Veterans Chronicle December 18, 2020

VETERANS CHRONICLE DEC. 18, 2020

A Navy sailor is seen as the Arleigh Burke-class guidedmissile destroyer, the USS Halsey, passes the USS Arizona Memorial on Dec. 7, 2016, in Honolulu.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PEARL HARBOR REFLECTIONS Four brothers survived attack 79 years ago

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The Spokesman-Review

VETERANS CHRONICLE

WHERE WE WERE, WHERE WE ARE, WHERE WE ARE GOING In the summer of 2018, we were shocked when we discovered that many, maybe most, veterans were unaware of the benefits and services available to them and their families that they earned with their service in our Armed Forces.

Wanting to change this dynamic, a small group of veterans and citizens formed a veteran service group and named it Veterans Help Net. The mission was to increase benefit awareness and offer “Hope and Help” to our veterans and their families.

We had an idea, but not a medium to carry our messages.

It’s now winter 2020 and, as you are reading this article, you can see that we found a medium for our messages and you are aware of one of our Awareness Projects. Here are some more….

In the last 26 months, we have established two monthly newspaper publications, an informative “go to” website at veteranshelpnet.com, and an ac-

tive Facebook page at facebook. com/VeteransHelpNet. Since Nov. 11, 2018, we have published 26 monthly editions of the “Veterans Chronicle” a cooperative project with The Spokesman-Review. We have also published 18 monthly editions of the “Veterans Press,” a cooperative project with the CDA/Post Falls Press.

In these publications and in our social media we focus on two significant messages: “Hey Veterans, Did You Know?”: These are short articles that explain little known or forgotten benefits and services. ach one ends with telling the reader where to find help.

Veterans Stories: Our objective is to tell the story of veterans that had a problem or issue and found “Hope and Help.”

We hope that veterans and their loved ones will identify similar situations that will inspire them to connect with the available resources to improve a veteran’s

life.

Our publications and social media also recognize and acknowledge Veteran Service Organizations and individuals that are doing significant work to help our veterans In 2021 and beyond, we have more to accomplish.

Veterans Help Net would like to expand our message to other media and mediums. We hope to establish a YouTube channel of “Veterans Stories” and “Did You Know” articles, as well as supporting local television programs focusing on Veterans Benefit Awareness and recognition of the people and organization in our communities that are helping veterans and their families find the help and hope they deserve.

We have also been contacted by other veteran organizations and print media groups in other parts of the country about duplicating what we are doing in their communities. We are developing

IN THIS ISSUE

a “Veteran’s Benefits Awareness Project How to Guide” to show them how to help them replicate and expand Veterans Help Net programs nationally.

What can you do to support Veterans Help Net and our mission?

• Read the articles.

• Visit the Facebook page and website.

• Carry the message of “Hope and Help” to someone you know.

• Share stories about veterans, their loved ones or organizations that support veterans with us.

• Volunteer with a veteran support organization. Like most volunteer organizations, Veterans Help Net is always looking for help with our projects especially if you have writing or reporting skills.

• Support the media that offer us the opportunity to share these important messages and where to find help. The Spokesman-Review and CDA Press

took a big risk and have provided Veterans Help Net and the Inland Northwest a fabulous opportunity to help our veterans and their families. Thank you!

Together we can change live and save lives. We can honor veterans, veteran organizations and individuals that have stories of hope, help and inspiration.

If you would like to get involved, please contact Don Walker at (509) 655-9266 or don@Vethelpnet.com, or visit VeteransHelpNet.com.

Veterans Help Net Team 2020

Bryan Bledsoe Doug Myers Thomas Davey Dan Mortimore Charlie Duranona Houston Scrudder Gordon Graves Don Walker Mark Lanz Kurt Weigel Seth Maier

VETERANS CHRONICLE A SUPPLEMENT TO THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW DEC. 18, 2020

Did You Know? .................................................................................................. 4 Unmet Needs Program ................................................................................... 5

VETERANS HELP NET Don Walker Bryan Bledsoe

How Can I Get Help? ....................................................................................... 5 Poisoning the Pacific ....................................................................................... 6 Retroactive Blue Water Navy benefits ....................................................... 8 Brothers survived Pearl Harbor ................................................................... 9 Faces of Agent Orange: Mike Demske........................................................10 Home loan limits removed ............................................................................. 11 Veteran Affairs Work Study .......................................................................... 11

MANAGING EDITOR Theresa Tanner ART DIRECTOR Anne Potter DIRECTOR OF SALES Scott Baumbach

the third Friday of every month to increase awareness about veteran issues and to help veterans find hope and help.

To share a veteran story or information about resources for veterans, please contact info@veteranshelpnet.com or visit www.VeteransHelpNet. com.

For advertising information, please contact advertising@ spokesman.com or (509) 4595095.

No portion of this magazine may

Veterans Help Net partners be reproduced in whole or in part with The Spokesman-Review to without written consent of the publish Veterans Chronicle on publisher.

Spokane, Wash. / Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

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The Spokesman-Review

VETERANS CHRONICLE

HEY VETERANS, DID YOU KNOW?

… That health care and disability ratings have separate processes?

Two different applications are required to get VA health care and a VA disability rating. For instance, you may have qualified for health care, with or without a disability rating. If your medical condition changes and the new condition would qualify you to receive a disability rating, you must apply in order to receive it. See “How Can I Get Help?” on page 5 and call one of the Veteran Service offices listed. This is a free service.

… Housing allowances are available for veterans using GI Bill benefits?

Qualified veterans can use their GI Bill entitlement in approved apprenticeship and on-the-job training programs.

While participating, they can also receive a monthly housing allowance.

Rates depend on length of training period. Books and supplies stipends are also available.

For more information in Eastern Washington, contact WorkSource Spokane, located at 130 S. Arthur St., at (509) 532-3120. In North Idaho, contact the Idaho Dept of Labor, 600 N. Thornton St., Post Falls, at (208) 457-8789. You can also contact a Veteran Service Officer through “How Can I Get Help?” on page 5.

… Free help is available for preparing a disability claim?

An accredited VA representative, often called a VSO (Veteran Service Officer or Veteran Service Organization), can help you navigate the disabili-

ty claim process. This is a free service. See “How Can I Get Help?” on page 5 and call one of the Veteran Service offices listed to make an appointment.

… What steps are needed for a surviving spouse to receive benefits?

For a spouse to receive DIC (Dependency-indemnity-Compensation) VA Benefits, a service-connected disability or one presumptive of military service must be listed on the death certificate as a primary cause of death or a contribut-

ing cause of death.

Be sure the person that will sign the veteran’s death certificate (at the funeral home or at a hospital) is aware of any and all service-connected disabilities that could have caused or contributed to the veteran’s death.

This will help the spouse file a successful claim to receive VA benefits after the Veteran’s death.

Learn more at www.va.gov/ disability/dependency-indemnity-compensation/.

… These facts about our country’s Women

Warriors?

There are nearly 2 million female veterans in the United States, with over 60,000 from Washington State alone!

Over 25,000 women from our area have served just since 9/11.

In 2010, the unemployment rate of female veterans was 11.2 percent compared to 9.4 percent of male veterans. (Bureau of Statistics) Female veterans report an average of seven years to become fully acclimated to civilian life upon return from deployment.

(Business and Professional Women's Foundation, Women

Veterans in Transition report.)

The risk of homelessness for female veterans is 3.6 times more likely than non-veteran women. (Robert Rosenbeck, Director of Veteran Affairs) The rate of suicide among female veterans is 1.8 times higher when compared with non-veteran adult women. (Per the DAV and after accounting for differences in age) Many veterans come home wounded, whether or not their injuries are visible.

These facts were provided by the www.

CowgirlsandWomenWarriors. org.

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VETERANS CHRONICLE

HOW CAN I GET HELP?

Every county and state has a Veteran Affairs office to answer questions about benefits and provide assistance. There are also other useful resources for veterans in the Inland Northwest.

VFW’s Unmet Needs Program provides grant funds Supporting veteran, military families with unexpected financial troubles

By Aristeo Hernandez, Joseph Cardinal and Alyssa Morford

GO ONLINE

IN PERSON

BY PHONE

VA.gov

Spokane County Regional Veteran Service

Spokane County Regional Veteran Service

1117 N. Evergreen Rd., Spokane Valley, WA (509) 477-3690 Apply for emergency services, or have any benefits or service questions answered by 3 Veteran Service Officers (VSO) and staff.

(509) 477-3690

The Department of Veterans Affairs website has resources on every topic relevant to veterans.

VA.gov/welcome-kit The VA Welcome Guide covers all types of benefits and services available for veterans, new recruits, active service members and their families.

DAV9.com Based in Post Falls, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 9 Fort Sherman shares links and information to both local and national help organizations for veterans.

Explore.VA.gov/benefitsnavigator Explore VA benefits and discover which ones you and your family may be eligible to receive.

North Idaho Veteran Services and Benefits Office 120 E. Railroad Ave., Post Falls, ID (208) 446-1092 Meet with a VSO or staff for help with VA benefits enrollment, claims or other veteran needs.

Goodwill Support Services for Veteran Families (SSVF)

North Idaho Veteran Services and Benefits Office (208) 446-1090

Veteran Crisis Line 1 (800) 273-8255, press 1

North Idaho Crisis Center (208) 625-4884

Washington or Idaho 2-1-1 Dial “2-1-1” for health and human resources referrals.

130 E. Third Ave., Spokane, WA (509) 828-2449 SSVF helps homeless veterans and their families find housing and connects veterans with other support organizations.

“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.”

- Elizabeth Andrew

VA Digital Media Engagement

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Unmet Needs Program offers grants up to $1,500 to eligible veterans, service members and military families.

Since 2004, the VFW has provided more than $5 million supporting veterans and military families who face an unexpected financial hardship related to their military service. The VFW program can directly pay eligible expenses with no obligation of repayment. VFW also provides referrals to other organizations should additional assistance be required.

After five combat tours in the Marine Corps, Sergeant Dustin Ellison was suffering from the post-war effects of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and severe PTSD. “I thought [Dustin’s discharge date] would be the happiest day since he came home from service … I was wrong,” explained Heather Boyd, Dustin’s sister. “It was 100 [times] harder after war. It breaks my heart to watch my brother go through life like a ghost carrying guilt from serving for his country.”

Heather hoped Dustin’s struggles would end after being accepted into a 12-week program specifically designed to treat military-related TBI and PTSD. But when the severity of his condition and medical complications requiring surgery unexpectedly extended Dustin’s treatment, Heather feared her brother would leave the program if he was unable to keep up on his bills.

After learning about the VFW’s Unmet Needs program during a wounded warrior PTSD focus group, Heather reached out to VFW for help. An Unmet Needs grant came through just in time.

“I personally had depleted the money in my bank account … this was not only a relief for myself, but it allowed him the opportunity to focus on treatment and not stress about his lack of income,” said Heather.

Receiving an Unmet Needs grant provided was the assistance Dustin needed to stay current on bills. More importantly, it provided him freedom to focus on his health – culmnating with his graduation in January.

Heather explained that while Dustin still has work to do and will likely face daily struggles for the rest of his life, thanks to the

VFW Unmet Needs program, he’s functioning better than ever.

VFW Unmet Needs Eligibility

Applicants must be the service member, veteran or eligible dependent listed under the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS).

The financial hardship must be due to one of the following: • Currently on active duty, whose financial hardship is a result of a current deployment, military pay error, or a discharge for medical reasons.

• Discharged on or after Sept. 11, 2001, whose financial hardship is a direct result of military service connected injuries and/ or illnesses.

• Discharged prior to Sept. 11, 2001, on a fixed income that must include VA compensation for a service connected injury/ illness and facing an unexpected financial hardship.

The financial hardship cannot be caused by: • Civil, legal or domestic issues, misconduct, or any issues that are a result of spousal separation or divorce.

• Financial mismanagement by self or others, or due to bankruptcy.

• All grants are paid directly to the creditor and applicants must provide the most current bills due.

Each case will be carefully reviewed.

Upon approval, payments will be made directly to the creditor. All applications are individually reviewed and the VFW reserves the right to make exceptions on a case-by-case basis. For more information, contact Unmet Needs at 1-866-789-6333.

How to apply

The application can be found online.

Go to https://app.wizehive.com/apps/ vfwunmetneeds to apply. The process can take up to 20 business days while a caseworker reviews the application and supporting documents. Include the most recent bills due and the assigned caseworker will reach out to the creditor to verify all expenses. Payments will be mailed directly to the creditor after research is complete.

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The Spokesman-Review

VETERANS CHRONICLE

‘POISONING THE PACIFIC’ Trove of U.S. documents on toxic substances in Okinawa may help veterans’ claims

By Matthew M. Burke STARS AND STRIPES

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A Welsh journalist in Japan has released a trove of U.S. government documents regarding pollutants at U.S. bases in the Pacific in hopes they will aid veterans seeking compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs for a variety of service-related ailments.

Jon Mitchell, 46, an investigative journalist and contracted correspondent for the Japan Times and Okinawa Times who lives in Yokohama, released over a dozen documents that he uncovered while writing “Poisoning the Pacific: The U.S. Military’s Secret Dumping of Plutonium, Chemical Weapons and Agent Orange,” which was published by Rowman & Littlefield in October.

The document release on Rowman & Littlefield’s website for “Poisoning the Pacific” caps off more than a decade of reporting by Mitchell. The documents cover the storage and leakage of chemical weapons, lead in the drinking water at schools on Kadena Air Base and “forever chemicals” like PFOS contamination at Kadena and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

Mitchell’s previous work has been used by American veterans seeking VA compensation, something he said he hopes will continue with the current crop of records.

“I really think active service members, their families and former service members, they need to be able to access this information so they can provide this documentary proof to their health care providers and also to [Veterans Affairs] when

EUGENE HOSHIKO/ASSOCIATED PRESS

MV-22 Ospreys are seen March 23, 2015, at the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station and the surrounding area from an observation deck at a park in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture on southern Japan. they’re filing for health claims for exposures that occurred in Japan and mainly on Okinawa,” Mitchell said by phone Oct. 16. “Because the bases are concentrated on Okinawa, the contamination is concentrated on Okinawa as well.”

During college, Mitchell

studied U.S. history and the use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. He first visited Okinawa in October 2010 on assignment for the Japan Times. He said locals in the northern jungle region expressed concerns while recalling U.S. service

members spraying defoliants in and around their bases in the community.

“They told me the military had sprayed Agent Orange,” Mitchell said. “They said they were worried about the ongoing contamination of their land and the local base workers had

been dying quite young.”

A decade of research

After those interviews, Mitchell spent years requesting documents through the Freedom of Information Act and tracking down American veterans who back island resi-

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VETERANS CHRONICLE dents’ claims.

“The Americans were worried about the health of their children,” he said.

“The Americans were sick with illnesses they believed had been caused by their own spraying of Agent Orange.”

The U.S. government maintains there is “no credible evidence of Agent Orange use, storage, testing, or transportation in Okinawa, and thus no evidence to support claims of exposure to Agent Orange during military service in Okinawa,” the Department of Veterans Affairs told Stars and Stripes in 2017. The VA has continuously denied wholesale exposure claims by veterans lacking documentary proof.

“VA currently has no evidence that Agent Orange or any other tactical herbicide was used on Okinawa that would warrant revision of current policies,” VA press secretary Christina Noel said in a statement emailed Oct. 31 to Stars and Stripes. “If credible evidence is obtained showing otherwise, VA will reconsider its current policy.”

Despite the government’s position, 108 barrels were found starting in 2013 buried on land adjacent to Kadena Air Base, Stars and Stripes previously reported. The barrels contained traces of cancer-causing dioxin and toxic ingredients of Agent Orange and other common pesticides and herbicides, Japan’s Defense Ministry said at the time. The discovery coincided with Mitchell’s reporting that earned him the 2015 Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan’s lifetime achievement award for press freedom.

In one U.S. Forces Japan talking paper from 1993 that Mitchell shared with Stars and Stripes three years ago, the U.S. government described how large amounts of hazardous chemicals and waste coming back from Vietnam were stacked in barrels at U.S. bases on the island. They included insect, rodent and plant killers; acids; alkalis; degreasers; and solvents.

The barrels, which appear to number in the thousands, according to photographs from the time, were exposed to the elements for long periods and leaked into the soil, which then seeped into the sea, killing fish offshore, according to the report Mitchell obtained.

Toxic substances like arsenic, asbestos, lead and hexavalent chromium have also been discovered on land near Camp Lester that has since reverted to Japanese ownership. In 2015 and 2016, habu snakes captured adjacent to Camp Kinser tested positive for toxic substances.

High levels of the hazardous organ-

ic compound perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS, were detected in streams running through Kadena Air Base and in adjacent groundwater wells. Military officials later admitted the use of a firefighting foam, banned in Japan, that contains the compound.

There have been several high-profile spills of the firefighting foam in recent years, including about 60,000 gallons at MCAS Futenma on April 10.

In October 2015, the first U.S. veteran was awarded disability benefits related to Agent Orange exposure on Okinawa.

A year later, a second veteran received benefits. Since then, at least 13 others have been successful, Mitchell said.

A Government Accountability Office report from 2018 found that the Defense Department’s official list of herbicide testing and storage locations outside of Vietnam “is inaccurate and incomplete” and that ships carrying Agent Orange to and from Vietnam did stop in Okinawa, among other locations in the region. It was unclear how much was loaded or unloaded.

The documents

The first documents of note released

by Mitchell are an organizational history of the Army’s 267th Chemical Company from March 1966 and a 1969 Army chief of staff report titled, “Overseas Storage of Chemical Agents/Munitions.”

The organizational history confirms three movements of chemical weapons to Okinawa between 1963 and 1965. The weapons were removed in 1971 as part of Operation Red Hat, according to the 1987 report “Chemical Weapons Movement History Compilation,” which can be found on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website.

The 1969 chief of staff report details a chemical weapons leak at the Chibana Army Ammunition Depot and discusses moving the weapons to Guam. The weapons listed include nerve agents VX and sarin and the blister agent sulfur mustard.

Both documents confirm Okinawa was a Project 112 chemical and biological warfare testing site. The DOD does not classify Okinawa as one, according to its Project 112 site on Health.mil.

Representatives from the VA did not respond to questions related to Project 112 posed by Stars and Stripes in October.

A 2015 document Mitchell unearthed, “Department of Defense Dependent Schools Lead Assessment Project, Kadena Air Base,” reported 165 fixtures in 106 rooms at DOD schools had lead levels above the 20 parts per billion action limit established by the EPA, the report said. There were eight high-risk rooms/faucets, 88 medium-risk rooms and 10 low-risk rooms.

A high-risk room or faucet means a probable drinking source like a kitchen sink, water fountain or breakroom sink, the report said. A medium-risk source is neither a probable drinking source, nor it can be ruled out as a probable drinking source, like a classroom or a bathroom sink.

“All high-risk faucets were placed out-of-order and permanently removed or replaced using zero-lead content fixtures,” a spokesman for Kadena’s 18th Wing wrote in a statement emailed Nov. 3 to Stars and Stripes, citing Kadena’s 18th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight.

Signs telling students “Do not drink” were put up around medium-risk sources, an education campaign and a flushing program was launched.

Kadena resampled in 2015, 2017 and 2018, the statement said. Dozens of fixtures have been remediated.

Mitchell also uncovered Okinawa prefectural records from 2016 that detailed extremely high levels of PFOS and PFOA, perfluorooctanoic acid, at a fire training area aboard MCAS Futenma. Testing found 1.8 micrograms per liter of PFOA and 27 micrograms per li-

ter of PFOS, according to those records.

In early 2020, Japan established a combined safety threshold of 0.05 micrograms per liter for PFOS and PFOA. A subsequent document from testing firm Maxxam Analytics, a Canadian company now known as Bureau Veritas, to Kadena’s 18th Wing indicated elevated levels of PFOS and PFOA at a fire training area retention basin.

Officials from Kadena’s 18th Wing did not respond to questions posed by Stars and Stripes about PFOS and PFOA. The DOD has admitted to 651 contaminated sites in the U.S. but none in Japan, Mitchell said, something he believes will eventually change. U.S. military officials in Japan told Stars and Stripes last year the source of the PFOS and PFOA pollution on Okinawa is not necessarily U.S. military facilities.

“The U.S. works diligently to comply with the Japan Environmental Governing Standards,” U.S. Forces Japan wrote in a statement emailed to Stars and Stripes on Nov. 17. It touted an environmental agreement signed between the two nations in 2015 that enhanced cooperation on environmental matters, including establishing protocol to give Japanese authorities access to U.S. bases on Okinawa in the event of a spill or land return.

“Environmental sampling conducted over decades by relevant U.S. and Japan government authorities indicates that actions taken aboard our installations are effective in reducing impacts both on and off base,” the statement said.

“We will continue to take a proactive and bilateral approach to environmental stewardship as the health and safety of our nations’ publics is equally as important as their defense.”

Mitchell, who has written three Japanese language books on military pollution, said more important than selling copies of his first English-language book is letting veterans know these documents exist and are available free.

“All of these documents provide support for veterans who are sick and veterans who believe their sickness is linked to their service on Okinawa,” Mitchell said. “The proof is there, and I think the military will do the right thing and admit to it.”

To access to these documents, see under “Features” at: https://rowman. com/ISBN/9781538130339/Poisoningthe-Pacific-The-US-Military’s-SecretDumping- of-Plutonium- ChemicalWeapons-and-Agent-Orange Originally published Nov. 23.

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The Spokesman-Review

VETERANS CHRONICLE

VA must pay retroactive benefits to Blue Water Navy Vietnam veterans

By Nicolas Iovino

COURTHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Veterans Administration must honor the terms of a 1991 settlement and pay retroactive benefits to thousands of Navy veterans who served on ships off Vietnam’s coast for Agent Orange-related health problems, a federal judge ruled on Nov. 5, 2020.

“It makes a huge difference to veterans and their families,” plaintiffs’ attorney Stephen Kinnaird of the firm Paul Hastings said in a phone interview.

The VA had argued that despite a recent law and court ruling entitling so-called Blue Water Navy veterans to benefits, it never intended to include them in a deal it signed three decades ago. In that consent decree, the VA vowed to automatically reconsider past denials of benefits for conditions that it later found were tied to Agent Orange and to grant retroactive benefits.

Used ubiquitously by the U.S. military to clear forested areas in Vietnam, the toxic contaminant dioxin in Agent Orange has been linked to a slew of health problems, including leukemia, lymphoma, throat cancer and many other diseases.

A few months before the consent decree was signed in 1991, Congress passed the Agent Orange Act, which requires the VA to assume all veterans who “served in the Republic of Vietnam” from 1962 to 1975 were exposed to Agent Orange.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup rejected arguments that the settlement was never meant to include Blue Water Vietnam Navy veterans who served on ships in Vietnam’s territorial waters but never set foot on the country’s soil or entered its inland waterways.

“The objective and reasonable intent of the consent decree was to require automatic readjudications for all persons entitled to benefits under the

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A sign that reads “Dangerous” in Vietnamese stands in an area of Bien Hoa Air Base in Vietnam, where the Pentagon is decontaminating soil poisoned with dioxin from Agent Orange.

Acts,” Alsup wrote in a 10-page ruling.

From 1991 to 2002, the VA awarded retroactive benefits to Blue Water veterans under the terms of the consent decree. At that time, the VA used a Vietnam War service medal as the basis for assuming Agent Orange exposure.

In 2002, the VA changed its policy and instead started looking at whether each veteran had served on land or on inland waterways in Vietnam.

During a hearing last week, Alsup asked how the government could get around its prior decision to award benefits to Blue Water veterans. A Justice Department lawyer replied those benefits decisions were based on “internal guidance to VA adjudicators,” not a policy

that was binding on the agency.

The judge deemed the inclusion of Blue Water veterans in the settlement for 11 years as strong evidence of what was intended.

“This practical construction of the agreement torpedoes the agency’s later change of heart,” Alsup wrote.

This is the fourth time veterans filed a motion to enforce the consent decree. The court granted relief each time, and when the VA appealed two of those three decisions, the Ninth Circuit upheld the rulings each time.

“What is difficult for us to comprehend is why the Department of Veteran Affairs, having entered into a settlement agreement and agreed to a consent order some 16 years ago, con-

tinues to resist its implementation so vigorously, as well as to resist equally vigorously the payment of desperately needed benefits to Vietnam war veterans who fought for their country and suffered grievous injury as a result of our government’s own conduct,” the late U.S. Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote for a three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit’s most recent 2007 decision enforcing the settlement.

Prior to 2019, a series of court rulings found Blue Water veterans were not entitled to a presumption of Agent Orange exposure under the Agent Orange Act. That changed last year when an en banc Federal Circuit panel ruled in Procopio v.

Wilkie that excluding Blue Water veterans would violate the

plain meaning of the 1991 statute, overriding its prior 2008 decision that deferred to the VA’s interpretation of the law.

After the Procopio decision, Congress passed the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, which entitles Blue Water vets to retroactive benefits, but only if they file a new claim.

After that law was passed, the VA sent over 77,000 letters to Blue Water veterans and their surviving family, received 63,800 claims, issued decisions on nearly 29,000 and granted 20,690, or 71%, of the decided claims. The VA has paid out $583.8 million in retroactive benefits to Blue Water veterans as of August, according to the department.

Judge Alsup’s decision will ensure that Blue Water veterans who had Agent Orange claims denied in the past will have those claims automatically reviewed without having to file a new claim. The settlement also covers surviving children and estates of deceased veterans, unlike the law passed by Congress last year.

Kinnaird said this will entitle thousands of veterans and their families to tens of millions of dollars, or potentially over $100 million, who would not otherwise have received those benefits.

“There are lot of people who for whatever reason aren’t aware of the Blue Water Navy [Vietnam Veterans] Act or because of various struggles aren’t filing new claims,” the attorney said. “The VA has to go back automatically and readjudicate.”

Alsup ordered the VA to submit a report in four months on how many claims it will reconsider and a follow-up report in eight months on how much it paid in benefits for those claims.

Justice Department lawyer Michael Andrew Zee, who represents the VA, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

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VETERANS CHRONICLE

Navy brothers survived Pearl Harbor Attack Pearl Harbor By the Numbers

By Dave Sutton Margo Patterson-Snyder and her husband Larry live in Spokane Valley. She is proud to share the incredible story of her nephews’ survival of the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941.

Prior to World War II, Theresa Fahlgren Linstrom took a risk for the sake of her family not knowing at the time the enormity of that risk. She wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Navy in 1941 requesting that five of her six sons be stationed together. She did not want them to be separated. Permission granted!

Three of the brothers – Gordon, Ervin and Warner – were Machinists First Class. Glen was a Baker First Class and Vern was a Molder First Class.

The sixth brother, Leonard, enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in North Arica and Italy.

The five sailors were assigned to the USS Vestal, an old coal ship commissioned in 1902, which served as a repair ship docked in Pearl Harbor right next to the USS Arizona. Four of the brothers arrived at their new duty station on or around Dec. 6 1941; Ervin would join his brothers in 1942.

Glen bunked on the USS Vestal, a repair and maintenance dock in “Battle Ship Row.” The ship’s position was just yards away from the famous battleship USS Arizona, standing unprotected in the harbor.

On Dec. 7, 1941, the USS Vestal was hit by three bombs but it did not sink or take on enough water to even lower its positions. A torpedo was launched and traveled underneath the Vestal, missing the Vestal by three inches and hitting the USS Arizona. The explosion of the USS Arizona rocked the USS Vestal and sailors on both ships were thrown into the air.

Many of them landed in the water. Some of them were blown

According to statistics gathered by the Tribune-Montana Parade newspaper, and published in a Dec. 6, 1981 story, some 2,600 American service men and women were killed in the Pearl Harbor attack. Another 1,200 were wounded.

Of the eight battleships, six were sunk or disabled. Three Cruisers were damaged, three Destroyers in dry dock were wrecked and four other ships – including the USS Vestal – were sunk or damaged.

A total of 188 airplanes, mostly on the ground, were destroyed.

The three aircraft carriers were at sea when the attack occurred. The newspaper reported 60 Japanese casualties. Twenty-nine planes were shot down and four midget submarines were sunk.

COURTESY PHOTOS

The Fahlgren brothers, from left, back row: Gordon, Glen and Ervin; front row: Warner and Vern.

The Fahlgren siblings in 1966, from left, back row: Ervin, Warner, Carl and Glen; front row: Vern, Irene, Gordon, and Leonard. over to the deck of the Vestal.

The Vestal was badly damaged from the concussion of the explosion. Several sailors died or were wounded.

The four brothers were separated but survived. Glen and

Vern set out looking for Gordon and Warner; the brothers reunited on shore after the explosion. They escaped harm from the bombing and were given shore duty after ordered to abandon ship.

Glen, the baker, got up very early in the morning to make pie filling and pastry for the sailors.

He had just finished with the dough and placed it in the proof bin to rise. Little did he know that it would remain there for a longer time than necessary and got bigger and bigger. It apparently had risen much more than it was supposed to and, with the explosions, there was an abundance of dough scattered everywhere.

When the initial attack began, Glen and the cook waded thought the dough toward their General Quarters to prepare to fight. The cook was wounded.

Vern and Glen were in the mess hall when an armor-piercing projectile hit the ship. Another sailor who was standing between the brothers in the mess hall was killed. Neither brother was harmed.

“Aunt Margo” treasures the

records and scrapbooks that were handed down to her by her sister. In the keepsakes are pictures of the men's mother, Theresa Fahlgren Linstrom.

Theresa was chosen to christen the USS Susquehanna in the Seattle Tacoma shipyards. She was also honored by several organizations for raising six sons who served in the Armed Forces. Another brother, Carl, was in high school and remained at home during WWII. Irene, their only sister, was living in North Dakota.

“What happened to my nephews is one of the greatest stories I have ever heard,” said Patterson-Snyder. “It is even more special to know they were a part of my family.”

The Navy discontinued its practice of stationing several family members aboard the same ship after five Sullivan brothers perished when their vessel was sunk in action in 1943.

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The Spokesman-Review

VETERANS CHRONICLE

FACES OF AGENT ORANGE: MIKE DEMSKE

By Jim Belshaw Mike Demske remembers well the difference in Vietnam’s riverbanks before and after the herbicide Angent Orange was sprayed.

The riverbanks provided excellent cover for the guns trained on the Navy Swift Boats.

“We were just getting annihilated,” he said.

Then Adm. Elmo Zumwalt ordered the river banks sprayed.

“I’ll never forget the first time we went down a river where the bank had been sprayed,” Demske said. “It was like looking at the moon. There was nothing.”

He also remembers no attention was paid to the effects of Agent Orange on the health of the boat crews. That Vietnam’s rains might wash the chemical into the river was of no consequence to the Swift Boat crews.

“A lot of times we’d tie our clothes to a rope and run them in the prop wash to do our laundry, not thinking that the river was filled with the stuff and it was soaking into our clothes,” he said.

“We were all 19 and 20 years old.

We didn’t know any better.”

After his tour of duty, he wouldn’t give Agent Orange another thought until about 20 years ago, when he came home from a softball practice and couldn’t get enough water to slake his thirst.

He went to his doctor. He was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

That same year, Demske attended a Vietnam Veterans of America National Leadership Conference. Of the 30 veterans meeting to discuss Agent Orange, five had received the same diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.

"Everyone was telling me to file a claim with the VA,” he said.

“It wasn’t listed as a presumptive disease then, but once it was, I received some compensation.”

But his health problems were just beginning. On the same day he was diagnosed with diabetes, he also was found to have psoriasis. Then in January 2009, he was found to have Fournier’s gangrene. An infection spread to his

COURTESY PHOTOS

Mike Demske serving in Vietnam in 1969.

Mike Demske’s sons David, left, and Scott, in 1990. groin area, and he eventually had surgery that removed his scrotum.

Health complications would

not be limited to Demske.

His son, Scott, born in 1973, began having seizures while serving in the Air Force and was medical-

ly retired. He is a school teacher today and still experiences seizures. Doctors told him that an abnormality in his frontal lobes disrupted electrical signals in the brain, causing the seizures.

A second son, David, born in 1978, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of ten. Diligent with his medical care, David was able to participate in his high school and college tennis teams.

Scheduled to graduate from college in May 2001, he died of myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart muscle) in January of that year.

“For a long time, I made no connection between Agent Orange and Scott and David’s problems,” he said. “I probably started thinking about it after David died.

It was really a tragedy. He was a

senior in college, going to graduate in May.” At a VVA meeting in Silver Spring, he was able to question the then-Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

“I asked him if he was aware of any studies that would link our exposure to dioxins to problems with our children and grandchildren, and he looked at me like a deer in the headlights.

He couldn’t respond. He had no idea.”

“The VA secretary had an aide there,” Demske said. “He was writing everything down and basically told us, ‘We’ll get back to you.’ Which of course is bull---. That’s why we’re trying to get enough evidence to prove there’s a problem out there and to do something about it.”

Because the VA refuses to conduct studies on the questions, the evidence gathered is anecdotal.

But Mike Demske finds the anecdotes compelling. At the very least, like so many other Vietnam veterans who have had to face similar health problems, he says the VA should fund studies to see if a link exists.

“I would want them to do decent studies of what the effects are on the children and grandchildren,” he said. “I’m sure there’s some kind of effect. My oldest son, Scott, has ADD, and his son has it, too. I never thought Agent Orange would be part of it, either, but everyone at that meeting was talking about problems their children and grandchildren have.”

Share your Agent Orange story

Significant numbers of veterans have children and grandchildren with birth defects related to exposure to Agent Orange. To alert legislators and the media to this ongoing legacy of the war, we are seeking real stories about real people. If you wish to share your family’s health struggles that you believe are due to Agent Orange/dioxin, send an email to mporter@vva.org or call 301585-4000, Ext. 146.

Spokane, Wash. / Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

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Friday, December 18, 2020

VETERANS CHRONICLE

VA REMOVES HOME LOAN LIMITS On Jan. 1, 2020, it became easier for you to use your VA home loan benefit to purchase, refinance, or construct a home with no down payment, regardless of the cost of the home. The VA home county loan limits were eliminated as part of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 for veterans and service members with full entitlement.

Historically, VA only guaranteed home loans up to the county conforming loan limits (CLL) as determined by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. These loan limits reflect the changes in average U.S. home prices at the county level. If you chose to purchase, refinance, or construct a home above the CLL, the lender would likely require a down payment from you before they would choose to close on the loan. In counties such as San Diego, California, or Arlington, Virginia, the limit is much higher to reflect the average cost of a home. This meant that when

using your VA benefit, the lender – not VA – would require you to pay up to a 25% down payment on any amount above the county limit.

As of January, first-time homebuyers, or homebuyers who have sold their home and have full benefit entitlement available, will no longer have to worry about loan limits or down payment requirements when purchasing, refinancing, or constructing a new home.

As with any home loan decision, you should speak with your lender(s) or a loan specialist at your VA Regional Loan Center to go over your options when purchasing your next home. Only you can determine what is best for your personal and financial needs.

Whatever the case, speaking to a loan professional about your options and shopping around for the best situation for you is key.

Remember, the VA Home Loan Program staff are here to assist you.

For more information, visit www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans.

VA Work Study can lead to employment

If a veteran or dependent uses any of the nine VA education benefit programs available, enrolled in approved training at least at a 3/4 time rate, they are eligible for VA work study!

The program allows an "earn while you learn" philosophy to earn tax-free, state minimum wage (currently $13.50/hour in Washington and $7.25/hour in Idaho). Approved work study sites are limited in the Spokane and North Idaho region.

WorkSource Spokane has seen many participants in its VA program become employees.

Jeff joined the Navy in 1977, with several deployments to the Middle East and South Korea.

He retired in 1997. He was a VA work study at WorkSource Spokane, working 3 to 4 hours per day, typically five days a week.

This experience in workforce development led to Jeff becoming a Human Resource recruiter for a local company after he

graduated from Eastern Washington University. Jeff returned to WorkSource as an employee, now in his 10th year serving on our Talent Solutions Team to help employers find the right candidates.

Mike retired from the Air Force after 22 years, where he worked in munitions and protecting our nuclear arsenal. He worked for a federal contractor before seeking education at EWU. In 2014, Mike came to WorkSource for a work study opportunity, working with us for 18 months as he finished his education. His duties included reaching out to area veterans to educate them about WorkSource resources while providing a listening ear to hear about the barriers they faced.

These skills resulted in a job offer to become a Veteran Representatives at WorkSource Spokane; he has been a permanent employee with for five years.

Charlie served 3 1/2 years in

the Army as an Infantryman. He enrolled at Whitworth University, obtaining a VA work study position at Spokane County's Regional Veterans Center, where he answered calls, provided customer service, and performed other administrative tasks. From WorkSource Vet Reps, who are in-house at the Regional Center twice a week, Charlie prepared a portfolio for an entry-level opening at WorkSource. He was offered the position about a month ago, where he is available to assist walk-in customers and help them pursue their employment goals while he continues his education.

Learn more about the VA work study program and other benefits foor Spokane-area veterans at www.worksourcespokane.com.

WorkSource Spokane is an equal opportunity employer/ program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

Washington Relay 711.

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The Spokesman-Review