Stay with us Robert! Please visit my website and review all of the data, it may well help you. I see you are from Michigan, AMVETS has a great Department in Michigan, I have met several of the state officers at our conferences. Absolutely great people.

Sounds like the wheels are turning, albeit slowly. I guess that's some progress!

Our annual school is set for next week. I shall leave Monday morning before 4:00 am and will not be on line until at least Tuesday evening. Our training has moved from Daytona to Crystal River. That makes it a 900 mile drive from Ohio.
Whew!

Dave, have a safe trip.

I made it, but have run into a major problem. There is one computer for everyone in this resort hotel, just one. I brought my laptop and have been advised it is $10 a day for a hook up. As you may guess, I cannot afford that at all. Since I normnally awaken extremely early in the mornings, my access time will be while the hoot owls are in charge!
Dave

Well, Dave B. got another letter from VA today,stating that they were still working on my Compensation. Still hanging in there.

Dave B. got another VA letter today and you were right. Even though I was in the harbor on the ship they are asking if I sat foot on land. Which I did but finding someone on the USS Conquest has been hard. I got a copy of the herbicide exposure report from a shipmate on the Conquest and now the VA wants the original or where did I get the report.The report gives the flight number(mission),dates sprayed, and where (Danang Harbor).So, as you have said before I am going to visit my VSO Wedesday. Thanks for your help

Dave B. got in touch with the shipmate that gave me the herbicide report. He got it from the Naval records and also gotan copy of the Quarterdeck log. He said to use his name and will send me a copy of the deck log. Maybe this will help. Thanks

Dave B. if you see this please-a little advice.My NSO(she does think outside the box)said "I really am stumped on how to submitt for HP as second to AO. Any advice??

Sr. My name is Dan and I am also an NSO, if you can please fill me in a little on your case I may be able to help you. I do have a lot of experience on these matters. Thanks, ENC(DV)(ret)

Dan, as you can see from previous post that I was on an ship in Danang harbor and was sprayed with agent orange by our own Air Force. I have paper work to back it up-lost a kidney to cancer 2006-uroligist says as likely as not due to AO. Blod pressure went sky high 2003- had to go to the ER and they had to give me drugs 2 times to bring it down- don't know why it went up- now on two types pills and if I come off my pressure goes up to about 180/90. So, Dan thats how it stands now. Thanks

Dan, should I just file secondary to AO?

Here is the format I have used since the change in NAS:
***************REQUEST SERVICE CONNECTION **************

I request you to SC my hypertension due to AO exposure.
Service connection should be granted as I am diagnosed and treated for the conditions; my service in Vietnam qualifies me for the service connection. According to the NAS:
Agent Orange May Boost Vietnam Vets' Hypertension Risk...
Exposure to the defoliant herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War may be raising blood pressure levels for the aging veterans of that conflict.
That's the biggest change in the latest of a series of reports from the U.S. Institute of Medicine on the long-term health effects of Agent Orange. The report was released Friday.
The IOM's Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides last issued its updated findings in 2005; this report is based on data collected up to 2006. The reports are compiled at the request of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
"In two new studies, Vietnam veterans with the highest exposure to herbicides exhibited distinct increases in the prevalence of hypertension; the prevalence of heart disease was also increased," the report found, although the IOM committee stopped short of suggesting that wartime exposure to Agent Orange is currently raising veterans' risk of ischemic heart disease.
The group said the latest data on hypertension risk is of a much higher quality than prior research looking at links between Agent Orange and heart disease or heart disease risk factors. However, the new findings are "consistent" with those gleaned from prior research.
There were other changes to the IOM's latest update of Veterans and Agent Orange: Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam, which is issued every two years (this is the seventh such report).

I am treated by the XXXXXXX VAMC, please obtain those records.

Since November 2002 I have been posting on this forum. My website does have much information. I ask all to review it, as you just may find the help you are looking for.
Beware, my site is not rubber stamp VA policy, it is 30 years of personal research, by me, using real and willing clients in the research.
http://www.geocities.com/dave_barker_amvet/index.html

Thanks-Dave Have a great DAY.

DAVE, I read what the VA director said but I am still submitting my statement and I notified my Doctor what I was doing and also a copy of my statement. Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by AKCSJAKE:
DAVE, I read what the VA director said but I am still submitting my statement and I notified my Doctor what I was doing and also a copy of my statement. Thanks

Very good.
You NEVER fail
Until you STOP trying!
A C&P from my book "In Search For The Truth For Vietnam Combat Veterans." ...It important for all of us to remember, it is not over until the final decisions are made into the rules the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) operates under.

It must be said to all interested; two years before when the first study was released, watered down rules came into effect. Secretary of the VA, Mr. Jesse Brown removed the words prostate cancer from the middle of a sentence. To add irony to the newest report the prostate cancer words were retained by the NAS. It seems as if those doctors know more about cancer than Secretary Brown. I personally have written Secretary Brown of that foul decision. I would hope others would have done the same. It seemed as if the Secretary was exempt from negative critique of many of the veteran groups. He was an great leader of the DAV. He was an excellent Secretary as well.

I have attended over 100 funerals, or wakes of veterans; who died of Agent Orange related conditions. These include prostate cancer. What does it take to get the attention of the powers that be? Prostate cancer is very uncommon in men under age 55; yet many have died from that condition. Meanwhile we struggle for facts. When fact are presented they are clouded by politics. We need to voice our opinions, while we still have the right.

It is extremely important to remember, no matter what the naysayers may offer, we have come back before, to win our points in this apparently never ending battle. Remember as stated above: Secretary Jesse Brown (one of VA's best)drew a line through the words prostate cancer in 1994, but we hung tough and prostate cancer went back in in 1996. The current Secretary is a doctor, but the panel is a team of doctors and scientists.
As one of the two greatest catchers in baseball said "it ain't over, til it's over!"

For information about kidney cancer, go right here.

I served in Korea from Jan 1967 to Mar 1968 with the 1/79th FA, 7th ID at Camp Paine. We were one of the few 7th ID in the area. We were in direct support of the 2nd ID. In particular, the 1/9th Inf, 2nd ID and the 1/72nd Armor, 2nd ID. Our post was right beside the 1/9th Inf, 2nd ID, Camp Custer at the base of "Charlie Block". It was located just outside the village of Paju-ri and Munsan-ni. Munsan-ni was the village you went through right before going over the Freedom Bridge. Our unit was directly involved, along with the 1/9th Inf, 2nd ID who came to our support, in a firefight with NK infiltrators, in which one of our guys was seriously wounded; enough to be sent home and out of the Army on a medical discharge. There were several other incidents, as well.
The 1/9th Inf and the 1/72nd Armor, 2nd ID are both on the VA's list of units that were on and near the DMZ, but NO where do you see my unit listed, or even mentioned.
On Dec 2005 I had to have my right parotid gland removed at a PA VA because it had a golf ball size tumor. The tumor was benign, thank God. As a result, I have nerve damage to side of my right face and ear lobe from the difficult surgery.
On Nov 2006 I had to have my right kidney and the Ureter tube going from the kidney to the bladder removed, plus a bladder cuff performed, because of low grade Transitional Cell Cancer (Kidney/Ureter) at another VA. I developed a HUGH hernia on my right side and severe nerve damage from the massive cut, which cut through all of my muscles from my mid right back, across my abdomen and down to my upper groin. I was told the hernia could not be repaired by the VA, and that the muscle tone loss and nerve damage I received will, almost definently, be permanent, since they removed my rib during the operation and the nerves were cut.
On Sep 2007 I was diagnosed with high grade Bladder, and through the tube of my Prostate, Transitional Cell Cancer at the same VA. At which time I, thanks to God, was able to get into a PA Cancer Hospital for treatment.
On Oct 2007 they scraped my bladder. On Nov 2007 they again scraped my bladder and performed an extensive operation to repair the hernia I had developed from the Kidney operation, by cutting me from below the breast bone to well below my belly button and into my mid belly so they could, basically, open me up, remove or push aside my internal organs to get in and repair the hernia and reconstruct my abdomen with a lot of mesh.
Since Nov 2007 I have receive BCG treatments to treat the bladder/prostate tube cancer, of which I will most likely be receiving for many, many years to come, as long as it controls and prevents the cancer from returning, which is my prayer to God, who is the one who is really in control of the situation. I go back for my most recent checkup on 12 Sep 2008 and am continuing to pray there is none to be seen.
On Apr 2008 I was diagnosed with diabetes, which does NOT run in any of my family, at the VA hospital, for which I am on pills to control. I also have neuropathy, tinnitus, ED, hearing loss, and more, to include Alopecia, which is an autoimmune disease that affects your hair and nails. I have not had any hair, of any kind, since the 70's.
My question is this. The VA says that dioxins were not used in Korea until 1 April, 1968 which, by the way, is the same date that they FINALLY allowed combat pay for those of use who were on or near the DMZ, yet they allow children of a vet who served in Korea as early as 1 Sep 1967 eligible for certain health problems. Why not the veteran??!
How would it be even remotely be possible for a veteran who left Korea on 1 Sep 1967 to be affected by Agent Orange and be able to pass it on to his children if Korea was not sprayed until 1 April, 1968??!
It is VERY obvious, and there is information out there stating such, that Korea WAS sprayed earlier than 1 April 1968.
One last thing of interest, I think, is that the VA, even though numerous reports have stated differently, still does not acknowledge bladder cancer as Agent Orange related. Yet, it is becoming more and more prevalent among veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange.
In fact, Bladder Cancer is what killed Col. David Hackworth.
I apologize for being so long winded, but a lot has happened to me and I just had to write and ask for some help.
I would like to say that I have only good things to say about how the VA hospitals have treated and cared for me. I fell they have some of the best doctors I have ever had the opportunity of meeting.
Thank you all for reading and your support.

O.k my Friend, this is a long post and many questions, So lets try the bouncing Q&A, rather than chronilogical order. (1) Your unit in Korea 7 I.D that you can't reference being at the DMZ alongside 2 ID. That's not unusual. I checked and you can get official documentation showing your exact unit, locations and dates from here
Director
US Army Records Management and Declassification Agency
Room 102, Casey Building
7701 Telegraph Road
Alexandria Virginia 22315-3860

Now, in reference to your VAST claim. You should be rated at 100% already just for the medical issues you're experiencing, If not, then submit a claim listing each and every issue, you can find each and every condition here http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid
This will help you locate specific medical conditions and the ratings for it topped of with rules that allow for use of rating schedule. Your AO issue and claim: You can and should file a claim for Ao exposure, NEVER allow the present published guidelines deter you from filing a claim, each and every case is processed and each and every case is unique. For your AO question see a not often looked at documentation as follows.. http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:EcKgMMk9B-QJ:www.f...sgp/crs/misc/RL34370

Now you have some homework that will give you a running start with information not only for FYI but claim reference and building as well. I am glad that the VAMC is doing a good job. I also advise you to request that the treating physicians please be detailed as possible in your medical files and you can certainly tell them that it would be of great assistance in your claim file, especially the Doctor handling you Diabetes type II. His simple statement "More than Likely exposed to AO at his location of assignment in Korea ..month...year to...month..year.
I hope we have been of assistance to you thus far. As you meander through these sites and come up with questions etc., please, by all means, post them and they will be addressed. Dave Barker is the Resident Expert on AO and I'm sure he'll add to this in very short order. No one knows more about AO than him, and he authored many articles and books on AO SUBJECTS. He will come along and in the meanwhile you have enough to keep you busy for a bit. I wish you the best and Recovery. Thank you for your Service to Country and I sincerely hope you recover fully to a decent quality of life and Godspeed.
Eres Tu!
Freddy