"Military.com" here is "part of the story" the rest is long.Decades Later, Agent Orange Catches Up with Vietnam Veterans
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Many Vietnam War veterans suffer from a variety of disabilities that were presumptively caused by exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides. (US Army photo)
Many Vietnam War veterans suffer from a variety of disabilities that were presumptively caused by exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides. (US Army photo)
Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, KY | Feb 28, 2016 | by Don Wilkins
Snow fell outside the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 696 as its members held their monthly meeting Feb. 9.
Although attendance was down, most of those present were Vietnam veterans receiving some percentage of disability benefits from their exposure to Agent Orange -- a herbicide sprayed by the United States military during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971.
Among them were Billy Milan, Lou Drawdy and Terry Stinson.
They were like thousands of other Vietnam vets who returned home unaware that they had been exposed to the same toxic dioxin that was meant to combat their enemies -- the Viet Cong guerrillas and the North Vietnamese Army, known as "Charlie" to US forces.
Now, decades later, Agent Orange is catching up with Vietnam veterans, leading to debilitating and deadly health problems that range from heart disease to various forms of cancer.
The three men said they were proud veterans but, like many of their comrades, struggle with their Vietnam experience because they live every day with a multitude of illnesses stemming from Agent Orange exposure.
"It was bad enough that you were over there, and Charlie didn't like you," said Drawdy, 73, who served as a Marine and whose diabetes has been attributed to Agent Orange. "... Then you find that all of the hazards that you were exposed to, that maybe, the US government didn't like you."
Stinson, 64, served in Vietnam from 1970 to 1971 as an Air Force aircraft mechanic, working and flying on planes that sprayed Agent Orange.
"I started showing signs when I was 26 years old," said Stinson, who is a severe diabetic due to his exposure. "...Now, here I am 64 years old and I'm taking seven insulin shots a day. ... I can't feel my feet anymore."
Milan, 73, served several tours in Vietnam as part of the Army's Special Forces, 173rd and 101st Infantry Divisions. His first tour was in 1962 and his last in 1971.
"I thought I was a resident of Vietnam," said Milan, who receives 100 percent service-connected disability benefits for high blood pressure, an irregular heart beat and post traumatic stress disorder. "... I knew something was wrong because when the planes flew over to spray for mosquitoes and (the foliage) there was a different smell to it. ...So I had a taste of the Agent Orange."
Lasting Agent Orange Effects
It wasn't until 1991 that Congress passed the Agent Orange Act that gave the Department of Veterans Affairs the power to declare certain health conditions as "presumptive" to dioxin exposure.
The VA, however, doesn't have an accurate count of how many Vietnam veterans suffer from Agent Orange exposure.
"I can't get the Agent Orange statistics because it's not a general diagnosis," said Beth Lamb, Marion, Illinois VA public affairs spokeswoman.
In Daviess County, there is no shortage of Vietnam veterans who are either suffering or dying from exposure to the herbicide.
John Yates used to be involved with local veterans organizations such as the VFW, but his health has declined to the point that he rarely leaves his Cedar Hills home.
He now draws 100 percent disability benefits from his service-connected congestive heart failure and diabetes.
He served in Vietnam as a Navy hospital corpsman with the Third Marine Division from 1968 to 1969.
"I was out in the bush all the time," Yates, 71, recalled. "...I slept on the ground and drank from the streams. The Agent Orange was all over."
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