Agent Orange: Is this Really How We Treat our Veterans?
September 15th, 2010. By Kristine B
Last month, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it was increasing the number of health problems linked to exposure to Agent Orange. If you’re not familiar, Agent Orange was a dioxin-laden defoliant used in Vietnam to take away the foliage so the Viet Cong had nowhere to hide. It was previously linked to a variety of health problems, including cancers.
New regulations allow the VA to presume that veterans who served in Vietnam between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975 were exposed to Agent Orange. This means the veterans only have to show they were in Vietnam during that time—they do not have to prove they were exposed to Agent Orange. The new regulations also add medical conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease to the list of conditions already linked to Agent Orange.
Basically, the new regulations mean people who were previously denied disability benefits are now eligible to receive those benefits. All they have to do is show they have one of the conditions linked to Agent Orange and show they were in Vietnam during the specified years.
Some people question the move, saying that these medical conditions could have developed in the veterans as they aged—even if they weren’t exposed to Agent Orange. They say the new regulations will cost too much money—money the government doesn’t have.
When do we actually start taking proper care of our veterans? In addition to horrific conditions at some of the VA hospitals, claims of veteran medical malpractice, poor treatment and denials of disability pay, now people don’t want to pay for medical conditions the veterans suffered simply because it could cost too much money?
Haven’t the veterans done enough for the US to warrant a small amount of money for their pain and suffering? Never mind that we used to write off veterans post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and other psychological trauma experienced by veterans—who faced horrors many of us couldn’t even dream of. Now we want to nickel and dime our vets because these diseases MIGHT have developed anyhow?
Here’s the thing: if these people speaking out against the changes took a drug and that drug caused ischemic heart disease, they’d have someone to sue if they weren’t properly warned—and my bet is, they would, regardless of whether or not they might have contracted the condition without the drug.
What really gets me is the following quote, printed by The Washington Post (09/01/10) and attributed to former senator Alan Simpson (R-WY): “The irony [is] that the veterans who saved this country are now, in a way, not helping us to save the country in this fiscal mess.”
Really? I mean, REALLY? So, they’ve saved the country before and now we want them to ignore their medical problems and not seek the financial help they need so they can save the US from a financial catastrophe that is in no way their fault?
Needless to say, veterans groups have reacted to Simpson’s remark—the group Vote Vets has demanded that Alan Simpson get the boot from his job as co-chair of the White House’s fiscal commission.
Meanwhile, big banks and financial firms get massive bailouts—bailouts to the tune of billions upon billions of dollars—even after their top officials are accused of all sorts of financial wrongdoing. But, we’re going to nickel and dime the veterans because they could be costing us too much money.
Does nobody see a problem with this? Haven’t our veterans been through enough? Do they really deserve to have us questioning whether or not they should receive financial compensation for health problems that could be linked to a chemical they had no say in being exposed to? Is this really how we treat our veterans?
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He should be dropped in the middle of the jungle for a month /along with senator webb.
Hi John – In Viet Nam, circa 1970 no doubt… sad that someone "serving our country" would say such a thing about vets who've served our country and have given so much…
My husband developed a heart disease 14 years after coming home from Vientam where he served 4 years (4 Tours, He was 34 years old. He was denied benefits and was told by the VA that his heart condition was not service connected. We kept trying for that to be added to his file but to no availe. He passed away in 2002 from congested heart failure at the ripe old age of 54.
Wife of a Skysoldier
Hi Joy, I am so sorry to hear about your husband–and am truly appreciative of and humbled by his service to our country. At a time when many were objecting to service in Vietnam, the fact that he served 4 tours speaks volumes. And the fact that he was later denied VA benefits is unconscionable, especially given the apparent reversal of how agent orange claims will now be handled. Unlike your husband's service to us all, this country's legacy of denied claims for our vets is nothing to be proud of.
Thank you, I am very proud of my husband. He was with the 173rd Airborne and received lots of metals for Hill 875. I think of him and all our soldiers everyday.
Thank you, Joy, and God bless.
Your are eligible for his benefits and back pay from the time you first claimed the problem with the VA, Be sure and fill out the forms, you deserve it.
I did get a letter from the VA telling me they were looking at his claim for heart disease back to the time he filed in 1993. I got this letter in August and have called them as I was instructed to do, but as of yet have not heard back from the VA.
Hi Joy, If you continue having difficulty with your husband's claim, it might be helpful to have a lawyer who specializes in veterans denied claims review your details. You can do that by filling out and submitting this form–it's a free service to LawyersAndSettlements.com readers with no obligation to you. Just wanted to share that given what you've shared in terms of waiting on a response from the VA. Good luck and keep us posted.
I spent an entire year surrounded by a landscape that would normally have been jungle, but was converted to wasteland by Agent Orange. Nothing grew while I was there and I worked and faught in that barren landscape. I was struck down by a heart attack at 49 years of age. My body and physical health was in otherwise great shape. My Cardiologist shook his head and told me there was absolutely no good reason for the condition of my heart. That was 10 years ago, when the connection had not yet been made. Since, we've found that Agent Orange did it to me. I have a device in my shoulder that shocks my damaged heart now and then, reminding me of the sacrifice I've made. I look normal, but have a disability worse than if I had lost an eye or a leg. I'm certain to die from it. I've been struck down by friendly fire but in the absence of the drama of that scenario, people like Senators Simpson and Webb treat us like we're trying to steal from the very government that fired the chemical bullets into our hearts, brains and cells.
Hi Ron, Thank you for sharing your story. And thank you for your service to us all–we are very grateful to you and all veterans. Senator Simpson's remarks are deplorable, and it's hard to imagine after all we now know about Agent Orange that anyone would not want to provide the soldiers and marines who served in such a wasteland with the proper care and benefits they deserve–and quite frankly are owed. I'm hoping that you have since received benefits from the VA, but should that not be the case, or should you have a need for some legal help regarding your vet benefits, you'll find news and information on our site here; there's also a form you can fill out for a lawyer to review. Again, truly, thank you for your service to our country. Those of us who lived through the Viet Nam era especially will never forget it and are eternally grateful.
Thank you so much! I have not yet received any benefits, but do have a claim in place that should be satisfied once congress (IF?) approves it. My hope is that people like Simpson and Webb see posts like mine and like those of John and Joy before me and give our remarks serious consideration. I also appreciate the tone of the article and the points that were made. Ideally, this issue, small that it may be for some, is one that could be a catalyst for some unity in the face of the rankor and down right hatred that is so evident in our governing body. We may have failed in our Southeast Asian mission, but perhaps in some small way, we could help our country heal today.
Well said Ron, and thanks for your comments! Keep us posted on how your claim goes, too–good luck with it!
To Simpson and Webb…..if the U.S. Government can not AFFORD to take care and support our veterans who sacrificed health and body….it should not send them to war. Not one veteran who served expected to be poisoned by our own government. As POGO said "we have met the enemy and he is us".
Right on James! Thanks for your comment
So why am I not surprised? The Democrats sent me to Viet Nam, They told me that if I served honorably that the VA would take care of my medical needs for life. When I returned to the world they cussed me, called me baby-killer, spit on me, called me a fool and traitor, told me I was stupid for serving when I should have stayed in college or went to Canada, discriminated against me every way they could and treated me like dirt for the rest of my life.
This society really hates veterans. Remember the saying "What if they gave a war and nobody came?" Think about it.
Hi Jim, Thanks for your comment, and so much more importantly, thank you for serving your country and defending us all. Our vets deserve the best care, treatment and benefits that the “greatest nation” on the planet can provide. Period. It’s a shame that when our vets come home, many find themselves in a fight after the fight–only this time it’s not in a war zone but vs friendly fire at the VA.
I have received word from the VA that my husband's claim is before the review board awaiting a rating on how much back pay I will receive for his claim. They said they did not know how long that will take, but I would get a letter in the mail as soon as it was done!
Hi Joy, Glad to hear there’s been some response on the part of the VA–I hope they follow up sooner than later with you. Keep us posted and good luck!
My husband and his daughters have agent orange its passed through blood his father was in the war and was exposed to the agent orange. now my husband has it and who can get help with this problems when his father who has passed gave it to him when he was in the war?
Hi there, I am 39 years old female and my dad was in Vietnam and passed away at the young age of 60. (3 months to the day, after his 60th birthday) from Ischemic Heart Condition. I am very irritated with the VA as I have many health issues, as I sit here with a heart monitor hooked to me for the 8th time, I have COPD, Allergies, Hypertension, the bones of a 70 year old, getting ready to have a knee cap replaced and metal plates behind my knee to try and protect the bones as they are so brittle, I have anxiety and panic attacks, not to mention had to have a hysterectomy at the young age of 28 as my uterus was covered with tumors; as my ovaries are covered with tumors and cysts, and I have cysts on the spine. This is a lot to mention when I am this young and yet was told today from the VA that I couldn’t file a claim against the VA because it was my dad that was in ‘Nam not my mother. This doesn’t make sense to me when I have both my mom and dad’s genetics in me, yet I have all these issues that my father had. Does anyone have any suggestions? As I have been denied Disability because of my age and with two pages of medications, a lot that make me extremely tired and exhausted at all times but am still under doctors care as there have been already 4 appointments this week and I have two more tomorrow. I am so shocked that the VA would deny me to file anything because it was my father who was exposed to Agent Orange and not my mother. I have low immunity also and almost died in 2nd grade from a blood disorder. This is insanity!