This past week I spent the day at the VA hospital waiting for a friend who was having surgery. While there, I saw a notice for Vietnam veterans who served in VietNam during the period they were using agent orange. If you were there during that time, you could very well qualify for a disability pension if you suffer from estimic(sp) heart disease or there were a few other diseases that I don't remember I hadn't heard of this before but when I said something to one of the social workers there, she said it was pretty must assured you would qualify without much of the usual run around. If you were there and have heart disease, or any other problem, it may be one of the ones I don't remember, just call your VA and tell them you would like information on the Vietnam/agent orange disability pension. This doesn't help me but if it could help you I'm glad, you deserve it. The compensation starts from the day you apply so the sooner you do the better.
My husband is a Viet Nam veteran who served in an area that was heavily sprayed with Agent Orange. He was also diagnosed with PTSD by the VA but when he applied about 6 years ago for a disability pension he was turned down because they couldn't find his records that showed he had been in the field. His records show him as a company clerk who wasn't in combat--he always told me he was in combat for awhile because when he arrived they already had a company clerk. Now he doesn't remember any details about anything so I can't even try to find someone he served with to show he was in combat.
Since then he has had problems with his ears, psoriasis, depression, bladder cancer and now FTD. None of these are on the list of illnesses which give you a disability pension. On the other hand, my husband's best friend was in Viet Nam at the same time as him, never in combat, but has diabetes. Diabetes in the on "list" so he gets about a 60% disability pension. Just doesn't seem fair.
deb: you can apply for his military records on line at http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/standard-form-180.html You may already have them. From the records, look for his unit's website. They will have a guestbook or reunion info or a contact. Tell them you story and include "does anybody remember my husband". If you get a hit, you can go back to the VA. It's kind of a crap shoot, but with my battalion we are still finding guys. Sometimes it is just dumb luck. It is not unusual to not remember. Some guys remember names, some faces, some nothing. It is so strange, because it was all so intense, it was unimaginable that we would not remember every detail. No one remembers everything, but together we piece together what happened. I did not like Vietnam. Sometimes I feel sorry for the caregivers that weren't down south. Hypervigilance, ability to turn off emotion, defer pain, good peripheral vision, instant awake were all good skills to recall during the last 3 or 4 years. My wife dying last Feb was bad, but not unexpected. It also wasn't the worst thing that happened last year. 2009 officially pasted 1969 for unimaginable events. Good luck in your search. Dan 1st Bn, 1st Marines Feb69-Feb70 www.1stbn1stmarines.org/hs
My husband was in the Army. Spent one year in Viet Nam. Is all the information on his DD-214? I can't tell from looking at it. All my husband can remember is he was in the First Infantry Division--but I know I need way more info than that.
No DD-214 is just the separation document. Shows how long he was in hometown, medals earned, etc. You need to fill out an SF-180 at the above link. That will be much more detailed, showing units he was in, schools attended, combat operations involved in. Even if no combat ops are listed (most were to small to have a name), try to find somebody that remembers him from his unit. If you husband is a member of a veteran's organization (VFW, American Legion, VVA) they have service officers that can and will help you.
Frankly, well, DUH! It has seemed obvious to me for a long time that insults to the brain - football or combat - influence the development of dementia. I wouldn't be surprised if within 20 years football is out of favor - I started to say outlawed, but I suspect it will be like smoking or boxing, just something that becomes less and less admirable to do.. Now if we could only get WAR outlawed too...
After diagnosis we were talking with a VA social worker and the first thing she asked was 'were you ever exposed to agent orange?" Evidently AD is also a possible cause. The other I have heard but not researched, is that is you were on a ship, which is covered with asbestos and the paint has lead, AD is a possible illness associated with the exposure.
My husband is also a Viet Nam Vet having served two tours. He flew 407 fixed wing missions and went through AO. His brother was in avionics and was also exposed to AO. Both have diabetes. And both have the disability associated with this exposure. However, my husband has far more serious issues having heart disease along with it. I think all of his problems are associated with the diabetes. And I have been doing some research and have discovered that those who suffer diabetes are at a higher risk for developing AD. I am wondering if AD will join the ranks of diseases related to this exosure as many others have. My husband was diagnosed with AD last 22 Oct 2009. This is not my first exposure to this awful disease as my mother and her younger brother were also victims of this disease.
Mimi - if you have not already, you can apply for disability thru the VA due to the AO. Check in to it plus their medical is great. We pay just $8 per Rx no matter what it is.
Thank you Charlotte for the suggestion. My husband is retired military and is 100% disabled because of conditions caused by flying and carrier landings, physical fitness demands and exposure to AO. He is diabetic now on insulin, in 2000 and 2001 he had total hip replacements, in 2005 a 3x bypass, in 2006 and 2007 stents put in one renal artery, and stents in the legs, and in 07 he had a femoral bypass when the stent failed. Then 2 years ago this month he had a lacunar stroke in the pons which is the type of stroke related to hypertension. Now this. I don't think AD is on the list of diseased caused by exposure to AO. So far all his medical is taken care of by medicae and Tricare for life.. I have called our attorney who did our work on our Trusts to see what changes may need to be done and what else to do to save our income. So much to do. I find myself at times trying to think back to when symptoms really did begin to show up. I suppose around the time of the stroke which though small may be the factor in the develoment of this situation.
Mimi - when we talked with the VA social worker a few months ago, one of the first questions was: did he serve in Vietnam and was he exposed to agent orange. So there has to be thinking somewhere that AO exposed veterans may be showing up with AD. The VA in Los Angeles I think is involved/participate in a lot of AD research. A lot of articles list them as contributing. Since he is 100% disabled from the military, it would not make any difference in benefits.
There is some research and opinions that some of AD is the result of or made worse by surgeries. The cooling of the brain from anesthetic is thought to cause brain damage in some and your hb has definitely had his share of surgeries the last 10 years.
Oh Charlotte, thanks for this. I have just had a chat with someone about this very thing. I do know that AO is on the list contributing to diabetes. And diabetes is the link to so many other diseases including heart diseases. I have not seen anything related to AO and AD though I have suspected such. My aunt by marriage suffered AD and had been exposed to some chemical in ND some years before the onset/diagnosis so I think there really is something to this. Also I do know there are risks to anesthesia too and if anything makes me mad it is the offshoots of these risks. I just wonder what else is out there that is going to affect our Viet Nam Vets and now our new Gulf War Vets...
My husband is a Viet Nam vet exposed to AO and a couple of his doctors have suggested that AO might have caused the onset of his FTD but no one at the VA has agreed with this assumption. In the past he has been diagnosed with PTSD, depression, psoriasis and bladder cancer. We did file for disability for the PTSD and they knew of his agent orange exposure but he was denied benefits. On the other hand, his best friend had AO exposure and developed diabetes--which runs in his family; his mother died from diabetes complications--and receives a 70% disability pension from the VA. My husband has none of the illnesses that are on the AO "list". Doesn't seem fair....
Deb -I really think like all government agencies, it depends on the person you get. One will say yes, the other no. My deceased BIL was 100% service disabled but found a job at the VA he could do. Because of that they changed his disability to 50%. After he retired and even when he was bedridden they still claimed he was not disabled. They had the VA advocate and the VFW advocate fighting for him and they still denied him. His back was injured in WW2 - you could hear the creeking and cracking, he was stiff, could barely bend over, and then was bedridden and they still said he was not disabled. Go figure.
As for AO being connected to AD that may never be proved but where the social worker asked us if he was tells me they suspect it. (he was on a ship but who knows if the winds carried it out to the in the harbor or what the asbestos on the ship did to them). As with the big increases in so many diseases, who knows what in our environment, food, furniture, carpet, etc. are responsible. I believe our love of chemicals has caused this increase but how do you prove it when government puts the lid on any evidence until it is too late?