Ao Madness

[DMZ-LT]

Afriend of mine has been battling AO related diabetes for awhile now , his feet have gone numb and now his hands are getting numb. It has made me mad, angry , sad and seeking revenge - but I am not sure at who. First shot was at God , second at Dow Chemical and last shot at the goverment. Around Con Thien on the Z they used a lot of AO and we had great fields of fire. When we went out to Khe Shan us and a bunch of engineers build a " pioneer road" a one lane dirt road through the jungle and the jungle came right up to the road. LOTS of close in fights and many KIA / WIA - CLOSE KIA.. Those still standing looked like they had just spent the last 12 hours in a butcher shop. I would have gived a lot for 100 meters of open space by the road . I feel like the commercial " pay me now or pay me later " I am mad , angry , sad and seeking revenge - but from who ? Sorry to ramble. I have seen too much but it keeps coming back and I still have no answers - hell I've even forgotten what the damn question was. Peace :cd:

[Andy]

I've done a lot, a lot, of thinking on this subject. I've tried to go back to 1967. If General Westmoreland had come to me and asked what we should do about those narrow road, (cow paths) and the cover they afforded Charles.

If given the choice, spray some stuff and move the cover and concealment back a hundred yards, but you might get cancer or something else really bad 30 years from now or do nothing, God help me but I would have voted for the A.O. Your right, it was a pay me now or pay me later. However, in 67-69 I knew there was no way I would ever see the year 2000.

I'm really sorry your friend is not in good shape, wish there was something we could do. I am happy in that he has lived all these years. I'll pray for a cure.

Stay healthy,
Andy
PS: I thought "Annette" e-mail was sort of funny. She freaked out!

[lcpd24]

DMZ-LT-- When I was at the DMZ- I can remember, a plane that flew right down the river , spraying both sides. next morning when we went out on our PBR's for patrol, most of the tree's were bare of leaves, an pretty much all brown. Didn't know what it was they were spraying until 15-20 years later. everyone on our boat was soaked to the skin with the stuff. Thank God I had two healthy kids, an two grand kids that are ok, don;t know how the rest of the guy's turned out, but I pray for them each day that they are OK. I've never really talked about this much, keep it all inside, but your post kind of re fueled some old pent up emotions, so I vented a little.
welcome Home Guy's-Dennis

[DMZ-LT]

Andy , your Annette e-mail was good - can't wait to shake your hand after the operation ! Dennis I never talked much about any of it to anybody either till I came to this site. It helps it has helped me realize I ain't the Lone Ranger out there. My daughter gave me a T shirt last year that says " There is definitively something wrong with me " She thinks I should wear it more often. Welcome Home bro. Ain't healthy children wonderful !

[Boats]

DMZ,

We've been hear before. My brother died from complications of AO and it wasn't pretty. I sypathize for your loss and regret anybody having to go through this terrible ordeal.

I don't know how much headway they've made but this stuff is scary because by the time you know you got it - its done its damage. It ate my brother from the inside out. It wasn't pretty.
He's gone now and no more pain. But he was my younger brother and that doesn't make it any easier.

Take care wear your T-Shirt!

[onesix]

lcpd24: Down in the Delta, the PBR's didn't need low flying aircraft, they sprayed it themselves from their PBR's. That's what former USN CNO Elmo Zumwalt claimed killed his son (cancer, back in the 1980's)

Other interested parties. Rome plows were used by the BRO in the Iron Triangle and along Thunder Road to push back the jungle. Now I'm not saying we were smarter, however...

[MORTARDUDE]

I recently received a large postcard from a local law firm ...

quote

"Used by the US military to clear dense forests in Vietnam during the war, this toxic herbicide has been proven to cause a long list of cancers and terminal illnesses in veterans who were exposed to it.

Thousands of veterans have already received compensation via the original class action lawsuit against the manufacturers. Unfortunately, the benefits of the original settlement ended in 1994.

On June 9th 2003, a Supreme Court decision allowed even more veterans diagnosed after 1994 to pursue claims against the manufacturers of Agent Orange.

If you were exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and have been diagnosed with cancer or other serious illnesses after 1994, call our law firm and find out if you have a right to seek compensation."

unquote

I have inquired as to how I was included on their mailing list.
If anyone wants the name and/or phone number of this law firm, PM me.

Larry

[Andy]

Just sent you an e-mail for that info and it was rejected. Could you send me any information you have on the class action thing.
Thanks.

Stay healthy,
Andy

[ArtySgt]

eeltee, I know where your coming from, I am infected with confusion and anger which never seems to get any better for me. God bless.

Larry, I would also like to have the information about A.O. related illlness.

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/...in557690.shtml

FYI

"The effect of the tie vote, extremely rare at the court, is to affirm the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judgment and allow litigation to proceed in lower court."


>>>>>>>>

(AP) The Supreme Court deadlocked Monday on whether it's too late for sick Vietnam veterans to sue chemical companies over Agent Orange exposure, but allowed vets to continue lawsuits claiming they were wrongly shut out of a decades-old national settlement.

Business groups had feared a ruling that would threaten to reopen many class-action settlements at a cost of millions or possibly billions of dollars.

Instead, justices were divided 4-4. A ninth justice, Justice John Paul Stevens, did not participate in the case. He did not give a reason for his recusal, but his only son was a Vietnam veteran who apparently suffered from cancer before his death in 1996 at age 47.

The case raised an interesting question of how courts should handle claims from war veterans who got cancer and other diseases after the $180 million Agent Orange settlement was spent. Two veterans argued their constitutional due process rights were violated in the 1984 settlement, which included no payments to people who became ill after 1994.

In an unsigned opinion, the court ordered more consideration of the claims of Joe Isaacson, a vice principal in Irvington, N.J. The court, on a tie vote, left undisturbed a decision that allowed the lawsuit of Daniel Stephenson, a retired helicopter pilot living in Florida. Both men claim their cancers are related to Agent Orange, used in the 1960s and 1970s to clear dense jungle foliage that provided cover for enemy forces.

Although the Vietnam War ended 30 years ago, some war-related illnesses are just being discovered, the court had been told.

Companies that made the herbicide Agent Orange thought their liability ended with the 1984 class-action settlement. Dow Chemical Co., Monsanto Co. and other companies, tried to reach veterans with ads in local and national newspapers and magazines.

In this case, the court was asked two questions. First, whether people who are unaware of their involvement in a class action suit are allowed to argue later that they were not property represented. And second, what standard should be used if those lawsuits are allowed.

Justices, in issuing a two-paragraph unsigned opinion, did not deal with either question. The effect of the tie vote, extremely rare at the court, is to affirm the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judgment and allow litigation to proceed in lower court.

"A lot of veterans have been waiting for 10 years to hear this, their rights are vindicated," said Gerson Smoger of Oakland, Calif., the attorney for Isaacson and Stephenson.

During arguments in the case in February, some justices seemed concerned that the settlement shut out veterans.

The case is Dow Chemical Co. v. Stephenson, 02-271.