Health Benefits for Families at Camp Lejeune 1957-87

Health Benefits for Families at Camp Lejeune 1957-87

US Department of Veterans Affairs sent this bulletin at 08/13/2013 10:41 AM EDT

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

VA will be able to reimburse Veterans’ family members for eligible out-of-pocket health care expenses for 15 health conditions after we publish regulations. Prepare in 3 steps:

1. Call 1-877-222-8387 to be added to VA’s Camp Lejeune database.
2. Gather documents showing your relationship to a Veteran who served at Camp Lejeune and that you lived on base for 30 days or more between 1957-87.
3. Keep receipts for health care expenses you paid for a covered condition on or after March 26, 2013.

Learn More: Camp LeJeune Water Supplies Visit www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures to learn about other military exposures and VA benefits.

Okinawa dump site may be proof of Agent Orange: experts

Dioxin spike raises fears of local health risks

From Dr. Wayne Dwernychuk, who seems to be the only other reader who picked up on the "expert opinion" of our "dear friend" (beloved by all veterans!) Al Young the PhD botanist that VA, DoD and the courts all believe Al's "expert opinions" are the only one that count, despite a plethora of scientific data to the contrary.

The recent discovery of 22 barrels buried on former U.S. military land in the city of Okinawa could be posing the same level of risks to local residents as dioxin hot spots in Vietnam where the American military stored toxic defoliants during the 1960s and 1970s, according to two leading Agent Orange specialists.

Richard Clapp, professor emeritus at Boston University School of Public Health, and Wayne Dwernychuk, the scientist previously in charge of identifying defoliant contamination in Southeast Asia, recently cited the risks to Okinawa residents and urged the immediate cleanup of the land to limit the threat to human health.
Dwernychuk also ventured that the discovery of the barrels may disprove the Pentagon’s repeated denials that military defoliants were ever present on Okinawa Island.
The scientists’ comments came in response to the July 31 release of independent tests undertaken at the request of the city of Okinawa by Ehime University — one of the nation’s top institutes for dioxin testing. The study revealed that all 22 barrels found beneath the city’s soccer pitch contained traces of the herbicide 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the most lethal form of dioxin.
One barrel contained dioxin levels 840 percent above the safe standard, while samples of water taken nearby revealed levels 280 times the legal limits. Both 2,4,5-T and TCDD are two of the substances found in Agent Orange and other Vietnam War-era defoliants.
At least three of the barrels were labeled with markings from Dow Chemical Co. — one of the primary manufacturers of Agent Orange.
READ MORE: Dioxin spike raises fears of local health risks

 

Vietnamese forest devastated by Agent Orange restored to health

Life After Death

HO CHI MINH CITY--The government of Vietnam is claiming victory in its battle to save a mangrove forest that was destroyed during the Vietnam War (1960-75) through the U.S. military’s use of the defoliant Agent Orange.
The wetlands located to the southeast of Ho Chi Minh City in Can Gio district are listed as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The "forest of the sea" as it is called, covers an area of 37,000 hectares, or about 370 times the area Tokyo Disney Resort occupies.
No wildlife remained by the time the two-decade conflict ended.
The Vietnamese government launched a large-scale reforestation effort after the war to restore the area to its natural state. Red mangrove (rhizophora apiculata) saplings were brought into the area by boats.

“With no maps or compasses, we lived on a boat every day,” recalled Vien Ngoc Nam, a professor of forestry at Nong Lam University.
Thirty-five years after the start of the rehabilitation program, the forest is now home to at least 16 mammal and 135 bird species.
Long-tailed monkeys are some of those who have returned to the forest.
Local salt farmers are also harvesting the salt fields once again--a tradition in the area.
In order to further protect the forest, the government has commissioned 140 households in the area to report on illegal logging.
There are problems that remain to be solved, however; the recovered forest lacks biodiversity given that only trees that are fast growing and more likely to survive were planted.
Japanese nongovernmental organizations took part in the effort to restore the area’s wetland forests--a very difficult endeavor. The conservation efforts continue.

Expert: Chemicals found on Okinawa likely not Agent Orange

OKINAWA Barrels

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Chemical barrels recently unearthed on former U.S. military land on Okinawa most likely contained military maintenance shop and hospital waste, not Agent Orange as many feared, according to an American expert on the herbicide.

About two dozen rusted Dow Chemical Company barrels found under a soccer field in Okinawa City appear to be part of a former landfill used by Kadena Air Base for solvents as well as burnt plastic and other waste, according to Alvin Young, a retired Air Force colonel and Department of Defense consultant who has studied tactical herbicides for 30 years.

Young, who assisted with a military investigation of similar Agent Orange claims at U.S. bases in South Korea in 2011, reviewed soil test data from the Japan Ministry of Defense and Okinawa City at the request of Stars and Stripes.

READ MORE: Okinawa Barrels

Health Benefits for Families at Camp Lejeune 1957-87

Health Benefits for Families at Camp Lejeune 1957-87

US Department of Veterans Affairs sent this bulletin at 08/13/2013 10:41 AM EDT

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

VA will be able to reimburse Veterans’ family members for eligible out-of-pocket health care expenses for 15 health conditions after we publish regulations.
Prepare in 3 steps:

1. Call 1-877-222-8387 to be added to VA’s Camp Lejeune database.
2. Gather documents showing your relationship to a Veteran who served at Camp Lejeune and that you lived on base for 30 days or more between 1957-87.
3. Keep receipts for health care expenses you paid for a covered condition on or after March 26, 2013.

Learn more. 
Visit www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures to learn about other military exposures and VA benefits.

C-123 Veterans: VA Blocks Agent Orange Claims - Illegally!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/c-123-veterans-va-blocks-agent/id680418307?mt=11
C-123 Provider aircraft sprayed Agent Orange in Vietnam and remained contaminated with deadly dioxin…and the AF knew and failed to inform the aircrews. 

Apple's iTunes has released an interim version 1.6 of our C-123 Agent Orange booklet, free to download (320MB). It is for iPad only! Their publication of the better-edited version 2.0 is still a couple weeks off, and will be smaller as some of the imbedded videos are removed in favor of hyperlinks.

READ MORE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/c-123-veterans-va-blocks-agent/id680418307?mt=11

Australian War Memorial: Commission a new account of the Vietnam war's Agent Orange controversy.

Australian War Memorial

From 1962 to 1972, Australia, with the United States, was involved in a war in Vietnam.

There is a wound from that war still unhealed. It is the account of the Agent Orange controversy in Australia’s Official War History. It insults worthy Vietnam veterans and gets the story oh so wrong. But we should start from the beginning.

The US Air Force wanted to unleash its massive firepower but the enemy was hidden under the dense canopy of the Vietnamese jungles. To the US Air Force the solution was simple; defoliate the jungles by the aerial spraying millions of litres of herbicides, especially Agent Orange. Australian and US troops as well as the local population suffered exposure to this deluge of Agent Orange through its pollution of the waterways, foliage and the ground as well as directly from the air.

After the war, evidence emerged from the US that exposure to Agent Orange might cause certain cancers and other problems. The evidence, however, was contested; some experts arguing one way, some the other. But the law applying to war veterans gave them the benefit of any doubt raised by this clash of expert opinion.

This concession for war veterans was not new. Since the First World War, Federal Parliaments had passed legislation making special provision for dealing with war caused injury and illness.

So Vietnam veterans were confident their claims for medical treatment and compensation for cancer linked with exposure to Agent Orange would succeed.

READ MORE & WATCH VIDEO: Australian War Memorial

President Obama Promises Disabled Veterans Aid, As More Seek Compensation For Agent Orange Exposure

http://www.medicaldaily.com/president-obama-promises-disabled-veterans-aid-more-seek-compensation-agent-orange-exposure-250431
On Saturday, President Obama addressed 3,400 attendees at the annual Disabled American Veterans Convention in Orlando, Fla., promising to streamline the backlogged disability claims system for illness and injury resulting from military service and committing more support for returned veterans at home.
In his speech, President Obama addressed the needs of veterans who have experienced illness and injuries caused by military service, proposing more research for traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide among veterans. Speaking to the general population returned service members, including those who recently returned from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi freedom, he spoke of the administration's commitment to helping veterans earn college degrees and get high-skills job training.
Of particular concern to his audience is the current backlog of disability claims for compensation for illnesses and injuries resulting from military service. Currently, there are 780,000 claims pending in the system administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Of those, 500,000 are considered backlogged, having been in the system for more than 125 days, a number that is down from 611,000 in March.
READ MORE: http://www.medicaldaily.com/president-obama-promises-disabled-veterans-aid-more-seek-compensation-agent-orange-exposure-250431

Miss Vietnam 2012 selected ‘Charity Ambassador’ for AO Victims

http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Culture_Art/2013/8/105892/
Miss Vietnam 2012 title holder, Dang Thu Thao, has been chosen as first Charity Ambassador of the program ‘Erasing AO/Dioxin Pain Together’, for the year 2013.

This news was released by Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh, President of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA), at a press brief on August 9.
Thao will contribute to promoting VAVA activities in the community and link donors with millions of Vietnamese AO/Dioxin Victims. 
In related news, an exhibition of photos opened at the Youth Cultural House in Ho Chi Minh City on August 9 on occasion of 52nd Anniversary of the First Spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam by the US Government in 1961, and ten years of establishment of Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.
The exhibition will display photos of the association activities in the last ten years; appeals hearings for seeking justice for Victims of Agent Orange; international supporters of Vietnamese Agent Orange Victims; and good models of Agent Orange Victims who have overcome their disabilities to re-integrate into society.

North Dakota Launches Agent Orange Education Campaign

http://www.vva.org/WebWeekly/html/20130809.html#uno

This billboard is located on the west side of I29 Between 7th Avenue N. and 12th Avenue N. in Fargo, ND. A second billboard is located on the north side of Interstate 94 east of Steele facing west.
On Tuesday, August 6, The Vietnam Veterans of America North Dakota State Council launched a statewide Agent Orange Education Campaign with the unveiling the first of a series of billboards. Their goal is to reach fellow veterans and their dependents exposed to and suffering from the effects of Agent Orange/dioxin.
"Through advertisements such as our billboards and by convening town hall meetings, stand downs, and other outreach events throughout North Dakota, we hope to reach those suffering from the effects of Agent Orange to provide them with information and resources they need," said Dan Stenvold, President of the VVA North Dakota State Council.
"Along with the North Dakota Department of Veterans of Affairs, we will be working with many organizations to contact those who may have been exposed and their families. We are grateful to the North Dakota 63rd legislative assembly, which appropriated a $50,000 grant for 2013-2015, in support of our outreach efforts," said Stenvold.
VVA is committed to ensuring that all veterans exposed during their service receive the care and compensation they have earned by their service to our nation. This includes those who served in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Korea, and Laos, as well as those who flew on C-123s, aboard Navy vessels, and on certain military installations and other facilities on and outside the continental U.S., including Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Johnson Island, Ft. Detrick, and elsewhere.

Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America to Hold Town Hall Meeting on the Generational Legacy of Dioxin

                                    PRESS RELEASE

Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc.

8719 Colesville Road, Suite 100

Silver Spring, MD   20910

(301) 585-4000

IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                August 8, 2013                                No. 12-03

Press Release Contact:

Suzanne Blohm-Weber

(386) 986-9153

Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America to Hold Town Hall Meeting on the Generational Legacy of Dioxin

(Washington, D.C.)--The Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America (AVVA) will hold an Agent Orange Town Hall meeting on Saturday, August 17, 2013, 11:00 a.m., at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville-Riverfront, in Jacksonville, Florida. The forum, held in conjunction with the AVVA/VVA national conventions, will address the birth defects, diseases, and learning disabilities affecting the children and grandchildren of Vietnam veterans.

 “We must not be silent about the ill health effects of battlefield exposures on our veterans and on our children, our grandchildren, and the generations to come. We encourage all veterans and their families with children and/or grandchildren suffering from mysterious illnesses to attend the Agent Orange Town Hall meeting,” said Nancy Switzer, AVVA President.

Issues surrounding Agent Orange exposure will be explored, including scientific information, health effects, and methods for educating the public about the issues of Vietnam Veterans, their children and their families.

“Veterans of all wars are subjected to many contaminates. Our children are the innocent victims of war, and they need the help of our government to cope with these problems. We worry, who will be there to take care of them when we are gone,” said Switzer.

--30--

The Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America is dedicated to the aggressive advancement of realistic goals with integrity and in the spirit of unity that reflects our commitment to veterans, their families and others.

Vietnam veterans fight for VA aid

Those on offshore ships rejected for benefits despite illnesses

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-08/news/ct-met-agent-orange-navy-vets-20130808_1_va-benefits-veterans-affairs-blue-water-navy   

If Greg Fuller had ever, even for just a few minutes, set foot on Vietnamese soil during the time he spent serving in the Vietnam War, he'd be eligible to collect thousands of dollars each year in disability payments.

Diagnosed in 2005 with prostate cancer, Fuller is among the untold number of Vietnam veterans who have illnesses that have been linked to Agent Orange, an herbicide that the U.S. military sprayed over the Vietnamese jungle to expose enemy forces and destroy food crops.
But as a member of the so-called Blue Water Navy — sailors who served aboard ships that operated off the shore of Vietnam — Fuller has received only denial letters from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which maintains that the cancer is not connected to his service in the war because his boots never touched land.
The VA says Blue Water Navy veterans aren't eligible because the herbicide was sprayed over land. Veterans and their advocates say the herbicide ran off into the South China Sea, contaminating the water that the Navy distilled for drinking and powering the ships' boilers.
All but convinced that he'll never see a penny from the disability fund, Fuller filed the letters away at his Lake in the Hills home and gave up the fight years ago. What bothers him still is the feeling that wounded veterans have been cast aside on a technicality.
"I'm not greedy," Fuller said. "It wouldn't bother me if I never got it … but I might deserve it. If it's true that we drank water that was processed that had Agent Orange in it, it's only fair that (we) get it. 
READ MORE: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-08/news/ct-met-agent-orange-navy-vets-20130808_1_va-benefits-veterans-affairs-blue-water-navy