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Agent Orange/Dioxin and Other Toxic Exposures Committee Birth Defects Position Paper 1/14/2010 Children are our future. We have all heard that common saying. What is the future of the children of Vietnam veterans and other veterans with toxic, service-related exposures? There is a growing realization that both maternal and paternal toxic exposures play a role in the birth defects of the children and future generations of the exposed individuals. Research in the field of epigenetics also points toward toxic exposures turning on or off genes that, when passed on to the child, could lead to the onset of diseases later in life. [ read the paper ]
Click on the links below to read the stories of Faces of Agent Orange Operation Flyswatter
BY ALAN OATES, CHAIR Malathion is the name of an organophosphate insecticide used in Vietnam to combat mosquitoes. Organophosphates were first developed in the late 1930s by Nazi Germany as chemical warfare agents (nerve gas). VX nerve gas and Sarin gas are well-known examples. Organophosphates operate on humans and insects in a similar fashion by attacking the nervous systems.
During the Vietnam War, large numbers of troops came down with malaria. To kill the mosquitoes that carried the disease, the Department of Defense converted aircraft that were spraying Agent Orange to the spraying of Malathion. This was the start of Operation Flyswatter.
In the news Research Paper Congress Must Act to Restore Earned Benefits to All Vietnam Veterans – Including “Blue Water” Vets! Washington, D.C. – House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) announced the introduction of H.R. 2254, a bill to restore equity to all Vietnam veterans that were exposed to Agent Orange. “We owe it to our veterans to fulfill the promises made to them as a result of their service,” said Chairman Filner (D-CA). “If, as a result of service, a veteran was exposed to Agent Orange and it has resulted in failing health, this country has a moral obligation to care for each veteran the way we promised we would. And as a country at war, we must prove that we will be there for all of our veterans, no matter when they serve. The courts have turned their backs on our veterans, but I believe this Congress will not allow our veterans to be cheated of their earned benefits.” [ Read complete article ]Annual Committee Report What follows was reported by ABC News. It should be of interest to all Vietnam veterans who have illnesses that they feel resulted from exposure to dioxin—Agent Orange—during their service during the Vietnam War:
The VVA Self-Help Guide to Service-Connected Disability Compensation for Exposure to Agent Orange AL Amyloidosis: a rare group of diseases that results from the abnormal deposition of a particular protein called amyloid in various tissues of the body has been added as a presumptive service connected illnesses recognized by the VA as connected to Agent Orange Herbicide Exposure.
The Agent Orange Review
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Why fill out the form? VVA's Veterans Agent Orange Initiative is a humanitarian, veteran-to-veteran effort to document Agent Orange exposure (particularly from hand and truck spraying of bases) and to define likely hot spots of dangerously high dioxin levels on former U.S. and ARVN bases in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. FROM THE VVA "The Agent Orange/Dioxin Committee shall accumulate and disseminate information regarding Agent Orange and Dioxin and actively pursue the recognition of presumptive disabilities from exposure to Agent Orange and Dioxin by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Agent Orange/Dioxin Committee shall provide assistance to State Councils, Chapters, and service programs in the handling of Agent Orange related problems. The Committee shall encourage and foster the sponsorship of legislation to help the victims of Agent Orange and Dioxin, and encourage scientific and medical research in the field of dioxin-related ailments." DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE FILING A CLAIM? Contact a VVA Benefits Service Officer
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