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National Conference and Actions on Agent Orange

By VVAW

Memorial Day, 1981—a Day of Action! During the weekend of Memorial Day, May 22-25, the National Veterans Task Force on Agent Orange is holding a conference in Washington, DC to discuss the latest developments in the fight to get testing, treatment and compensation for victims of Agent Orange. In conjunction with this conference, VVAW is organizing a series of actions to bring the fight to the streets of Washington.

VVAW is one of 28 members of the Task Force which was formed in June 1979 to provide veterans' groups with a vehicle to coordinate efforts around Agent Orange poisoning. The May conference will include scientific panels, small group workshops, strategy planning and updates on the present status of the many activities going on to win testing, treatment and compensation for Agent Orange victims. Information will be available on the Veterans Class-Action suit against the manufacturers of Agent Orange, on sending for records, on filing for disabilities.

VVAW's call to carry the fight to the streets, a call now joined by a number of other groups, is in part intended to build the conference. A picket line, scheduled for May 22 will begin at noon at the central offices of the V.A. (810 Vermont in Washington), and will be followed by a march past the White House and rally in Lafayette Park at 2pm. Vets will both demand the presence of the V.A. at the Agent Orange Conference to explain its footdragging on the issue, and protest the cuts in V.A. funds as part of Regan's economic plan.

Following the Conference (which will begin at 9AM on the 23rd at American University) there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in memorial to Agent Orange victims, a group which is sure to be omitted from the "official" Memorial Day ceremonies on the following day.

While more and more vets are becoming aware of the problems and potential problems of exposure to Agent Orange (often because we have no choice since we see the symptoms) there is a need to make the problems more widely known. Because the government refuses to live up to its obligations to Agent Orange victims, vets have to carry the brunt of the battle to win testing, treatment and compensation. With actions such as those planned around the Agent Orange Conference, vets will continue to win the kind of overall support that is necessary to get what we need.