Not To Be Read By Agent Orange Victims
by G. Duff
Note: Agent Orange vicims requested not to read this. I only write for living people. Agent Orange was little but a childish game for a couple of dozen lawyers and crooked politicians while something could be done. Even Bush should know that denying benefits to the dead is not economically worthwhile.
The "Agent Orange" issue and everything about it has been a joke in this country for decades. When they started using AO in Vietnam, the "Communists" claimed it was poisoning people and causing birth defects. We called that "propaganda" and kept up the spraying.
We knew all along they were right and millions have suffered there and still are. http://www.ghorganics.com/Dioxin%20Contamination%20in%20Vietnam.htm
AO is not the poison. AO was made with DIOXIN. http://www.ejnet.org/dioxin/
http://www.vn-agentorange.org/
Continual medical studies, often of the same quality that found potential damage from cigarette smoking "INCONCLUSIVE" for decades was funded by the military, the VA and encouraged by the companies that profited from killing our soldiers, quite knowingly, with some of the most powerful poisons known to man.
Not one person has spent a day in jail over this crime. Not one public official has been fired, demoted or reprimanded for the coverup.
READ MORE FOR WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW AND WHAT YOU CAN DO……..
Current issues involving the Bush administration's attempts to indicate that AO was not carried in the air run directly contrary to current studies of AO exposure from power plants. Denying veterans funding has now become another critical "CONSERVATIVE ISSUE", and really has no meaning.
Now Veterans are considered an "easy target" by the same "family values" phonies. Be thankful they are proving to be self destructive and have fallen into disrepute.
Going into the history of AO is a waste of time. There was a lawsuit, years ago and AO victims got little from it. Do note that the thieving lawyers were mostly Democrats.
After a few "childish" studies, the VA began, in earnest, in the mid 1990s, to reach out to some potential AO victims.
In private and personal discussions with VA personnel during this process, I learned that VA personnel examining Vietnam Veterans were finding a surprising number with AO diseases, many advanced WELL PAST THE POINT OF "NO RETURN".
Along with the accepted list of diseases that the VA treats and that veterans can receive compensation for, one has been ignored purposefully.
AO VICIMS SUFFER UNUSUAL JOINT DETERIORATION AND SEVERE INFLAMATORY PAIN. THIS IS MADE WORSE BY WEIGHT GAIN FROM PTSD.
MANY SURVIVING VETERANS, THOUGH BEING TREATED, SOME WITH JOINT REPLACEMENTS, ARE BEING MISLED AS TO THE CAUSE OF THEIR PROBLEMS.
STUDIES ARE NOT BEING DONE NOR ARE STATISTICS BEING COMPILED OR REPORTED.
IN FACT, TREATMENT FOR CRIPLING CONDITIONS OF THIS KIND IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GET FROM THE VA.
EVEN IF AO WAS NOT INVOLVED, ANY COMBAT SOLDIER WILL SUFFER JOINT INJURIES LIKE THOSE OF FOOTBALL PLAYERS. WE HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN THIS BUT AO INVOLVEMENT HAS MADE THIS MUCH WORSE.
If you are suffering from arthritic or joint problems you have a few options available to you. The most successful is joint replacement. The VA can and will do this and are more than capable of doing it properly.
The VA can treat CHRONIC PAIN in a number of ways. Severe joint pain can be treated with injections. HOWEVER, DO NOTE THAT THESE PAIN INJECTIONS ARE STEROIDS AND CAN CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN AND OTHER DAMAGE.
MANY AO VICTIMS ARE ON PAINKILLERS FOR THIS PROBLEM INCLUDING TRAMADOL, VICODIN AND OTHERS. DO NOTE THAT TRAMADOL (http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/237329) IS ADDICTIVE AND WITHDRAWAL FROM TRAMADOL IS TERRIBLE.
NOBODY WILL TELL YOU THIS. THANK YOU PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY!!!!
AO diseases, such as Diabetes and the endless list of Cancers are also "disabilities" that can be subject to VA DISABILITY COMPENSATION CLAIMS. Unless you file such a claim, using support from your VA medical records, you will not receive compensation.
HOWEVER, STRESS RELATED TO THE TRAUMA OF AN AO RELATED DISEASE IS "SERVICE CONNECTED" AND, TECHNICALLY "PTSD" AND IS OFTEN MORE SERIOUS AND THAT THE DISEASE ITSELF.
IT MAY ACTUALLY BE A MORE SERIOUS SOURCE OF DISABILITY. MANY VETERANS BEING TREATED FOR AO RELATED CANCERS SUFFER PTSD AND RELATED DEPRESSION AND PANIC ATTACKS AND ARE UNABLE TO, NOT ONLY WORK, BUT FUNCTION AT ALL.
TREATMENT FOR THIS IS NEEDED AND SHOULD BE SOUGHT. DISABILTY COMPENSATION SHOULD ALSO BE SOUGHT, INDEPENDENTLY SUPPORTED AND FILED FOR SEPARATE OF OTHER MEDICAL ISSUES.
One of my friends, I will call him "Terry", since that is his name, is a victim of four AO cancers which are currently in remission. He also has severe heart valve damage related to his service connected medical problems and will be getting a valve replacement soon.
We get together irregularly and he will be driving down from Michigan in a few days for lunch and an afternoon of talking and goofing around. Since retiring on disability for his AO cancers and PTSD, he has been active in veterans organizations (some of the ones I pick on all the time) and in projects supporting the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has also worked with more than a few veterans with PTSD and AO related problems, using what he learned from me and his own experiences.
Activism has changed his life. He accomplishes far more than I could ever dream to. Volunteering in any way possible can only make your life fuller and better. It is our way of showing that "being ignored" is far from being beaten.
In the past few weeks, we have gotten people from this site helping each other with claims with documents moving back and forth and real phone calls.
My point, of course, is that some of us need help and many of us have help to offer. Building communities close to home or across the country can "get the word out" and maybe keep some of alive a bit longer.
Too many veterans have died alone already.
I have put this information "out there". Many of you can add to it or share your experiences. Many of you know people you can reach. Some of you need help now.
Facing disease and stress is difficult. Some of us have families. Some of us also have friends. Some of us have no one.
Do what you can.
Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.
Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
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