USS JOSEPH STRAUSS DDG-16

ASSOCIATION

NOTICE!  

Vietnam era ship's logs now available for FREE Download!

     We are happy to report that the USS Joseph Strauss Association now has in its possession 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 could possibly prove a valuable resource for VA disability claims if H.R. 2254 passes (see below). They are also undoubtedly a fascinating bit of history and will surely be an important addition to our 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 whomever was captain at the time.

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 download. 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.