First C-123 Veteran Agent Orange VA Claim Denial!

June 12 - A C-123K veteran just received the VA's denial of his Agent Orange disability claim! Every ailment specified was denied with the identical wording with the VA's Public Health posting:

"--The evidence does not show an event, disease or injury in service
 --We did not find a link between your medical condition and military service
 --The evidence does not show the location(s) of your military service, or the events you experienced therein, qualify for the presumption of service connection for your disease"

The explanation in each ailment denial was also identical, and word-for-word in line with the VA's published C-123 Agent Orange exposure denial as penned by T. Irons and W. Dick for their SOT poster display:

"We are unable to verify or document that aircrew members were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting from Agent Orange residue or dioxin contaminated aircraft or aircraft parts. Although residual TCDD, the toxic substance in Agent Orange, may be detected in C-123 aircraft by sophisticated laboratory techniques many years after its use, the Office of Public Health concluded that the existing scientific studies and reports support a low probability that TCDD was biologically available in these aircraft. Therefore, the potential for exposure to TCDD from flying or working in contaminated C-123 aircraft years after the Vietnam War is unlikely to have occurred at levels that could affect health."

So much for the VA's promise that "every C-123 veteran's claim will be considered individually." Despite the opinion of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry that exposure was likely, despite supporting opinions of four highly esteemed PhD's, despite support from the American Legion and Vietnam Veterans of America, despite their own common sense. The VA's the Portland Veterans Service Manager, timid K. Kalama, caved to political pressure and weird science to dash our hopes of justice.  The VA's "duty to assist" seems to have been restricted to providing me the address to send the claim to, and the mailing back of their denial after more than a year of "careful" consideration. 

Next step, an appeal and then the Board of Veterans Appeals, and finally federal courts. We will not let this rest!

--

    Wes Carter

New England NPR Covers C-123 Agent Orange Saga

Yesterday the New England National Public Radio covered our  C-123 Agent Orange issue with an interview of last Sunday's Springfield Sunday Republican feature, reporter Jeanette DeForge.

Click here to listen:

AIRCREWS, MAINTENANCE FOLKS AND AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION CREWS ALL WERE EXPOSED TO DEADLY DIOXIN REMAINING IN OUR AIRPLANES AFTER THEIR SERVICE IN VIETNAM!

AIR FORCE TESTS FIRST ESTABLISHED THE DIOXIN CONTAMINATION IN 1994 WITH AN EXAMINATION OF PATCHES (TAIL 362) AS IT WAS PREPARED FOR DISPLAY INSIDE THE AIR FORCE MUSEUM. THE TOXICOLOGISTS, DR. RON PORTER AND CAPTAIN WADE WEISMAN, LEARNED THAT PATCHES AND THE OTHER AIRCRAFT WERE "HEAVILY CONTAMINATED", AND LATER, DR. PORTER TESTIFIED IN FEDERAL COURT THAT THE C-123S WE FLEW WERE"A DANGER TO PUBLIC HEALTH!"

All current entries about the C-123 Agent Orange problem are found at:

www.c123kcancer.blogspot.com

We also post all the source documents there.

You can help! The USAF School of Aerospace Medicine has been tasked with researching our potential exposure to dioxin. They need flight orders, Form 5s, photographs of the aircraft which might show dirt, red clay, black gunk. They need personal recollections of any cleaning efforts.

We all know Patches and some of the other spray aircraft really stank! But that wasn't Agent Orange, which is odorless. Instead...we were smelling what was most likely malathyon, left from insect control operations. The Agent Orange settled into nooks and crannies, soaked into wood and fabric surfaces, and penetrated the paint throughout the aircraft. 

Did you fly the C-123 between 1972 and 1982? If so, you've been exposed to Agent Orange. We all need to contact the VA's Agent Orange Registry Hotline at 1(800) 749-8387.

Filing a claim with the VA means you've applied for medical and pension benefits due to your service-connected illness or injury. In our case, exposure to Agent Orange means a higher-than-average risk of heart disease, prostate cancer, soft tissue sarcoma and a whole list of other potential illnesses. 

Once your claim is approved (that's our current struggle...convincing the VA that the proven contamination in the aircraft equals exposure) you can receive the medical care you need and, if appropriate, a pension.

You can do this on your own by accessing the VA's web site and completing their forms online. We recommend instead accepting the services of one of the veterans' service organizations. Groups like the VFW, DAV, Paralyzed Veterans and Vietnam Veterans of America are eager to have their case management specialists assist you in building a successful claim. They do all the work, expertly and for free!

please go to www.c123kcancer.blogspot.com for correct URL