Keep them in your prayers

[fmdog44]

I don't know, and I don't know if you are asking rhetorically or with a real concern that would spur you to take action on their behalf. If it is the latter, then I would suggest contacting your Congress person and starting an inquiry and possibly start a thread in this sub-forum to further discuss it to determine other courses of action you could take. There may well be people here knowledgeable on that.

Tony

It's a simple fact that America stepped in it's own dung and continues to pay the price for it. Since the AO was deployed on parts of SE Asia by American forces America is responsible for all of the after effects both here an there.

 

[911]

And the people of Viet Nam suffering still from birth defects and cancer? What about them?

I don't know if this is true and if it is to what extent has it gone for some, but some of the people in Japan are still affected by the dropping of the 2 bombs.

 

[tbeltrans]

It's a simple fact that America stepped in it's own dung and continues to pay the price for it. Since the AO was deployed on parts of SE Asia by American forces America is responsible for all of the after effects both here an there.

That doesn't answer the post you quoted though.

Tony

 

[Irwin]

You have more respect for our Veterans than our government. The people in charge consider our Veterans disposable.

Yep, remember the "we go to war with the army we have -- not the army we want" insults coming out of government while they were lying us into war? And then soldiers weren't provided the armor they needed.

 

[win231]

It took them quite a while to even acknowledge the effects on our ground troops, and longer yet for the blue water vets. Let's hope they catch up to the Ft McClellan one's now.

Yep, remember the "we go to war with the army we have -- not the army we want" insults coming out of government while they were lying us into war? And then soldiers weren't provided the armor they needed.

I also recall Iraq Vets coming down with all sorts of serious illnesses when they got home. They called it "Gulf War Syndrome."
Some higher-ups in the military said "Why are they complaining about being sick? When they joined, they knew they could be killed."

 

[Irwin]

I also recall Iraq Vets coming down with all sorts of serious illnesses when they got home. They called it "Gulf War Syndrome."
Some higher-ups in the military said "Why are they complaining about being sick? When they joined, they knew they could be killed."

I think they just assumed that if they were killed, it would be by an enemy -- not their own government.

 

[win231]

Coincidentally, I just watched "Coming Home" last night. I've seen bits & pieces of it before, but I ordered the DVD & was able to watch the unedited version.
My biggest surprise was when I first watched a non-fiction movie - "Born on the 4th of July." The marine - Ron Kovic (played by Tom Cruise) was heavily involved in the making of the film to make sure it was factual & detailed. What an eye opener about our government.

 

[Tish]

Prayers

 

[fuzzybuddy]

I wasn't around that stuff during spraying, but I saw the effects of it and I thought to myself if that stuff can destroy a forest of trees, just think what it can do to a person's insides.

Duh. As 911 states, this stuff rots livings forests, but somehow it doesn't have any effect on humans. It's kind of like saying rat poison works on rats, but is perfectly safe for people? In a war, it's easy to use an untried methods of killing the other guy, without full knowledge of the consequences. I'm reminded of the GIs , who were ordered to watch atomic blasts in the 50s, and who, then, came down with cancer.
And as to the VA, it depends on when you served, what laws were in effect at that time, what superseding laws changed all that, the VA's budget, the commitment of Congress, etc., etc. To figure out the "VA' system, you need three lawyers, 4 doctors, an accountant, two historians, 18 witnesses, some dice and a Ouija board.

 

[win231]

Duh. As 911 states, this stuff rots livings forests, but somehow it doesn't have any effect on humans. It's kind of like saying rat poison works on rats, but is perfectly safe for people? In a war, it's easy to use an untried methods of killing the other guy, without full knowledge of the consequences. I'm reminded of the GIs , who were ordered to watch atomic blasts in the 50s, and who, then, came down with cancer.
And as to the VA, it depends on when you served, what laws were in effect at that time, what superseding laws changed all that, the VA's budget, the commitment of Congress, etc., etc. To figure out the "VA' system, you need three lawyers, 4 doctors, an accountant, two historians, 18 witnesses, some dice and a Ouija board.

Similar B.S. here several years ago. They claimed we had a problem with Fruit Flies & they did aerial spraying of neighborhoods.
When people expressed concern about their health, they told us the spray is harmless to people.
Then they added, "The spray eats the paint off cars, so keep them covered. And stay indoors."

 

[Aneeda72]

My current understanding is that the VA has a system of "priorities", in which what you copay and what services you get are based on ratings for service-connected disabilities. I am not sure I understand it all, so what I say may not be entirely accurate on this. Congress can decide to cut the number of vets getting medical care through the VA. The lowest priority are those who have no service-connected disabilities, and they would be cut first. They also pay the most copay and for the most services provided. The next priority level is again those without service connected disabilities, but who have been determined to have financial hardship, based on income and where they live. All the remaining priorities are based on percentage of service-connected disability. This is how it was explained to me, so if others here have other information, please do correct what I said here.

Based on that, as far as I know, all veterans can be eligible for medical care at the VA, though I am again not fully clear on this because I do know of some who have been denied, and whether coincidentally or not, were nowhere near any combat zone.

I am sure that the VA provides guidance to the people who determine eligibility, which is something we have to go through before we get to avail ourselves of the VA's medical services.

Tony

I was not eligible for care at the VA due to husbands income. This may have changed since I applIED over 10 years plus ago as our income went down and prices went up. But it is not needed now since I have private insurance through his work and medicaid.

But, when I applied, we were low income, but not low enough.

 

[Aneeda72]

Duh. As 911 states, this stuff rots livings forests, but somehow it doesn't have any effect on humans. It's kind of like saying rat poison works on rats, but is perfectly safe for people? In a war, it's easy to use an untried methods of killing the other guy, without full knowledge of the consequences. I'm reminded of the GIs , who were ordered to watch atomic blasts in the 50s, and who, then, came down with cancer.
And as to the VA, it depends on when you served, what laws were in effect at that time, what superseding laws changed all that, the VA's budget, the commitment of Congress, etc., etc. To figure out the "VA' system, you need three lawyers, 4 doctors, an accountant, two historians, 18 witnesses, some dice and a Ouija board.

Exactly, they sprayed at Fort McClellan. We had marched up to an area that had been sprayed, set up our “tents” and got in them. We were being graded on how fast we could do it. Then a civilian truck appeared, the worker and our LT got into a discussion we broke the “tents“ down, and marched back to the barracks.

I believe that’s when my direct exposure to agent orange occurred, along with walkIng around base, to town, etc.

 

[tbeltrans]

I was not eligible for care at the VA due to husbands income. This may have changed since I applIED over 10 years plus ago as our income went down and prices went up. But it is not needed now since I have private insurance through his work and medicaid.

But, when I applied, we were low income, but not low enough.

I think (but could be wrong) that the VA has changed their means of qualifying veterans and possibly family members for medical care at least once since your experience, so none of what I am about to say should be considered a correction to your post, but instead simply more current information. I have a younger brother who had a medical retirement from the Marines after 27 years. He has 100% disability as the result of injuries sustained in Iraq. He has a wife and children. Though he has full medical care from the VA, his family does not. They have insurance through the military, but I am not familiar with how that works and don't recall what it is called. I have less than 100% service-connected disability, and therefore only pay the very small co-pay for prescribed medicine. When I get a shot at the VA or am administered other medicine while in the hospital there, I don't get charged for that.

My understanding, as it was explained to me when I went through the process of applying to the VA Medial Center (about 5 years ago), is that level of income determines how much the veteran co-pays for medical services. This is only at issue if the veteran does not have any service-connected disabilities recognized by the VA. As explained to me, there are two categories of co-pay for those who don't have service-connected disabilities. The only difference is how much the co-pay for services will be, which in either case (to me) is a real bargain compared to civilian medical costs. When you do qualify for service-connected disabilities, then, the percentage for disability determines whether you have a co-pay for medicine or not. Also, those with 100% disability also get dental care. Also, a surprise to me, is that it took some time to get qualified for service-connected disability, so during that time, I was paying the standard co-pays, which then were completely refunded when my disability classification came through!

Anybody feel free to correct me if I am misunderstanding, outright wrong, or if the VA has changed any of these policies again. These VA benefit discussions and information can get rather murky.

Tony

 

[Pepper]

Similar B.S. here several years ago. They claimed we had a problem with Fruit Flies & they did aerial spraying of neighborhoods.
When people expressed concern about their health, they told us the spray is harmless to people.
Then they added, "The spray eats the paint off cars, so keep them covered. And stay indoors."

Yes, yes. In 1980 I was living in Wisconsin. My son was an infant. We went to a local park with friends. The grass was perfect. No bugs, flying or crawling anywhere in this manicured park. I asked our friends how this is possible and they told us Agent Orange was used as a bug repellent. I asked a Park person was this true, and he said 'Yes.' My husband & I had our newborn on a blanket on that grass! We left immediately.