This Page Is Dedicated To All Veterans & Families That Have Been Poisoned by

 

Agent Orange was one of the weed-killing chemicals used by the U.S. in Vietnam. The chemical compounds considered as herbicide agents in Vietnam include 2,4-D; 2,4,5-T and its contaminant TCDD (or Dioxin); cacodylic acid and picloram. Airplanes, helicopters, trucks and backpack sprayers applied herbicides. Herbicides containing Dioxin were used by the U.S. military to defoliate base camps and other facilities in the U.S. and in other countries as far back as the 1950s.

 

AGENT ORANGE, A KILLER THEN AND A KILLER NOW!

The following diseases are those officially recognized by VA as related to herbicide exposure. To win benefits, VA law and regulations also require that some of these conditions appear (or “become manifest”) within a deadline that began to run the day you left Vietnam. If there is a deadline, it is listed in brackets after the name of the disease. If your condition is not listed below, ask your doctor whether what you have is similar to any of these. There may be room to argue that your condition is the same as one of these.

WARNING: This list may change

·         Diabetes

·         Prostate cancer

·         Peripheral Neuropathy (acute and sub-acute) (one year)
"Sign the Peripheral Neuropathy Registry" at this AO Site.

·         Spina Bifida in children of Vietnam Veterans

·         Chloracne [one year]

·         Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, including any diagnosis of a lymphoma [except Hodgkin’s lymphoma], mycosis fungoides, and old terms such as lymphosarcoma,  reticulum cell sarcoma and Sternberg’s sarcoma

·         Porphyria cutanea tarda [one year]

·         Respiratory cancers [30 years], including cancer of the
lung
bronchus
larynx
trachea

·         Multiple myeloma Hodgkin’s disease Soft Tissue Sarcomas, including:

·         Adult fibrosarcoma

·         Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans

·         Malignant fibrous histiocytoma

·         Liposarcoma

·         Leiomyosarcoma

·         Epithelioid leiomyosarcoma (malignant leiomyoblastoma)

·         Rhabdomyosarcoma

·         Ectomesenchymoma

·         Angiosarcoma (hemangiosarcoma and lymphangiosarcoma)

·         Proliferating (systemic) angioendo- theliomatosis

·         Malignant glomus tumor

·         Malignant hemangiopericytoma

·         Synovial sarcoma (malignant synovioma)

·         Malignant giant cell tumor of tendon sheath

·         Malignant schwannoma, including malignant schwannoma with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation (malignant Triton tumor), glandular and epithelioid malignant schwannomas Malignant mesenchymoma

·         Malignant granular cell tumor

·         Alveolar soft part sarcoma

·         Epithelioid sarcoma

·         Clear cell sarcoma of tendons and aponeuroses

·         Extraskeletal Ewing’s sarcoma

·         Congenital and infantile fibrosarcoma

·         Malignant ganglioneuroma

·         Under the VA rule, soft tissue sarcoma does not include osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma.

MORE THAN JUST AGENT ORANGE SPRAYED IN VIETNAM

RAINBOW HERBICIDES

The various chemicals were labeled by color-coded stripes on the barrels, an arsenal of herbicides known by the colors of the rainbow, including Agent Blue (which contained arsenic), Agent White, Agent Purple, and the lethal combination of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, Agent Orange.
On January 13, 1962, three U.S. Air Force C-123s left Tan Son Nhut airfield to begin Operation Hades (later called Operation Ranch Hand), the defoliation of portions of South Vietnam's heavily forested countryside in which Viet Cong guerrillas could easily hide. By September 1962, the spraying program had intensified, despite an early lack of success, as U.S. officials targeted the Ca Mau Peninsula, a scene of heavy communist activity. Ranch Hand aircraft sprayed more than 9,000 acres of mangrove forests there, defoliating approximately 95 percent of the targeted area. That mission was deemed a success and full approval was given for continuation of Operation Ranch Hand as the U.S. stepped up its involvement in Vietnam.

RAINBOW HERBICIDES AND THEIR COMPONENTS:

- Agent Orange: 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T; used between January 1965 and April 1970.
- Agent Orange II (Super Orange): 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T; used in 1968 and 1969.
- Agent Purple: 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T; used between January 1962 and 1964.
- Agent Pink: 2,4,5-T; used between 1962 and 1964.
- Agent Green: 2,4,5-T; used between 1962 and 1964.
- Agent White: Picloram and 2,4-D.
- Agent Blue: contained cacodylic acid (arsenic).
- Dinoxol: 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T; used between 1962 and 1964.
- Trinoxol: 2,4,5-T; used between 1962 and 1964.
- Diquat: Used between 1962 and 1964.
- Bromacil: Used between 1962 and 1964.
- Tandex: Used between 1962 and 1964.
- Monuron: Used between 1962 and 1964.
- Diuron: Used between 1962 and 1964.
- Dalapon: Used between 1962 and 1964.

Dates are insignificant because the Dioxin is still being found in heavy concentration's to this day in Vietnam (1999)!

SOME THINGS YOU SHOULD DO:

Educate yourself about issues facing Vietnam veterans and the nation; read some of the many good books that have been published recently.

Join VVA (Vietnam Veterans of America) to keep current on developments; if you are not a Vietnam era veteran, membership is open as an “associate” member.

Sign the Peripheral Neuropathy Registry! at this AO Vet Site And Sign The Agent Orange Survey! at this AO Site.

File a claim for VA disability compensation if you are disabled; encourage others to.

Volunteer your time and talents to the nearest Vet Center or veterans organization.

Work with groups of veterans to set up a meeting with the Director of the nearest VA Regional Office to review how it handles claims from Vietnam veterans.

Write your U.S. Representative (c/o House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515) and U.S. Senator (c/o U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510) or visit their local offices to urge them to support increased compensation now for Vietnam veterans.

Investigate what services are available from your state for veterans and how well those services are delivered.

Encourage civic organizations, unions, and business associations to which you belong to take a stand on veterans’ issues.

LAWYERS

There are limits on when you can pay a lawyer to help you with a VA claim. Generally, you can hire a lawyer only after the BVA has decided your claim. Then you have only one year to hire a lawyer. Many lawyers work on a contingency basis that means you do not have to pay them a fee up front and if you do not win benefits, you will not have to pay a fee.
There are no limits on when someone else (a so-called third party) can use his or her own money to hire and pay a lawyer to represent you. This third party cannot be a family member who may benefit from your claim. If you use a third party to hire a lawyer, the lawyer can represent you at the beginning of a claim. Also, there are no limits on hiring a lawyer when the VA is coming after you because of a home loan guarantee debt. Some private lawyers and some legal aid or legal services offices provide representation free of charge at all stages of a VA claim.
There is an organization of attorneys and non-attorneys who regularly practice before the Court of Veterans Appeals. Its members are available to represent you at the Court or, through a third party contract, before a VARO or the BVA. For a list of these members, contact:

Nat’l Organization of Veterans’ Advocates
PO Box 42334
Washington DC 20015
(800) 810-VETS

If no private practitioners are willing to represent you at the Court of Veterans Appeals, it might be possible to obtain pro bono representation through the Veterans Pro Bono Consortion. The Court will send you information about this opportunity. It is available only to a limited number of persons who meet income guidelines.

SEE the following links for more information:

VVA's Guide on AGENT ORANGE
AO Spray Map & Info "Must See"
Operation Ranch Hand
The Story Of Agent Orange

Article on: Defoliation

Helpful Web Links

Web Addresses	Description
http://www.nara.gov/regional/mpr.html	National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records Web Site
http://www.nara.gov/regional/mprsf180.html	Download form SF 180 to request a copy of DD Form 214
http://www.va.gov/index.htm	Veterans Administration & Benefits
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Benefits/index.htm	Compensation & Pension Benefits
http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/	Veterans online application web site (VONAPP)
http://www.va.gov/FORMS/default.asp	VA Forms
http://www.vva.org/benefits/vvaguide.htm	Agent Orange, VA Claims and Appeals, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, VVA's Guide To Veterans Preference
http://www.vva.org/benefits/vvgvaclaims.htm	VVA's Guide on VA CLAIMS and APPEALS
http://www.ssa.gov	Social Security Online
http://www.ssa.gov/disability/	Social Security Disability Information
http://www.senate.gov/	U.S. Senate
http://www.house.gov/Welcome.html	U.S. House of Representatives
http://www.pld.ttu.ee/~gert/jwz/covernment.html	U.S. Government Links

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