Agent Orange Benifits
The time frame and locations where U.S. troops were exposed to Agent Orange is much wider and more varied than many might realize. Since 1991,VA has presumed that any veteran who served in Vietnam during the war was exposed to the defoliant and encourages them to apply for benefits.
But eligibility also extends to vets who served along Korea's demilitarized zone during three specific years and those who operated or maintained Agent Orange contaminated planes in the United States more than a decade after the war.
For benefits purposes, VA presumes vets who served in the following locations during the time frames stated were exposed to Agent Orange:
• In Vietnam, vets must have served on its soil or operated vessels on its inland waterways between Jan.9,1962,and May 7,1975.
• In Korea, vets must have served in or near the DMZ from April 1,1968,to Aug. 31,1971.
• At three specific locations in Ohio, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania from 1969-86, Air Force Reservists must have worked on or maintained aircraft that had sprayed the defoliant during the Vietnam War.
Additionally, Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)and Rep.Chris Gibson(R-N.Y.) introduced legislation earlier this year that would grant the same eligibility to "blue water" Navy veterans who operated off Vietnam's shore during the war. But the bills have yet to come before either chamber for a full vote.
Other vets who served during the war at air bases in Thailand, locations where Agent Orange was stored or participated in Pentagon projects to dispose of the defoliant could be eligible, too.
VA provides benefits and compensation to any eligible vet who has any of the following diseases:
• AL Amyloidosis
• Chronic B-cell Leukemia’s
• Chloracne
• Diabetes Mellitus Type 2
• Hodgkin's Disease
•ischemic Heart Disease
• Multiple Myeloma
• Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Parkinson's Disease
• Peripheral Neuropathy, Early-Onset
• Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
• Prostate Cancer• Respiratory Cancers
• Soft Tissue Sarcomas
VFW encourages veterans to seek out one of its service officers for help when filing a VA claim. List of VFW service officers by state can be found at www.vfw.org under the "Assistance" tab.
For more information, including Agent Orange eligibility criteria and application instructions, visit www.benefits.va.gov/benefitsl
posted by Jim Pillsbury @ 4:57 PM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
Anyone know if our Veteran's agent has reached out to vets in town with this information?
Good point Annon,
I couldn't tell you if he has or not so I will post a reference to this on FramLov.
Some older Vets are now discovering strange health effects and disease. The Feds denied for years the exposure to agent orange as potentially a health hazard, but are making efforts to inform those who may not have realized they were exposed. I never knew that Air Force Reservists in Massachusetts from 69 to 86 may have had contact with agent orange. And I never knew that they used agent orange in Korea from 68 to 71. We owe them all.
Lets hope the Vet Agent is up on these things, after all, that is his job. Oh wait, I forgot. He does not think he has to do the job he is told to do as evidenced by his continuing to do CORI checks with the town manager said he should not do that. Maybe he thinks his job is to annoy people in town. He should get a raise if that is the case as he is very good at that. Again, we need the veterans in town to publicly speak out and answer the question. Is the veterans agent keeping them informed on things like this?
Deb butler
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home