Compare to Other Insurance Programs? Kate believes the fight is worth continuing. To see all the honorees, please visit theIn MemoryHonor Roll. Yes. Ask about the screening at your next VA health care appointment. The speech elicited loud and long applause and left some NAS scientists in tears. HOUSATONIC, Mass. Until the late 1980s, the federal government claimed that the connection between the defoliant and the diseases veterans were developing was questionable at best. Nearly 58,000 Americans and 2-3 million Vietnamese, many of them civilians, were killed in the war. List of service-related illnesses for years filing a VA claim is painstaking and at times downright cruel file by,. To function and can not be switched off in our systems enlisted in the War husband was my hero he... 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