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Do You Know a Vietnam Veteran with Diabetes or Cancer?
Please call 1-800-562-2308

Your Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs has launched an outreach campaign to help Vietnam Veterans who served in country, or their widows, get benefits they may not even know they qualify for. 

If you know a Vietnam Veteran or the widow of a Vietnam Veteran, have them call us at 1-800-562-2308, or let us know how we can get in touch with them. 

Why is this so important?  Over 200,000 Vietnam Veterans live in our state.  Many of these veterans were exposed to ‘Agent Orange’, an herbicide used to eliminate ground cover during the Vietnam War.  (Agent Orange got its name from the bright orange stripe on the barrels it was stored in and was one of several chemical agents used.  Others such as Agent Blue, Agent White and Agent Pink also got their names from the colored stripes on the storage containers).   We now know that these chemicals cause a number of medical conditions including certain cancers and Type 2 Diabetes. 

Changes to the laws and regulations in the last few years mean that even if a Veteran or Widow didn’t qualify before, they may be entitled to benefits and/or health care now. 

Veterans who served in-country in Vietnam between August 5, 1964 and May 7, 1975 are considered to have been exposed to Agent Orange.  Therefore, if they develop any of the medical conditions below, Agent Orange is considered to be the cause.  (The same is true for a veteran who served in Korea along the DMZ during the period April 1968 to July, 1969, with additional qualifying criteria.)

Presumptive Medical Conditions for Agent Orange
Chloracne (must have occurred within 1 year of exposure to Agent Orange)
 Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
 Soft tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma)
 Hodgkin’s disease
 Porphyria cutanea tarda (must occur within 1 year of exposure)
 Multiple myeloma
 Respiratory cancers, including cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea, and bronchus
 Prostate cancer
 Acute and subacute transient peripheral neuropathy (must appear within 1 year of exposure and resolve within 2 years of date of onset)
 Type 2 Diabetes
 Chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Veterans whose claims are approved may be entitled to health care and disability compensation from the Federal VA and widows may be entitled to receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) if the death of the veteran was the direct result of one of the above-mentioned conditions or if one of those conditions was a contributing factor to the veterans death.

Our goal is to help all Veterans and Widows access the benefits they so richly deserve.  We can’t do it alone, so thank you for your help in making a difference in the lives of Washington’s Veterans and their families!
Do You Know a Vietnam Veteran with Diabetes or Cancer? Please call 1-800-562-2308

RecommendationsRecommendPrintReport postJust weeks after accepting claims from veterans filing for three new disabilities linked to Vietnam-era herbicide Agent Orange exposure, the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in San Diego has issued $8 million in 730 cases.

Up to 200,000 Vietnam Veterans are potentially eligible to receive VA disability through this initiative designed to compensate veterans with B-cell leukemia, Parkinson’s disease or ischemic heart disease.

Veterans with these conditions who stepped foot in Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, are presumed to have contracted them via exposure to Agent Orange and don't need to prove their military service caused their illnesses, according to the VA.

The recognition of the presumptive illness, especially ischemic heart disease, which is common in an aged population, could open the door to tens of thousands seeking compensation. Spouses who lost husbands or wives to these conditions are also in line for awards.

In late October, the VA finalized regulations for the three new disabilities. The VA regional benefit office in San Diego County is the central processing site and has received 5,000 Agent Orange claims from both San Diego County veterans and other regional VA offices.

The herbicide was used widely in Vietnam from 1961 to 1971 to deny the enemy cover in high grass and thick jungle. By some estimates, the United States sprayed 20 million gallons of the defoliate in Southeast Asia.

A concoction of two defoliants, Agent Orange was discovered to be an extremely toxic dioxin and won its name from the striped orange 55-gallon barrels it was shipped in.

Compensating veterans who qualify under these newly recognized conditions is expected to take several months, but all veterans exposed to Agent Orange and suffer from one of the three diseases are urged to submit an application for an award.

VA has offered veterans exposed to Agent Orange access to health care since 1978, and priority medical care since 1981. VA has also given compensation to veterans with medical problems related to Agent Orange since 1985.

Other recognized illnesses under VA's "presumption" rule for Agent Orange are: subacute transient peripheral neuropathy, chloracne, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, diabetes mellitus (Type 2), Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, porphyria cutanea tarda, prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or mesothelioma) and amyloidosis.

Veterans interested in applying for compensation under one of the three new Agent Orange illnesses, should go to fasttrack.va.gov or call 800-827-1000.