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Veterans who served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1975 (including those who visited Vietnam even briefly), and who have a disease that VA recognizes as being associated with Agent Orange, are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange.
***NOTE***
This includes Navy Veterans who were aboard ships that entered DaNang Harbor
for any length of time. DaNang Harbor is considered an "inland waterway" which is covered by the VA regulations!
***NOTE***
. Th"The evidence of record clearly
shows that Danang Harbor is well sheltered and surrounded on three sides by
the shoreline of Vietnam. A map submitted by the veteran and his
representative indicates that the harbor is nearly totally surrounded by
land and that the entire harbor is located within the territorial boundaries
of Vietnam.
Further, the veteran's description of
his ability to observe the activities on the shoreline is consistent with
the map's indication of the proximity of the land and the water in the area
at issue. As such, given the location of
the harbor as being surrounded by the land on three sides and the evidence
that the harbor is within the territory of Vietnam, and resolving all
doubt in the veteran's favor, the
Board finds that Da Nang Harbor is an inland waterway for the purposes of
the regulation.
Based on the Board's finding that veteran's sojourn in Da Nang Harbor was
service in an inland waterway have occurred, and resolving all doubt in the veteran's favor, Agent Orange exposure is presumed."
- DAV appeal decision 07/29/04
Veterans are eligible for service-connected compensation based on their service, if they have one of the diseases listed below:
Anemia, primary.
Arteriosclerosis.
Arthritis.
Atrophy, Progressive muscular.
Brain hemorrhage.
Brain thrombosis.
Bronchiectasis.
Calculi of the kidney, bladder, or gallbladder.
Cardiovascular-renal disease, including hypertension. (This term applies to combination involvement of the type of arteriosclerosis, nephritis, and organic heart disease, and since hypertension is an early symptom long preceding the development of those diseases in their more obvious forms, a disabling hypertension within the 1-year period will be given the same benefit of service connection as any of the chronic diseases listed.)
Cirrhosis of the liver.
Coccidioidomycosis.
Diabetes mellitus. (Type II Diabetes)
Encephalitis lethargica residuals.
Endocarditis. (This term covers all forms of valvular heart disease.)
Endocrinopathies.
Epilepsies.
Hansen’s disease.
Hodgkin’s disease.
Leukemia.
Lupus erythematosus, systemic.
Myasthenia gravis.
Myelitis.
Myocarditis.
Nephritis.
Other organic diseases of the nervous system.
Osteitis deformans (Paget’s disease).
Osteomalacia.
Palsy, bulbar.
Paralysis agitans.
Psychoses.
Purpura idiopathic, hemorrhagic.
Raynaud’s disease.
Sarcoidosis.
Scleroderma.
Sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral.
Sclerosis, multiple.
Syringomyelia.
Thromboangiitis obliterans (Buerger’s disease).
Tuberculosis, active.
Tumors, malignant, or of the brain or spinal cord or peripheral nerves.
Ulcers, peptic (gastric or duodenal) (A proper diagnosis of gastric or duodenal ulcer (peptic ulcer) is to be considered established if it represents a medically sound interpretation of sufficient clinical findings warranting such diagnosis and provides an adequate basis for a differential diagnosis from other conditions with like symptomatology; in short, where the preponderance of evidence indicates gastric or duodenal ulcer (peptic ulcer). Whenever possible, of course, laboratory findings should be used in corroboration of the clinical data.
Source: VA regulation,
Section 3.309(e)
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NOTICE!!
If you have one of the diseases listed and you were aboard the Strauss when it was in Da Nang Harbor then you should file a VA disability claim, if you haven't already. If your claim was initially denied please file again with the documentation we provide.
Below you will find a link to a page that provides downloadable documents that you need to include with your claim.
One set of documents are copies of VA disability judgments in Agent Orange-related cases. These cases were won on appeal by Blue Water Navy sailors who filed their appeals based on the fact that their ships had entered Da Nang Harbor. One of the cases specifically addresses the issue of whether or not Da Nang Harbor is actually an inland waterway. In this case the Board of Appeals settles the issue and concurs that the harbor does in fact fall into this category. We thank Captain Jay Arnold for his assistance in providing one of the supporting documents from a veteran he served with on the USS White Plains.
The second set of documents you will need is a copy of the deck logs to provide proof that you actually were in DaNang Harbor. We are happy to report that the Association now has a complete set of the deck logs from our tour of duty in Vietnam. The deck logs were acquired from the National Archives in Maryland. We were fortunate to have the assistance of a researcher who specializes in Navy history. We feel that the deck logs will not only prove a valuable resource for our VA claims but also will be an important addition to the Association's archives. In addition to the deck logs the researcher also was able to get copies of the ship's chronologies for each year. The chronologies, sometimes referred to as the ship's histories, are summaries of the ship's activities for each year written by whoever was captain at the time.
Because of the size of the files the ship's deck logs will not be offered as downloadable files. We will be providing them on CDs - one year per CD. Each CD will also include the ship's history for that year. The deck logs are divided by month on the disks for easy reference. We are asking for a small donation of $10.00 plus $2.95 S&H per CD to help defray the costs of research. The entire set of 7 CDs can be purchased for $65.00 plus $8.95 S&H.
Radiation-related illnesses
The Amchitka Effect
Recently we became aware that the VA has a list of radiation-related illnesses that could have affected some sailors who served aboard the USS Joseph Strauss. The sailors affected would have been aboard the Strauss on 3 October 1969. That period was when we were near Amchitka Island for the underground nuclear tests. If you were aboard on that trip and have developed any of the medical conditions listed below then you qualify for presumptive service-connected disability compensation. Presumptive compensation basically means that if you were onboard during the Amchitka cruise and have one of the diseases on the list, the VA presumes that it was caused by radiation exposure and grants you a service-connected disability. So all you need to do to qualify is to provide medical proof of your condition and to prove you were onboard at the time, which you can do with a copy of the 1969 deck logs. A copy of VA regulations pertaining to the Amchitka claim will be including on every 1969 deck log CD. Amchitka references are highlighted in the October 1969 deck logs.
The list of radiation-related presumptive illnesses:
Leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia).
Cancer of the thyroid.
Cancer of the breast.
Cancer of the pharynx.
Cancer of the esophagus.
Cancer of the stomach.
Cancer of the small intestine.
Cancer of the pancreas.
Multiple myeloma.
Lymphomas (except Hodgkin's disease).
Cancer of the bile ducts.
Cancer of the gall bladder.
Primary liver cancer (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated).
Cancer of the salivary gland.
Cancer of the urinary tract.
Bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma.
Cancer of the bone.
Cancer of the brain.
Cancer of the colon.
Cancer of the lung.
Cancer of the ovary.
Note: For the purposes of this section, the term
"urinary tract'' means the kidneys, renal pelves, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra.
 
Click on the button above for more information about
the Blue Water Navy and Agent Orange. |
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One of the highlights of the 2007 USS Joseph Strauss reunion was the introduction of one of our shipmates who has gone on to become a successful author by retelling his colorful Navy experiences in a novel titled "Steve McQueen Would Be Proud". If you ever wished you could go back and relive some of those unforgettable experiences once again, Steve Mitchell is your time machine!
