Vietnam Reporting Project
Vietnam Reporting Project fellow and CBS5 reporter/anchor travels to Vietnam to report on the impact of Agent Orange on Vietnam, 35 years after the end of the war. Generations of Vietnamese continue to be born with birth defects and other illnesses believed to be the result of exposure to herbicide Agent Orange.
View the video at: http://www.vietnamreportingproject.org/video/vrp-special-report-vietnam-35-years-later-agent-orange
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Vietnam 56 Billion VND Raised for AO Victims
Associations of Agent Orange (AO) victims in 50 cities and provinces across the country have collected 56 billion VND during the Action month for Vietnamese AO victims.
Of the total, the AO victims sponsor fund spent nearly 49 billion VND on supporting 188,669 victims with a wide range of activities.
Part of the money was used to provide free health care check-ups and medicine for victims in remote areas and health insurance books for poor victims.
Besides, the fund provided orthopedic surgeries and rehabilitation treatment for 1,971 patients. A total of 2,743 wheelchairs and supporting devices were also handed to the victims.
Meanwhile, over 23 billion VND was used to assist 34,234 victims in developing their business.
The fund has found individuals and organisations to provide regular allowances ranging from 150,000-500,000 VND a month for 1,979 victims.
Those suffering from AO effects in high areas were provided with savings books and blankets, mosquito-nets, clothes and household utensils.
Of the total, the AO victims sponsor fund spent nearly 49 billion VND on supporting 188,669 victims with a wide range of activities.
Part of the money was used to provide free health care check-ups and medicine for victims in remote areas and health insurance books for poor victims.
Besides, the fund provided orthopedic surgeries and rehabilitation treatment for 1,971 patients. A total of 2,743 wheelchairs and supporting devices were also handed to the victims.
Meanwhile, over 23 billion VND was used to assist 34,234 victims in developing their business.
The fund has found individuals and organisations to provide regular allowances ranging from 150,000-500,000 VND a month for 1,979 victims.
Those suffering from AO effects in high areas were provided with savings books and blankets, mosquito-nets, clothes and household utensils.
VA will reconsider cases of Agent Orange exposure
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
BYLINE: William Cole
The Department of Veterans Affairs has agreed to review the cases of 16,830 "brown water" Navy and other Vietnam-era veterans whose disability claims related to the herbicide Agent Orange were denied, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka's office said.
Akaka, D-Hawaii, said the VA denied claims without properly determining whether veterans served in Vietnam's inland waterways, referred to as "brown water," or in other locations where they may have been exposed to Agent Orange.
Akaka, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, urged the VA to reconsider cases in which claims by Vietnam veterans potentially exposed to Agent Orange were denied without obtaining relevant military records.
Akaka sent a letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki on March 30 saying Veterans' Affairs Committee staff visited VA offices, reviewed 80 randomly selected claims "and found some alarming trends in adjudication."
Most of the files reviewed did not include evidence such as deck logs, a captain's history or other documents that would make it possible to determine whether the veteran served exclusively offshore, where exposure to Agent Orange was unlikely, or served on inland waterways and could have been exposed, the letter said.
Shinseki wrote back on Sept. 17 saying he agreed that a review of all 16,830 affected cases was warranted "and will be conducted to identify and correct any case that was improperly denied."
"I commend VA for responding to data showing that many Navy vessels thought to have stayed at sea actually traveled into the inland waters of Vietnam," Akaka said. "As a result, veterans who served on these vessels are eligible for the same benefits as Vietnam veterans who served on land."
From 1961 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of Agent Orange -- which contains highly poisonous dioxin -- and other herbicides to remove leaves from trees that provided cover for enemy forces, the VA said.
The VA said it has recognized certain cancers and other diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure, and that veterans, their children and survivors may be eligible for compensation.
Claims had been placed on hold by the VA while litigation was pending concerning veterans who served on "blue water" ships away from shore and their exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides. Those claims were subsequently denied.
Many of those veterans actually served in inland waters, and should have received the same presumption of exposure as veterans who had "boots on the ground," Akaka's office said.
With the review, the claims of some veterans previously considered "blue water" veterans will be re-evaluated for evidence of "brown water" service, or evidence of service in other locations where the VA acknowledges that herbicides may have been used, such as the perimeter of Air Force bases in Thailand, Akaka's office said.
The committee website -- http://veterans.senate.gov -- provides a list of vessels the VA has acknowledged traveled in inland waters, as well as evidence about other ships.
BYLINE: William Cole
The Department of Veterans Affairs has agreed to review the cases of 16,830 "brown water" Navy and other Vietnam-era veterans whose disability claims related to the herbicide Agent Orange were denied, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka's office said.
Akaka, D-Hawaii, said the VA denied claims without properly determining whether veterans served in Vietnam's inland waterways, referred to as "brown water," or in other locations where they may have been exposed to Agent Orange.
Akaka, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, urged the VA to reconsider cases in which claims by Vietnam veterans potentially exposed to Agent Orange were denied without obtaining relevant military records.
Akaka sent a letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki on March 30 saying Veterans' Affairs Committee staff visited VA offices, reviewed 80 randomly selected claims "and found some alarming trends in adjudication."
Most of the files reviewed did not include evidence such as deck logs, a captain's history or other documents that would make it possible to determine whether the veteran served exclusively offshore, where exposure to Agent Orange was unlikely, or served on inland waterways and could have been exposed, the letter said.
Shinseki wrote back on Sept. 17 saying he agreed that a review of all 16,830 affected cases was warranted "and will be conducted to identify and correct any case that was improperly denied."
"I commend VA for responding to data showing that many Navy vessels thought to have stayed at sea actually traveled into the inland waters of Vietnam," Akaka said. "As a result, veterans who served on these vessels are eligible for the same benefits as Vietnam veterans who served on land."
From 1961 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of Agent Orange -- which contains highly poisonous dioxin -- and other herbicides to remove leaves from trees that provided cover for enemy forces, the VA said.
The VA said it has recognized certain cancers and other diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure, and that veterans, their children and survivors may be eligible for compensation.
Claims had been placed on hold by the VA while litigation was pending concerning veterans who served on "blue water" ships away from shore and their exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides. Those claims were subsequently denied.
Many of those veterans actually served in inland waters, and should have received the same presumption of exposure as veterans who had "boots on the ground," Akaka's office said.
With the review, the claims of some veterans previously considered "blue water" veterans will be re-evaluated for evidence of "brown water" service, or evidence of service in other locations where the VA acknowledges that herbicides may have been used, such as the perimeter of Air Force bases in Thailand, Akaka's office said.
The committee website -- http://veterans.senate.gov -- provides a list of vessels the VA has acknowledged traveled in inland waters, as well as evidence about other ships.
US Defense Secretary to Visit Vietnam
Thanh Nien News; October 1, 2010
http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20101001153723.aspx
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will make an official visit to Vietnam this October 11, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh said Thursday.
Vinh added that, during Gates’ visit, the two countries will discuss their cooperative efforts to search for the remains of US MIAs, overcoming the war’s consequences and developing international trainings, including teaching each other Vietnamese and English.
On September 29, Vinh returned from a three-day visit to the US where he met with leaders about the first-ever ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) to be held this October 12 in Hanoi.
Read more at: http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20101001153723.aspx
http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20101001153723.aspx
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will make an official visit to Vietnam this October 11, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh said Thursday.
Vinh added that, during Gates’ visit, the two countries will discuss their cooperative efforts to search for the remains of US MIAs, overcoming the war’s consequences and developing international trainings, including teaching each other Vietnamese and English.
On September 29, Vinh returned from a three-day visit to the US where he met with leaders about the first-ever ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) to be held this October 12 in Hanoi.
Read more at: http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20101001153723.aspx
Toxic Legacy: Healing from Agent Orange
http://aworldofpossibilities.org/program/toxic-legacy-healing-from-agent-orange
Thirty-five years ago the war in Vietnam came to an abrupt end, yet for millions of Vietnamese soldiers and citizens and for thousands of American veterans and their descendants, a legacy of diseases, disabilities, and unexplained symptoms echo down the decades. During the war, some 4.5 million Vietnamese were exposed to highly toxic dioxins sprayed by the American military. Today we’ll hear from a range of individuals from varied sectors and backgrounds who’ve gathered together in support of a ten-year plan of action to clean up toxic hotspots in Vietnam and expand humanitarian services to people with disabilities as a result of exposure to Agent Orange dioxins.
This program was funded by the Agent Orange in Vietnam Information Initiative.
Guests:
Susan Berresford, Convener, U.S. -Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin; Former President, Ford Foundation
Charles Bailey, Director, Special Initiative on Agent Orange, Ford Foundation
Rick Weidman, Director, Government Relations, Vietnam Veterans of America
Mary Dolan-Hogrefe, Director of Public Policy, National Organization on Disability
Bob Edgar, President and CEO, Common Cause
De Tran, Journalist, Editor, VTimes
Read more and listen to the program at: http://aworldofpossibilities.org/program/toxic-legacy-healing-from-agent-orange
Thirty-five years ago the war in Vietnam came to an abrupt end, yet for millions of Vietnamese soldiers and citizens and for thousands of American veterans and their descendants, a legacy of diseases, disabilities, and unexplained symptoms echo down the decades. During the war, some 4.5 million Vietnamese were exposed to highly toxic dioxins sprayed by the American military. Today we’ll hear from a range of individuals from varied sectors and backgrounds who’ve gathered together in support of a ten-year plan of action to clean up toxic hotspots in Vietnam and expand humanitarian services to people with disabilities as a result of exposure to Agent Orange dioxins.
This program was funded by the Agent Orange in Vietnam Information Initiative.
Guests:
Susan Berresford, Convener, U.S. -Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin; Former President, Ford Foundation
Charles Bailey, Director, Special Initiative on Agent Orange, Ford Foundation
Rick Weidman, Director, Government Relations, Vietnam Veterans of America
Mary Dolan-Hogrefe, Director of Public Policy, National Organization on Disability
Bob Edgar, President and CEO, Common Cause
De Tran, Journalist, Editor, VTimes
Read more and listen to the program at: http://aworldofpossibilities.org/program/toxic-legacy-healing-from-agent-orange
Monday, October 11, 2010
Army Bids Goodbye to Last Draftee
Chief Warrant Officer Clyde Green and his wife Veria, in front of their house on base. Green, one of the last men drafted into the Army, and a Vietnam veteran, is retiring after 40 years of service in a ceremony to be held at Fort McPherson Thursday. He’s the oldest soldier at Fort McPherson, where he lives in the oldest house on base. Bob Andres bandres@ajc.com
http://www.military.com/news/article/army-bids-goodbye-to-last-draftee.html
September 30, 2010
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
He was a kid who didn't want to be a Soldier. There was a war in Vietnam and a peace movement in America.
But then he got the government's letter and soon found himself on a cold December morning in 1970 in front of a post office in Sumter, S.C., listening to a Soldier read names until he heard his: "Clyde Green!" With that, the 20-year-old kid climbed on the bus headed to a U.S. Army base.
"I didn't want to join the Army," Green said last week. "The Army came and got me."
When he retired as a chief warrant officer in a ceremony this morning at Fort McPherson, Ga. --- after 39 years, 9 months and 15 days of continuous active duty --- he became, by the best accounting, the last U.S. Army draftee who fought in Vietnam.
READ MORE: http://www.military.com/news/article/army-bids-goodbye-to-last-draftee.html
Widows urged to check VA compensation
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/10/ap-surviving-spouses-va-compensation-100810/The Associated Press
HONOLULU — Hawaii's U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka is urging widows and widowers of deceased veterans to be sure they received compensation for the month of their spouse's death.
The island Democrat is quoting the Department of Veterans Affairs as saying, 196,000 widows and widowers have received a total of $124 million in month-of-death back payments since he uncovered a VA accounting error in December 2008.
Akaka, the chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said Thursday in a Washington news release that he wants to be sure that all surviving spouses receive the compensation they are due.
Akaka's office says surviving spouses of veterans had been wrongfully denied the benefits for almost 12 years.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Widows on a Warpath demand justice for chemical spraying victims
http://www.globaltoronto.com/Widows+Warpath+demand+justice+chemical+spraying+victims/3611258/story.html
OROMOCTO, NB – Widows of soldiers affected by the deadly chemical Agent Orange held a protest outside CFB Gagetown on Friday.
The group Widows on a Warpath are fighting against what they believe is unfair compensation for the victims of chemical spraying.
Agent Orange and other deadly herbicides were tested at CFB Gagetown in the 1960s and 1970s.
In 2007 the government agreed to pay $20,000 to the families of those who fell ill or died from the sprayings – but only if the victims fell ill within certain guidelines.
The widows say that everyone affected by Agent Orange needs to be compensated.
“We want Mr. Blackburn and Mr. Harper to know that we’re no finished with this,” says the head of Widows on a Warpath Bette Hudson.
“We will continue,” says Hudson, “because we want justice for our husbands, and that’s all we’ve wanted from the beginning – justice for our husbands and our families.”
As of now, only women whose husbands became ill or died before the cut off date of February 2006 are eligible for compensation.
The protestors also said Friday that they want Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran reinstated.
© Copyright (c) CW Media Inc.
OROMOCTO, NB – Widows of soldiers affected by the deadly chemical Agent Orange held a protest outside CFB Gagetown on Friday.
The group Widows on a Warpath are fighting against what they believe is unfair compensation for the victims of chemical spraying.
Agent Orange and other deadly herbicides were tested at CFB Gagetown in the 1960s and 1970s.
In 2007 the government agreed to pay $20,000 to the families of those who fell ill or died from the sprayings – but only if the victims fell ill within certain guidelines.
The widows say that everyone affected by Agent Orange needs to be compensated.
“We want Mr. Blackburn and Mr. Harper to know that we’re no finished with this,” says the head of Widows on a Warpath Bette Hudson.
“We will continue,” says Hudson, “because we want justice for our husbands, and that’s all we’ve wanted from the beginning – justice for our husbands and our families.”
As of now, only women whose husbands became ill or died before the cut off date of February 2006 are eligible for compensation.
The protestors also said Friday that they want Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran reinstated.
© Copyright (c) CW Media Inc.
Toward healing Vietnam
http://vato21stcentury.blogspot.com/2010/10/agent-orange-vietnamese-victims-still.html1 October 2010 - The war in Vietnam ended more than 35 years ago, but Trinh Luc, age 18, is still feeling the effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the U.S. military. Totally disabled since birth with mental deficiencies, violent tremors and muscle degeneration, he lives in rural Vietnam with his mother, 59, who was a volunteer cook with Vietnamese troops in the jungle mountains during the war and recalls being sprayed several times. Her skin is still blotched and bumpy with chloracne.
Agent Orange, it seems, is still causing fresh harm to innocent newborns and adults in Vietnam, not to mention its harm to war vets on both sides of the Pacific. The good news is that we can stop this nightmare, and at a reasonable cost.
Doing so would be in the best American tradition of humanitarian care, and would help address the remaining shadow on the relationship between our two countries. An action plan is now in hand that comes out of another valued tradition - a public-private partnership.
READ MORE: http://vato21stcentury.blogspot.com/2010/10/agent-orange-vietnamese-victims-still.html
Hearing exposes flaws in Agent Orange law, studies
http://www.sunherald.com/2010/10/02/2523985/hearing-exposes-flaws-in-agent.html
Anthony Principi, former secretary of veterans affairs, warned last week that disabled veterans and their families will suffer if Americans “lose faith in the integrity” of the VA disability compensation system.
“And the surest way for that to happen,” he told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, “is for the American people to believe that large numbers of veterans are being compensated for illnesses that may not be the result of their military service. That’s the crux of the issue we’re all grappling with.”
Thankfully, for hundreds of thousands of Vietnam veterans in line to be compensated for three additional diseases linked to Agent Orange exposure, few senators seemed ready to grapple with that issue any time soon.
The hearing that many veterans feared boosted confidence that, in the months ahead, they will be found newly qualified for disability payments. But it also revealed that up to $4 billion a year more in compensation will be paid in part because VA and Congress have mishandled this volatile issue.
Studies cut short
As witnesses explained, the government cut short or never sponsored a host of potential Agent Orange studies that might have better informed on levels of exposure, or the relative incidence of herbicide-linked conditions among Vietnam veterans versus other populations.
Congress in turn left the 1991 Agent Orange law on automatic pilot and with such ambiguous guidance that VA secretaries are strapped to make presumptive disease decisions with confidence. The result is uncertainty now about the fairness of some Agent Orange claims for veterans and taxpayers.
Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2010/10/02/2523985/hearing-exposes-flaws-in-agent.html#ixzz11bqk7dd8
Anthony Principi, former secretary of veterans affairs, warned last week that disabled veterans and their families will suffer if Americans “lose faith in the integrity” of the VA disability compensation system.
“And the surest way for that to happen,” he told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, “is for the American people to believe that large numbers of veterans are being compensated for illnesses that may not be the result of their military service. That’s the crux of the issue we’re all grappling with.”
Thankfully, for hundreds of thousands of Vietnam veterans in line to be compensated for three additional diseases linked to Agent Orange exposure, few senators seemed ready to grapple with that issue any time soon.
The hearing that many veterans feared boosted confidence that, in the months ahead, they will be found newly qualified for disability payments. But it also revealed that up to $4 billion a year more in compensation will be paid in part because VA and Congress have mishandled this volatile issue.
Studies cut short
As witnesses explained, the government cut short or never sponsored a host of potential Agent Orange studies that might have better informed on levels of exposure, or the relative incidence of herbicide-linked conditions among Vietnam veterans versus other populations.
Congress in turn left the 1991 Agent Orange law on automatic pilot and with such ambiguous guidance that VA secretaries are strapped to make presumptive disease decisions with confidence. The result is uncertainty now about the fairness of some Agent Orange claims for veterans and taxpayers.
Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2010/10/02/2523985/hearing-exposes-flaws-in-agent.html#ixzz11bqk7dd8
Shenseki's Call to IBM CEO
http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2010/10/shensekis_call_to_ibm_ceo.php
By Bob Brewin 10/06/10 01:18 pm ET
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki personally called the chairman and chief IBM, Samuel Palmisano, this summer to express his dissatisfaction with the company's progress on development of a computer system to process veterans' claims for ailments associated with Agent Orange, VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker told the Senate VA Committee on Wednesday.
Baker alluded to a post I wrote in September on Shinseki's pique with IBM.
Contractors often run late on government information technology contracts, and IBM did not "understand it was not business as usual" when it came to the small-($9.1 million)-but-important-Agent-Orange project, Baker said in response to a question from the committee's ranking member, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.
IBM got the message it needed to meet its 90-day delivery schedule for the system after Shinseki called Palmisano, he told Burr. "Its not every day a Cabinet secretary calls a CEO," Baker said.
He also said he expects IBM to meet the delivery schedule, but may need a backup if IBM misses it. VA issued a proposal for a second contractor in September, although the department has not issued an award.
VA expects to be hit with 240,000 claims from Vietnam veterans exposed to the Agent Orange defoliant and Burr said the VA definitely needs the Agent Orange system as it faces "an implosion of the claims process".
Now, if only IBM and VA would answer my multiple, more-than-month-old queries on what problems they have encountered with the Agent Orange claims system, what it's supposed to do, and when it will go into operation.
By Bob Brewin 10/06/10 01:18 pm ET
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki personally called the chairman and chief IBM, Samuel Palmisano, this summer to express his dissatisfaction with the company's progress on development of a computer system to process veterans' claims for ailments associated with Agent Orange, VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker told the Senate VA Committee on Wednesday.
Baker alluded to a post I wrote in September on Shinseki's pique with IBM.
Contractors often run late on government information technology contracts, and IBM did not "understand it was not business as usual" when it came to the small-($9.1 million)-but-important-Agent-Orange project, Baker said in response to a question from the committee's ranking member, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.
IBM got the message it needed to meet its 90-day delivery schedule for the system after Shinseki called Palmisano, he told Burr. "Its not every day a Cabinet secretary calls a CEO," Baker said.
He also said he expects IBM to meet the delivery schedule, but may need a backup if IBM misses it. VA issued a proposal for a second contractor in September, although the department has not issued an award.
VA expects to be hit with 240,000 claims from Vietnam veterans exposed to the Agent Orange defoliant and Burr said the VA definitely needs the Agent Orange system as it faces "an implosion of the claims process".
Now, if only IBM and VA would answer my multiple, more-than-month-old queries on what problems they have encountered with the Agent Orange claims system, what it's supposed to do, and when it will go into operation.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
We can stop the nightmare from Agent Orange
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/10/05/we-can-stop-the-nightmare-from-agent-orange/- Traitors like U.S. Sens. James Webb and Richard Burr aside consciousness is flowering amid tragedy -
By Susan V. Berresford, convener of the U.S.-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin
The war in Vietnam ended more than 35 years ago, but Trinh Luc, 18, is still feeling the effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the U.S. military. Totally disabled since birth with mental deficiencies, violent tremors and muscle degeneration, he lives in rural Vietnam with his mother, 59, who was a volunteer cook with Vietnamese troops in the jungle mountains during the war and recalls being sprayed several times. Her skin is still blotched and bumpy with chloracne.
Agent Orange, it seems, is still causing fresh harm to innocent newborns and adults in Vietnam, not to mention its harm to war vets on both sides of the Pacific. The good news is that we can stop this nightmare, and at a reasonable cost.
Doing so would be in the best American tradition of humanitarian care, and would help address the remaining shadow on the relationship between our two countries. An action plan is now in hand that comes out of another valued tradition — a public-private partnership.
By the end of the war in 1975, 2.5 million U.S. military personnel had served in combat zones where many were exposed to Agent Orange’s toxic contaminant, dioxin. Upon returning home, many began reporting unusual illnesses: chloracne, several forms of cancer, diabetes, and birth defects in their offspring.
READ MORE: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/10/05/we-can-stop-the-nightmare-from-agent-orange/
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