Each American should wear something orange on Vietnam Veterans Day, which is Thursday, March 29. There are five powerful reasons every American should wear orange on Vietnam Veterans Day and they include:
- Wear Orange for the more than 9 million who served our nation from 1955 to 1975. Wearing Orange is a great way to recognize the over 9 million veterans who served in the US military (in and outside of Vietnam) during the 20-year Vietnam War.
- Wear Orange for the approximate 2.3 million who served in country. Wearing orange is especially appropriate to recognize the sacrifice of the approximate 2.3 million veterans who served in Vietnam, on land, in the air, and in the brown and blue water navy during Vietnam, and the veterans who served in the supporting military bases in Korea, Thailand, and other locations where Agent Orange exposure were likely.
- Wear Orange for the 58,000 who gave the last full measure. Wearing orange is even more important to honor the more than 58,000 U.S. Military men and women killed in Vietnam.
- Wear Orange for the (roughly) estimated 300,000 who have been killed by Agent Orange. Wearing orange is an opportunity to honor the estimated more than 300,000 military men and women and their family members who have died or been gravely injured from Agent Orange’s deadly toxicity over the past 61 years.
- Wear Orange as a Reminder for us to help veterans and their families. Keeping in mind that two thirds of Vietnam Veterans who served in Vietnam are already gone, it is most important to wear orange to remind everyone to encourage the remaining living approximate 760,000 Vietnam Veterans who served in Vietnam (and their families) and whom the VA presumes to have been exposed to Agent Orange to:Register with the VA’s Agent Orange Registry. See the VA’s Agent Orange Registry Health Exam for Veterans webpage at http://bit.ly/400xMrG.
- Request an Agent Orange Medical Screening. See the VA’s Environmental Health Coordinators webpage at http://bit.ly/3JAp4cy. The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, 109 Bee Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Acting Environmental Health (Agent Orange) Coordinator/Navigator is Nurse Practitioner Jill Cleary at 843-818-6999, Ext. 343233 or email Jill.Cleary@va.gov. There are also two VA Medical Support Assistants (Jimille and Shantle) in this office. The number of veterans requesting to register and have screenings is large. If a veteran already has been registered and screened, and he or she wants to file a claim for an Agent Orange (or other HAZMAT related) caused health condition, they should request a supporting letter from their area Environmental Health Coordinator/Navigator.
- Ask a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) and the VA to explain the deadly effects this Dioxin filled chemical Agent Orange has had on Vietnam Veterans and their families.
- Ask a VSO and the VA to tell you what diseases are associated with Agent Orange Exposure and considered presumptive by the VA, which include Hypertension, Ischemic Heart Disease, Hypothyroidism, Cancer of the prostate, Respiratory Cancers, AL Amyloidosis, Bladder Cancer, Chronic B-cell Leukemias, Chloracne, Hodgkin’s Disease, Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), Multiple Myeloma, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Parkinsonism, Parkinson’s Disease, Peripheral Neuropathy, Early-Onset, Porphyria Cutanea Tarda, and Soft Tissue Sarcomas.
- Ask the VA to explain why Vietnam Veterans have a 2.5 times greater chance to develop dementia.
- Read the information at the VA’s and Public Health webpages titled Veterans’ Diseases Associated with Agent Orange at http://bit.ly/3JTZTDf and Exposure to Agent Orange by Location found at http://bit.ly/42rKDEY.
- Watch and listen to the VA’s SITREP uTube videos on Agent Orange found at https://www.newengland.va.gov/sitrep.
Dedication
This article is dedicated to the author’s best friend, ex-Army Aviation Captain Bubba Segrest who in September of 2022 died of Agent Orange-caused cancer. Bubba and the author played football against each other in high school, went through Army Flight School together, served in the same Attack Helicopter unit in Vietnam, and had been closest friends for more than 57 years.
Bubba was a fellow Army helicopter pilot and he saved the author’s life when he was last wounded in Vietnam on March 28, 1969. Bubba was nearly killed a few months later when he was shot through the knee and hand, losing three fingers, while flying through Agent Orange spray attacking a Viet Cong position with his gunship.
Bubba and this author flew Agent Orange dispensing Huey helicopters in Vietnam and later flew Huey Gunships protecting other helicopters as they dispensed Agent Orange defoliant over the jungles, swamps, and forests in Vietnam. They were both drenched in Agent Orange when they had to fly through clouds of the deadly dioxin filled Agent Orange to attack enemy soldiers shooting at the spraying helicopters above them.
The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center team gave Bubba the best treatments and care available for many years but could not save him in the end. He could not say enough good things about his VA doctors, nurses, and other VA healthcare providers.
Please wear an orange tee shirt, orange arm band, orange shoes, orange baseball cap, or other orange clothing or pin on Vietnam Veteran’s Day. Please help a veteran to know what his or her veterans’ benefits are and how apply for those benefits. You may save a veteran or one of his or her children’s lives.
References
VA’s Agent Orange exposure and VA disability compensation webpage http://bit.ly/3JpN5TC.
VA’s and Public Health webpages titled Veterans’ Diseases Associated with Agent Orange found at https://bit.ly/3JTZTDf.
VA’s SITREP YouTube videos on Agent Orange found at https://bit.ly/3Z1sAmg.
VA’s webpage Agent Orange Registry Health Exam for Veterans https://bit.ly/400xMrG.
VA’s webpage titled Birth defects linked to Agent Orange found at https://bit.ly/3Yq3kFU.
North Dakota Veteran Affairs, Article titled, Agent Orange: It’s Affecting Veterans and Their Kids by Haley Foster, Published March 19, 2015, at http://bit.ly/3yVv3DY.
VA’s Environmental Health Coordinators webpage at https://bit.ly/3JAp4cy.
VA’s webpage titled Vietnam War Veterans health issues found at http://bit.ly/3Jxjwjl.
Article titled Watch for Agent Orange Exposure Symptoms by Carolyn Ballou, California Department of Veterans Affairs at http://bit.ly/3lzw6Gz.
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 freelance writer with The Island News. Contact him at LDandridge@earthlink.net or 843-276-7164.
