Vietnam vets should apply for VA benefits
By Larry Dandridge
Friday, March 29 is National Vietnam War Veterans Day. On this day, Americans unite to thank and honor Vietnam Veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice.
Check with your local Veterans Service Organization Chapter or Post (VVA, VFW, NAGUS, USMC League, MOAA, TREA, AAAA, Fleet Reserve, LowCountry Leathernecks, American Legion, MOWW, Navy League, AMVETs, VHPA, VHCMA, Order of Purple Heart, DAV, PAV, American Red Cross, etc.) for Vietnam War Veterans Day events in your area.
According to Federal Law, 38 CFR 3.2, Periods of War, the United States military involvement in the Vietnam War began in February 1961 and lasted until May 1975. Approximately, 2.7 (to 3.4 million) American men and women served in Vietnam and more than 58,000 servicemen and women lost their lives in Vietnam. More than nine million military men and women served on active duty during the Vietnam War.
Vietnam Vets were mistreated
American military members and their families were mistreated by many Americans during and after the Vietnam War, blaming brave Marines, soldiers, sailors, airmen/women, and Coast Guard members for the war and falsely claiming they committed atrocities. Fortunately, for the past 20-plus years, Americans have respected military members, veterans, and their families.
Vietnam Vets are the largest group of living veterans
The VA Office of Research & Development webpage, found at https://bit.ly/3vB0J3o, states Vietnam veterans represent the largest group of American veterans in terms of service era but they are passing away quickly. Up to two thirds of Vietnam vets may already be gone.
Mental health problems
While the majority of Vietnam veterans successfully readjusted to postwar life, a substantial minority of Vietnam-era veterans have suffered from a variety of psychological problems, and have experienced a wide range of life-adjustment problems. Learn more by reading the last four The Island News articles on VA “Mental Health Services in the archives at www.yourislandnews.com.
Herbicides used in Vietnam
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military used more than 19 million gallons of various herbicides for defoliation and crop destruction in the Republic of Vietnam. Veterans who served in Vietnam anytime during the period beginning Jan. 9, 1962, and ending May 7, 1975, are presumed to have been exposed to herbicides.
Agent Orange Registry and your local VA EHC
The VA established an “Agent Orange Registry” to study the health effects associated with exposure to herbicides such as Agent Orange. Veterans who served in Vietnam, or in other areas throughout the world where herbicide was sprayed, and who are interested in participating in an Agent Orange Registry health exam should speak to the “Environmental Health Coordinator (EHC)” at their local VA medical center. Learn more about the registry at https://bit.ly/400xMrG.
Local EHCs
Lowcountry S.C. and Georgia Vietnam veterans should contact the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center and Healthcare System (RHJVAMC&HCS) Environmental Health Coordinator (EHC) about registry evaluations, health concerns related to military exposures, and to obtain supporting letters to submit with claims for service-connected disability compensation. The RHJVAMC EHCs listed at the VA EHC webpage https://bit.ly/3JAp4cy are Chantale Ford and Jimilla Reid, 843-818-6999 x343233, email VHACHAENVIRREG@va.gov. The Dorn VA Medical Center and Health System EHC is Garrett Fisher, and he is located at 6439 Garners Ferry Road, Columbia, S.C. 29209, phone 803-776-4000 x54146, email Garrett.Fisher@va.gov.
VET Centers
Congress established the VA’s “Vet Center Program” in 1979, after recognizing that a significant number of Vietnam-era veterans were still experiencing readjustment problems. Today, the Vet Center program provides a broad range of counseling, outreach, and referral services to Vietnam veterans and veterans of other periods of armed hostilities after the Vietnam era. A national directory of the VA’s 300 Vet Centers can be found on the VA’s “FIND VA LOCATIONS” webpage https://bit.ly/3PJ1r6q. Learn more about “VA Vet Centers” at:
- VA Vet Centers (Readjustment Counseling) web page https://www.vetcenter.va.gov.
- The Island News article titled, “What is a Vet Center?” dated Jan. 10, 2024, found at https://bit.ly/3ITu3FE.
PACT ACT and Vietnam Veteran Health Benefits
Vietnam Veterans and their families need to read about the “The Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act” (PACT) ACT and other “Agent Orange Exposure and VA Disability Compensation” at:
- The PACT Act and Your VA Benefits” webpage https://bit.ly/3ARbVrn. This act added the following two new Agent Orange presumptive conditions: 1. High blood pressure (also called hypertension) and Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS).
- The VA’s “Agent Orange Exposure and VA Disability Compensation” webpage https://bit.ly/4cwo0Ew. The VA considers a condition presumptive when it’s established by law or regulation. If you have been diagnosed with one of these conditions, you don’t need to prove that it started during — or got worse because of — your military service.
- The VA’s “Birth Defects Linked to Agent Orange” webpage https://bit.ly/3Yq3kFU.
- The VA’s “Vietnam War Veterans Health Issues” webpage https://bit.ly/3Jxjwjl. If you are a Vietnam Veteran you may be at risk of diseases related to Agent Orange, Hepatitis C, Hearing Problems caused by noise, and illnesses and injuries caused by occupational (job-related) hazards.
- The VA’s “Request Your Military Service Records (including DD214)” webpage https://bit.ly/41ydmaU.
- The VA’s “Get Your VA Medical Records Online” webpage https://bit.ly/3kCgBgH.
- The VA’s “Find Out How to Apply for VA Health Care” webpage https://bit.ly/3B7x5Dz.
The bottom line
If you are a Vietnam veteran and you have any of the following presumptive diseases cancers caused by Agent Orange including bladder cancer, chronic B-cell leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, prostate cancer, respiratory cancers (including lung cancer), or some soft tissue sarcomas or other presumptive illnesses including AL amyloidosis, Chloracne (or other types of acneiform disease like it and you must be at least 10% disabling within one year of herbicide exposure), diabetes mellitus type 2, high blood pressure (hypertension), hypothyroidism, ischemic heart disease, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), Parkinsonism, Parkinson’s disease, peripheral neuropathy, early onset (must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of herbicide exposure), or porphyria cutanea tarda, or cancer or illness not on the VA’s Presumptive Conditions list, you need to file a claim for military service-connected disability benefits. And you need to use a VA-accredited Veterans Service Officer (VSO) to help you with your claim.
Larry Dandridge is a Vietnam War wounded warrior, disabled veteran, ex-Enlisted Infantryman, ex-Warrant Officer Pilot, and retired Lt. Colonel. He is a past Veterans Service Officer, a Patient Adviser at the RHJ VA Hospital, the Fisher House Charleston Good Will Ambassador, and the VP for Veteran Affairs for the local Army Association Chapter. Larry is the author of the award-winning book Blades of Thunder and a contributing free-lance writer with the Island News. Contact him at
