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Vets' Notes: Cutting Through Red Tape, Making Sense of Regs

By VVAW

SELF-HELP GUIDE TO AGENT ORANGE

The V.A.'s hard at it again, doing all it can to meet the needs of vets, just like its charter says it's supposed to do. According to Max Cleland, V.A. Administrator (and triple amputee Vietnam vet), Agent Orange victims should have a "good idea within two years whether their health is likely to deteriorate as a result (of their exposure)." That is, of course, if they aren't dead first.

Cleland is convinced that he too was exposed to Agent Orange. But he is also convinced that "studies just getting underway will establish what no one now can prove: that Agent Orange has no lingering effects to debilitate a veteran years after he encountered it."

As V.A. director, Cleland will, of course, be instrumental in the decision as to who gets the money for the Agent Orange study, planned to be completed by 1982, and for which bids are in and the contract is to be awarded in the near future. Of course, the study will be as independent as hell, and the fact that the director of the organization for the study has already decided what the conclusion should be will have no effect on the study. And after you believe that, just recall all the generals and admirals who went to Vietnam in order to be able to echo the statements from the government about the valiant troops of South Vietnam, and about how there was a light at the end of the tunnel! Even out in the field in Vietnam, we often came up with the body counts that our distant commanders decided we should have—whether we had them or not (and if we didn't, then the figures were added on later).

While it's certainly nice that Max has decided Agent Orange was harmless, his decision means nothing at all to vets suffering from the effects of Agent Orange poisoning. In fact, all of Max's decisions will do nothing at all to help one child whose deformities are the result of his father's exposure to Agent Orange.

In fact, putting the V.A. in charge of the projected study is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop. When the issue of Agent Orange first made headlines, one V.A. official told VVAW that "The V.A. will only move (to test and treat Agent Orange) when it's forced to do so." His prediction has proved to b exactly on the mark. Angry vets taking to the streets and brining up issues of Agent Orange at every opportunity, the consistent glare of publicity, occasional politicians jumping on the bandwagon in response to widespread concern—all of these things have forced the V.A. to move from its original head-in-the-sand position, even though it hasn't moved anywhere near far enough. The pressure continues to grow, and the V.A. can only attempt to avoid its responsibilities by "studies" and "advisory committees" so long.

Where does all this leave the Vietnam vet who thinks he or she may have been exposed to Agent Orange and that he or she may have some of the symptoms of Agent Orange poisoning? In addition to joining with VVAW to keep the fight for testing, treatment, and compensation growing, there are several steps the vet can and should take.

Join the class action suit.

A consortium of lawyers headed by Victor Yannacone of New York (he also was part of the law suit which led to the banning of DDT back in the 1960's) has filed a class-action suit against the five chemical companies which manufactured Agent Orange, demanding that they set up a trust fund (which could run as high as $4.2 billion) to be used by the V.A. for testing, treatment and compensation of victims of Agent Orange.

1. Find a lawyer; most VVAW Chapters are already in tough with local lawyers who are hooked up with the nationwide effort; in other places, VVAW can get you (or your lawyer) in touch with the nearest clearinghouse for the class-action suit. In many places the lawyers are feeding their information into a data bank which will provide needed statistics for doctors in the future.
2. Get your military records. Fill out a standard 180 form (available at any V.A. office or hospital) to get your military records (your Army 201 file or the Service record Book for Navy or Marine vets). Go on the V.A. regional Office or write to get a copy of all records pertaining to your symptoms or experiences concerning Agent Orange. If you've been to the V.A. since getting out, your service medical records should be at the V.A. closest to where you live. Of you've been treated for any of the symptoms of Agent Orange poisoning, get the medical records from the V.A. hospital where the treatment took place.
3. You can write for the relevant portion of the HERBS tapes, the computerized listing in the Defense Department which cover up to 80% of the agent Orange sprayings in Vietnam. Give your unit, dates in Vietnam, and where you were. The address is; COL Elbert W. Friday, Office of Environmental and Life Sciences, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Washington, DC 20301.
4. Make copies of all the records—one copy for you to hold on to, and one copy for the lawyer. Once the suit against the chemical giants is won, the individuals within the class action suit can sue for damages based on their individual case records.

The class action suit is one means by which the Vietnam vet affected by Agent Orange can begin to get involved to win the testing, treatment and compensation for Agent Orange victims and their families. Vets who believe they are suffering from Agent Orange symptoms should also file a claim and get the medical exam being given at V.A. hospitals. The V.A. bureaucracy is as bad as ever; the medical exam isn't much good at this point, and even getting the paperwork done is an exercise in frustrating lines and delays. But it's still worth the effort. When claims are finally paid by the V.A. they will be paid from the time your claim was filed. The data from the medical exams may be useful to researchers. And the number of vets actually filing clams is looked at closely by Congress to see how much pressure really exists for pushing the V.A. to do something realistic.

To get the medical exam and file your claim:

1. As in the legal situation, get your records; the process is the same.
2. Get down the facts; the Veterans Education Project (1346 Connecticut Ave NW, Rm 904, Washington, DC 20036)—whose publication "The Veteran's Self-Help Guide on Agent Orange" is the basis of these step-by-step instructions—provides a questionnaire for the vet to fill out on his or her own. What's needed is, of course, when and where you were in Vietnam and with what unit or units; when and where you think you might have been exposed to Agent Orange; symptoms and other problems which may turn out to be related to Agent Orange. Those of us who stomped around the jungles know we have no way of coming up with the particular date when we saw planes spraying Agent Orange; mostly we didn't even know where we were—certainly not exactly. It was anywhere from 15 to 9 years ago and every day looked like every other day—dates meant little except to figure how many more days in Nam. So come as close as you can. If you haven't kept contact with people from your unit, it's worth the effort to try to renew contact: the more memories the better, and it may be important in the future to have supporting testimony around exposure.
3. File the claim; it can be done at any V.A. office, and there should be counselors there to help with the paperwork.
4. Get a free medical exam. This can be done at any V.A. medical center; a V.A. circular (DM&S Cir 10-79-83) requires you be given a full exam; get a copy of the results and of your medical records. This exam is mandatory no matter what kind of discharge you may have.

Neither of these approaches will win vets the testing, treatment and compensation that we baldy need. They are only early steps in the process. Keeping the pressure on, keeping the issue in front both of vets and of the American people builds the kind of pressure which forces the V.A. to begin to do its job—in fact the few short steps the V.A. has taken this far are the result of doing what they were forced to do.

VVAW Chapters are working with all aspects of Agent Orange; most chapters are in contact with local lawyers working on the class-action suit—or we can get the addresses. We can help with some of the V.A. paperwork or in some places we're working with doctors who are way ahead of the V.A. in terms of testing and treatment. Give us a call and join the struggle.

FROM INSIDE THE VA

The following comes from a transcript of a V.A. Conference Call from the central office to the regional offices; the speaker is Dr. Richard Levinson from V.A.'s Professional Services. The call was made on March 14, 1980, almost two years from the time that the Agent Orange story hit the front page around the country.

"The Administrator has told us repeatedly that in his own personal experience he has contacted hospitals and clinics and asked them relatively simple questions about their Agent Orange program and received the answer that nobody knows about it." (He then requests the names of individuals who can respond to questions.) "We suggest that it can be an administrative person who can take the initial calls if you wish, but they must be informed about your program. If they are not informed, then I suspect that we will continue to have trouble from veterans organizations and others claiming that our people do not know about the Agent Orange Program." You Bet!

A long-time friend and supporter of VVAW in Wisconsin is building an organization of civilians exposed to Agent Orange, 2,4-D or 2,4,5-T. If you, or people you know, fall into that category, please contact:

Don Myers
Civilian Victims of Agent Orange
5519 6th Ave
Kenosha, WI 53140
(414) 654-4411