Veterans blame planes used to spray Agent Orange for illnesses
http://kdhnews.com/news/nation/veterans-blame-planes-used-to-spray-agent-orange-for-illnesses/article_55859b6c-fd8b-11e2-b118-0019bb30f31a.html
A dismantled C-123 is seen in 2010 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tuscon, Ariz. Many of the Vietnam War-era planes were melted down, in part because of concerns about potential Agent Orange liability, Air Force memos show.
Veterans blame planes used to spray Agent Orange for illnesses
Posted: Monday, August 5, 2013 4:30 am
By Steve Vogel / The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Nearly three dozen rugged C-123 transport planes formed the backbone of the U.S. military’s campaign to spray Agent Orange over jungles hiding enemy soldiers during the Vietnam War. And many of the troops who served in the conflict were compensated for diseases associated with their exposure to the toxic defoliant.
But after the war, some of the planes were used on cargo missions in the United States. Now a bitter fight has sprung up over whether those in the military who worked, ate and slept in the planes after the war also should be compensated. Two U.S. senators are now questioning the Department of Veterans Affairs’ assertions that any postwar contamination on the planes was not high enough to be linked to disease.
Complicating the debate is that few of the planes remain to be tested. In 2010, the Air Force destroyed 18 of the Vietnam-era aircraft in part because of concerns about potential liability for Agent Orange, according to Air Force memos documenting the destruction.
Citing tests done on some of the aircraft in the 1990s, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, the ranking Republican on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., have asked the VA’s Office of Inspector General to review whether the department is “inappropriately” denying disability compensation to veterans who claim they were sickened by postwar contamination.
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A horrible death. And now we are finding out that its in our DNA. It alters our bodies. I have a very very dear friend of mine - 3 years younger than me. . . Nhu was born in Vietnam in a rural area. Her dad died the same horrific death my dad did (he worked with us over there) 6 months ago.
The thing is - that with all of those illnesses - most of our Vets from the 60's and 70's that were deep in Central/South America and South East Asia have no idea . . . they can go back and get full disability for ALL the years they paid for the odd ball Hepatitis diagnosis, vision issues, hearing issue, heart disease, intestinal issues, liver issues . . .
My dad had partial beginning in 1998. The fed went back and reviewed in October 2011 (he died August 2011) and gave then entire amount back to my mom from 1978 (when the health issues with his liver first appeared and my parents paid out of pocket) and increased her widow's disability benes.
Spread the word . . . they've spent hand over fist for 30/40 years what we should have taken care of for them as Americans. 
