Veterans like 73-year-old Dan Tolly, exposed to herbicides
while serving in Thailand during the Vietnam War, face a knockdown drag out
when they apply for VA benefits.
After a years-long struggle, Dan got quite the surprise this
weekend in his mailbox. The Department of Veterans Affairs finally approved his
claim that his heart disease and cancer were caused by exposure to the
herbicide Agent Orange while he served at Ubon Air Force Base. Not only was he
awarded disability benefits for life, he got a check from the VA retroactive to
2016.
“I’ve never seen a check like that,” Dan said. “I looked at
the amount and it was more numbers than I expected.”
Like Dan, tens of thousands of Americans served in Thailand
during the war. 8 On Your Side profiled Dan’s case in a series of reports in
September 2019. We forwarded Dan’s records to the VA and asked that it review
Dan’s case further.
For years, the military denied it sprayed Agent Orange in
Thailand. Of late, the VA has awarded disability benefits for herbicide
exposure to personnel who could prove they worked on base perimeters, where the
military now concedes it used tactical herbicides.
Dan assembled missiles for F-4 Phantoms. The shop was about
100 feet from the perimeter.
“I walked through the perimeter gate everyday – back and
forth, going to work,” Dan said.
“That stuff was mixed with petroleum, so anybody walking
across that perimeter would pick it up on their shoes, carry it into the mess
halls, the barracks,” explained John Wells, the director of litigation for
Military Veterans Advocacy.
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