A Connecticut veteran who has spent years trying to gain Agent Orange
benefits for veterans who served in Korea in 1967 has persuaded the
Veterans of Foreign Wars and two other veterans’ organizations to take
his case before Congress.
On Wednesday, VFW National Commander John A. Biedrzycki
Jr. will ask Congress to pass a law requiring the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) to grant VA health care and compensation to
veterans who served in Korea in 1967 if they have illnesses linked to
Agent Orange.
Biedrzycki’s prepared testimony states that current VA rules exclude
many veterans “who now suffer from diseases and illnesses that have been
directly linked to the chemical defoliant.”
Carlos Fuentes, VFW senior legislative associate, said documents provided by Army veteran Eugene Clarke,
of Redding, swayed the national organization to seek the benefits
change through Congress. The documents include proof of test spraying of
defoliants in Korea in 1967 and of veterans’ exposure to Korean
government spraying. Fuentes said VFW efforts to convince the VA to
change its policy have been unsuccessful. The VFW claims 1.4 million
members.
“After working on this for so long, it’s heartwarming,” Clarke said
of the VFW support. “The VFW getting behind it is a really, really big
deal,” he added.
Five years ago, Clarke found information on the Internet that he and
other veterans who served in Korea in the 1960s may have been exposed to
Agent Orange.
“I got very angry and hurt that they didn’t tell us this stuff was going on,” said Clarke, 69, a retired stockbroker and a VFW member.
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