Vietnam Vets Still Feel Agent Orange Toxic Aftereffects

WILDWOOD – The N.J. Council of Vietnam Veterans of America held the third in a series on the effects of Agent Orange on veterans’ children and grandchildren. The event was held at American Legion Post 184 Oct. 19.
The meeting provided updates on pending legislation, tips on how to file for benefits and heart-wrenching stories of the devastating toxic substances that continue to wreak on veterans 40 years since the chemical was first used during the Vietnam War.
John LeGates, first vice president of the council, opened by stating a veteran’s observation, “We got out of Vietnam but Vietnam never got out of us.” With that remark, LeGates set the stage for the litany of testimony participating veterans used to describe the effects of toxic substances such as Agent Orange, dioxin, DDT and other herbicides the U.S. military sprayed over huge swaths of territory in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 70s to aid combat.
A number of veterans related how, not only their children but also their grandchildren have suffered unusual diseases, and physical, learning and hormonal disorders. Many of those children, now middle-aged adults, continue a daily prescription medicine regime two pages long just to keep going.
The veterans also told about their own difficulties with fertility including complete sterility as well as their wives experiencing miscarriages and other childbirth abnormalities believed to be associated directly with veterans’ exposure to those toxic substances.
According to the latest available figures there are more than 17,000 veterans and their families touched by the effects of defoliants used during the Vietnam War. According to another statistic, the U.S. government’s use of toxic substances during the Vietnam War starting from the 17th parallel and moving south defoliated an area equal to the entire state of N.J.
By 1977 those who were exhibiting signs of health deterioration began to match their stories and create data banks for research and treatment.
A precedent that aided in this endeavor were cases linked to defoliant usage during the Korean War along the DMZ on the Korean peninsula. Nevertheless even today many veterans still do not understand their physical and psychological problems and those of their children and grandchildren might likely be tied to the use of these toxic substances during the war. And if they do, they frequently first blame themselves, however illogical that sentiment is.
According to Mike Eckstein, council chairman, “Present pending legislation is the best we’ve seen ever and gives us the strongest encouragement to date that finally Congress will do something to help address the effects of these toxic substances on veterans and their families.”
He was referring to bills both in the Senate and the House that would establish, in the Department of Veterans Affairs, a national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of the descendants of veterans exposed to toxic substances during service in the armed forces.
Eckstein urged veterans to contact their elected representatives to ensure passage of this legislation and stressed that their continuous follow-up would be needed to fund and perpetuate any successful enactment.
The purpose of the town hall meeting was:
• Attending veterans realized they are not alone when confronting crushing health issues of their offspring as relates to their military service.
• They also learned that there are many support services and detailed websites that will assist them in receiving the benefits to which they are entitled. And maybe of most importance – informative gatherings such as this one give veterans and their families hope for the future that there will be solutions to the overwhelming health issues many have been grappling with on their own.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.