By TIM UNRUH
Federal money is finding its way to American Vietnam veterans who were harmed by Agent Orange exposure in the nearly 50 years since the war ended.
Now the Vietnam Veterans of America is out to ramp up pressure to compensate affected descendants of those soldiers who fought in Southeast Asia.
The Salina-based VVA Chapter 809 is planning a Veterans Town Hall Meeting from 9 to noon Oct. 19 at The Temple, 336 S,. Santa Fe, in downtown Salina, to encourage reporting of suspected effects passed on from Agent Orange.
The keynote speaker is Maynard Kaderlik, 77, Vietnam veteran from Montgomery, MI. He and his brother Les Kaderlik, 78, also a Vietnam vet, both have dealt with cancer. There is no other cancer in their family histories, Maynard said.
But he has a son with a severe learning disability and two autistic granddaughters.
“That’s what really got me going on Agent Orange,” he said.
Maynard, who will speak only for himself in Salina, and not as a representative of any organizations, is hoping all service groups will get onboard. He said these effects are spreading through the generations of veterans.
“The children are our future,” he said. “When it came home to roost in my family, that’s when I decided I needed to fight this fight.”
One way is to keep pressure on the federal government, Kaderlik said, and influence the Veterans Administration to commit help.
“The effects of Agent Orange can indeed be passed on through the genes,” wrote Sammy L. Davis, a Vietnam veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, in a Feb. 27 email response to questions.
“I tell everyone to go get checked and make sure it’s not affecting you or your family,” he added.
The “tactical herbicide” used by the U.S. military to control vegetation during the war, has been proven to cause cancer and many other medical issues from those who were exposed.
After “a long fight,” the Veterans Administration relented, said Jim Deister, former Salina VVA chapter president.
“The government said there was no proof that Agent Orange caused any of the problems that veterans were complaining about,” Deister said. “But when vets would meet at reunions, etc., and discussed their problems, things seemed to be similar. At the same time, farmers were developing cancers from the use of herbicides like RoundUp, which has many of the same ingredients as Agent Orange. Between the veterans and farmers — numbers which could not be denied — the government was forced to study it.”
If a Vietnam vet served “where Agent Orange was prevalent, and has an issue identified as one that is caused by Agent Orange, they are automatically eligible for compensation,” Deister said.
Now the issue has broadened.
“The situation is that there are indications that Agent Orange and other toxic exposures affect not only the veterans, but their offspring,” he said, including Vietnam veterans’ children and grandchildren.
But national VVA representatives who visited the Denver Regional VA office determined the filing of claims and the care and treatment of the descendants, were lacking, he said, sharing information from Sandra Wilson, who chairs the VVA’s Agent Orange & Toxic Exposures Committee.
“What they found is that the VA acknowledges fewer applications than what the VVA records show there should be,” Deister said.
Wilson backed that up in a column she wrote in the November/December issue of The VVA Veteran Magazine.
“We must provide records to substantiate our concerns about the health impact on our offspring. Data outside the VA suggest that our 200 health problems may result from toxic exposure to changing in DNA,” Wilson wrote. “Some of our children are not 50 years old, and many have remained silent about their problems, This silence needs to end. It is crucial for families and future generations that we urge the government to acknowledge and address these issues.”
More research is needed, said Doug Randolph, president of Salina VVA Chapter 809, agreeing there is enough anecdotal evidence to suggest there might be a genetic connection to Agent Orange and other toxins from the Vietnam War.
“You have to have some medical people who can verify what’s going on,” he said.
Armed with “the generation of demand through numbers,” Wilson wrote, “we can persuade authorities to conduct proper research and provide care.”
All are welcome to attend the Oct.19 Town Hall gathering. Registration of those affected by toxic exposure — from Agent Orange, burn pit exposure or other sources — will be taken, along with reports of birth defects in offspring.
Lunch will be provided. To learn more, call (785) 822-4085.
FACTOID:
Veterans of all wars, along with friends and family members, gather from 9 to 11 a.m. or after most Wednesdays and Fridays in the basement of The Temple, 336 S. Santa Fe.
It’s hosted by the Vietnam Veterans of America, Salina Chapter 809.
Information on Agent Orange and other Vietnam era toxic exposures, is available there.
The next VVA Town Hall is aimed at expanding awareness on the Agent Orange issue that continues to grow as victims report their experiences.
Children of vets with toxic military exposures have higher rates of birth defects and disabilities, according to the National Birth Defect Registry.
Birth Defect Research for Children has worked with Vietnam veterans’ families since 1986 when the first Agent Orange Class Assistance Programs were funded, according to birthdefects.org.
Tim Unruh volunteered this story for publication on Salina Post.