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Marine Sets the Senate Straight on Vietnam Defoliants and the Damage Done
Agent Orange
- It is clear to many Veterans, Widows, and Damaged Offspring you obviously have no idea what you are talking about -
By Charles Kelley
Camp Carroll Vietnam 67-68 (for Mike)
The Third Marine Division Toxic Chemical Corridor (QL9)
Jim Webb, Senator
United States Senate
Washington, D.C.
Daniel Akaka, Senator
United States Senate
Washington, D.C.
cc: General Eric Shinseki, Secretary Dept. of Veterans Affairs; and Newspapers Everywhere
SUBJECT: Ignorance and/or Arrogance About Defoliants Sprayed in Vietnam
Dear Senators:
Your recent statements about the defoliants used in Vietnam, i.e. Agents Orange, White and Blue and the massive doses per acre in Vietnam by the U.S. Government are absolutely ludicrous.
Neither of you have the knowledge of the facts to make statements like those you have recently uttered about the preliminary presumptive disorders associated to these defoliants. Your statements lack any form of knowledge about:
. Exposure methods, including aerosol
. Environmental characterization of degradation (on top of soil, in the soil, in surface water
supplies, and in ground water supplies such as shallow wells)
. Latest Hatfield reports of environmental dioxins
. Methods of travel of dioxin molecules and half-life in environmental conditions
. The massive amounts of national and international studies on both humans and animals have
concluded many more health impairment issues associated with the defoliants than the three
issues in question. Neither VA nor Congress has added these issues to the approved list of
associated illnesses.
. The dioxin effects are issues “over life” to include, for some victims, generational follow-on
effects including skipping a generation that is still not addressed by this government.
. Ranch Hand scientists testifying under oath in your own Congressional mandated study
concluded dioxin associations and Veteran increases to:
1. Cancers in “all sites”, not just the few you and the VA have allowed
2. Increased paternal exposure birth defects paralleling exactly the medical issues the VA awarded
for maternal exposures for Service in Vietnam not tied to dioxins per se {nice touch on the part of
our lying government}
3. Heart disease
4. Vascular disease
5. Neurological ailments
6. Endocrine disturbances
7. Hematological issues
8. Combinations of ailments in joint weakness, muscle wasting, fever, disabling daily chronic
fatigue, etc.
Veterans have had to continue the fight since day one after Vietnam against government collusion from:
. White House directives to federal agencies not to find associations
. Lack of Congressional concern for personal monetary reasons
. Command influence in the study meant to determine issues. Protocol violations commanded by the White House
. Concluding medical statements changed by the Air Force after they were cleared for publication
as to the findings by government scientists.
Scientists reported several times to Congress the lack of integrity in the $160 million dollar, 25-year study that it is hopelessly flawed because of at least two fatal assumptions. The VA and Congress totally ignored the found scientific evidence with your own EPA and prestigious research groups and prestigious research universities (including international findings of associations – to include sce/dna damages still on-going as of three years ago in Vietnam Veterans).
Senators, the White House command to shelve EPA reports dates back as far as 1979 when we were fighting for our lives, medically speaking. Congress and the VA have totally ignored the neuropsychological/neuropsychiatric issues found associated to the dioxin TCDD – (admitted to even by the chemical companies in 1965 when dioxins exceed their recommendations; and, found in other occupations using dioxins).
It is clear to many Veterans, Widows, and Damaged Offspring you obviously have no idea what you are talking about.
The real question must be “why any Veteran, Widow, or Damaged Offspring or any friends of Veterans who appreciate their service would ever vote for either of you again or any elected official that stands with your ignorant statements and distortion of the truth.”
Both of you have failed to realize the United States Government and its Department of Defense is responsible for killing more Vietnam Veterans and maiming or disabling them than the entire North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong combined could ever have hoped to accomplish.
The lies by our government have been continuous and I hope that one day America.s sons and daughters will see through this government ruse regarding our issues and those of the Gulf War as well. It will become a National Security issue when no one will serve in our military because of elected officials like you; no matter what the bonus and pay scale is for services rendered.
The public needs to know that our government does not stand behind its soldiers and your placating words of thanks really do indeed mean nothing!
The cost of war is the actual dollar cost and the injury, death and overall loss in manpower supporting chemically wounded Veterans. This also includes paying for Department of Defense mistakes created by the arrogance of the Kennedy and Johnson White Houses. Our scientists and those of the international community begged these administrations and petitioned them not to create this “War of Mass Destruction.”
What is so mind boggling and inexcusable in overview is that we tainted, already exposed Veterans were not used to study the development of outside causation of cancers; leukemia; lymphoma.s; multiple myeloma; autoimmune disorders; protein disorders; endocrine issues; blood, liver, lipoid metabolism, neurological, and cardiovascular issues to include stroke and brain atrophy. The entire world missed a chance to study these developing issues at biological levels and perhaps find out how to cure these death and disabilities issues or at least prevent some of them for the entire world and future generations.
Instead our own U.S. Government has done nothing but lie to the Vietnam Veterans as well as deny the existence of government exposures in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Korean DMZ inclusive dates, and many other areas from the military world both home and abroad. Your statements only serve to further emphasize the lack of caring from a Congress and one more President that simply doesn’t give a damn!
You lied about the Mustard Gas Testing, Nuclear Testing, LSD Testing, Project 112 and SHAD testing, you continue to try and lie to us as well as our Gulf War Syndrome Veterans. Senators, both of you even continue your lies to the general population about the real hazards of these pesticides and herbicides that by default create dioxins in the environment.
I am sure those reading this letter will want to go right out and enlist and serve this nation knowing exactly how they will be treated by not only President after President, but our own members of Congress, including the two of you. This government and both of you are contributing to one of the greatest government cover-ups of lies and deceit in the history of mankind. It is time for America to know the truth about the Congressional deception that is going on and the two of you will have Hell to pay at reelection time.
Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=42069
Posted by Yanira Farray on Jul 28 2010, With 0 Reads, Filed under Agent Orange, Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Thanks Michael for having this in your column. I actually learned some new things. Not the same old whine and complain journalism that leads nowhere. Where the buck stops in this article is congress.
Facts are out there Agent Orange did do bad things to veterans and local Vietnamese and still does. This is a fact many knew of in the 70′s. This is a fact many in the VA system with congressional approval ignored.
Many over the years love to dump on the VA. Where the real anger dumping should be is on congress. Because it is congress that sets laws and gives money.
Mr. Kelly
If the Senators really careded they would have done something a long time ago. The problem I have is that they just dond’t give a darn. Giving a VietNam vet what he or she sould rightfully get may in fact cut into the Senat and Congress not being able to give themselves a big fat pay hike or perhaps cut into some stupid program in there home state that on one really wants or needs excet for the fact that they can say look what I did for a friend of theres at the expence of the vets. ( Of course they can’t say at the cost of the Vets). Besides that if they tryied to figure out what the medical researchers where saying nothing would ever get done. They would need to buy a medical dictionary to figure out what was said. Also some one to read it to them that had some knowledge ot what things in the dictionary neant. But they all get there’s and that is all they care about. I’m still waiting for the PTSD and isctenic cardio myopathey approval.
Thanks for listing
Jim Troupe
It is not about money to veterans but the truth. The truth is our nation’s leaders can not accept the truth. THE TRUTH IS OUR NATION’S LEADERS ARE IN DENIAL. The truth is our veterans exposed to AO and their children, grandchilren will not rest until the truth is told and is acknowledged. BAILOUTS ARE SCHEMES TO PROVIDE FOR THE RICH. DENIAL OF THE EVIDENCE AND HERBICIDAL GENOCIDE TO OUR VETERANS IS A WAR CRIME. THE GENETIC DESTRUCTION OF OUR VIETNAM VETERANS CHILDREN IS A WAR CRIME. THE CONTINUE DENIAL AND LACK OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IS A WAR CRIME ON EVERY ADMINISTRATION AND EVERY CONGRESSIONAL MEMBER THAT REMAINS SILENT. THERE WERE EVEN DEPENDENT MLIITARY CHILDREN DIRECTLY EXPOSED ON GUAM AND THEY HAVE NO HELP NOR ANY INSTITUTE LIKE THE FORD FOUNDATION OR ASPEN INSTITUTE TO HELP THEM. THEY DIDN’T EVEN KNOW WHY THEY HAD ALL THESE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES BECAUSE OUR GOVERNMENT FAILED THEM AND FAILED TO NOTIFY THEM.
As a child of a Vietnam Veteran who passed away from exposure to agent orange six years ago… thank you for saying it. I was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism, one of the things that my dad suffered from. 2 of my sisters also have thyroid disease, and type 2 diabetes. I watched my father become ill in his mid-30s and he passed away at the age of 54. I have 2 sons now, only 1 that my father has ever met. I wonder about how the agent orange will affect them too. It isn’t right.
Dioxin discharged from chlorine-bleaching pulp and paper mills in the U.S. and other countries is exactly the same 2,3 7-8 TCDD as Agent Orange. Our pulp and paper mill communities and the people, wildlife, and environment in those communities are being exposed to the same toxics that our military and the Vietnamese were/are exposed to and are still being terribly affected by today.
Is the EPA responding? No.
Is the EPA attempting to address the situation? No.
Is Congress? No.
Who is? We are. We have to make them listen and then act.
God bless Daniel Akaka and then may he send him straight to hell.
And please add Jim Webb and John McCain to that list as well.
Thank you so much for this statement to Senators Akaka and Webb. If they want to save taxpayers money then they should lead by example and give up their free medical and retirement benefits, which they receive as politiciansfor which we the taxpayers foot the bills. And, if they don’t want to take care of the military then don’t send them to war. If they bring the military back from Afghanistan and Iraq that would save billions, possibly trillions of dollars, not counting decreasing the TBI that military personnel suffer from daily, the alcholism, drug addiction, domestic violence, divorces, and suicides, just to mention a few of the problems that military personnel suffer during and after the aftermath of war….but then big business would suffer financially and gosh we don’t want to have to bail them all out again do we…? Cliff Grady, Vietnam Vet, USAF Medic, DaNang, 66-67.
As go our Veterans and their families, so will go our citizens. It’s not possible for this government to admit that contaminants are a problem across this nation without admitting what has happened to our Vietnam Era Veterans, Civilian support Personnel, dependents, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. If we (the example of what happens when those in charge get it wrong) don’t speak up and continue to speak up effectively, then this will only get worse. Mr. Kelley, nice job! Mass destruction is what it is. What is becoming apparent, by way of our life experiences, is that the destruction is not only mass, it is prolonged, painful and generational in human terms. If we all work together and never let our voices be silenced, it will hopefully have generational political ramifications too! Vote the Congressional dinosaurs responsible for our situation out of office and don’t ever vote their children into office. The health effects of contamination have been imposed on our generations by the “American Elite”. We have the power (with our votes) to ensure that the political effects of our contamination are imposed upon the generations of “American Elite”. They can only be elite, if we’re stupid enough to keep voting them into office.
There seems to be a pattern here. The military has lied to “ALL” veterans. The above named Senators SHOULD be voted out of office and sent to Siberia along with Tony Hayward of BP.
OH, and lets not forget Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.
God Bless ALL Veterans, past and present. The Camp Lejeune Survivors salute ALL of you. You have served your country with pride and dignity.
Check out the link below! Is someone making a profit by not providing benefits to Veterans? Are they making a profit on our wounded Veterans and families? How dare they!!!!! http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Employer=The_Veterans_Administration_%28United_States%29/Profit_Sharing/by_Benefit
My gf was pursued as being a top ROTC candidate and she told them to go to hell after we met. I told her what its like to be a vet.
Go ahead, ignore us, lie to us and see what comes of this nation:
“The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.”
~Calvin Coolidge~
I agree with Chekawa. This was a great letter to weeb and the other guy. Thank you.
we should all keep this at the forefront in the next elections of these two along with Mc Cain. I can’t understand how weeb can turn his back on the Vets he served with. His wife’s homeland receives millions of dollars a year to help clean up the mess our government left behind. I have 5 grandson’s my oldest wants to join the Corp like PaPaw will do everything I can to change his mind. This government will not live up to it’s obligations all young people should shun the military. Let weeb and his buddies fight the next war. He can be a hero again.