Veterans Chronicle is a supplement to The Spokesman-Review • Friday, September 20, 2019
VETERANS CHRONICLE FRIDAY, September 20, 2019
The Faces of Agent Orange By Jean Bledsoe
T
hree years ago at a town hall meeting, I first heard about the link between Agent Orange exposure and the negative health effects in children and grandchildren of those exposed. I felt like I’d been hit in the gut by a very personal and angry 2x4. The more I’ve read, the more convinced I am that many of the chemicals service members are exposed to will be haunting our descendants for generations. In July, the Vietnam Veterans of America had their national convention in Spokane. My husband, a Vietnam veteran, brought home a packet of information that contained heart-wrenching stories – stories about Vietnam veterans and their children and grandchildren who were impacted by Agent Orange. I decided it was time to do more than just worry about this. So, I’m going to share stories and information to help inform and encourage others. Herb Worthington’s Story Herb Worthington’s e-mail, sharing background on his own Agent Orangeconnected diseases and the diseases now afflicting his children, is not yet two sentences long before the words leap off the page. “It rips me apart with self-hatred every time I tell it,” he wrote. “I get so sad, the tears flow like a stream, and it makes it that much more difficult, because the keyboard is totally blurred.” Asked about it later, he said, “I hate myself. Why? For bringing all this pain and suffering to my children. They don’t deserve it.” He has not spoken to his children about it. “I don’t have the courage,” he said. His daughter, Karen, 35, suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS). His son, Michael, 33, has suffered from bronchitis and allergies since infancy. Michael’s own children, ages 3 and 5, have been diagnosed with chronic bronchitis as well, and Herb says the grandchildren also display
uncontrolled and inexplicable fits of anger. Herb, himself, is 100 percent disabled, diagnosed with Agent Orange-caused Type II Diabetes. He has peripheral neuropathy, which the VA recognizes as a serviceconnected condition. “It starts out as a tingling, like pins and needles,” he said. “Hands and feet get cold. You think they’re cold, but they could be warm to the touch. As it progresses, they go numb and have stabbing knife-like pains. They say it’s a circulation problem, a secondary condition usually to diabetes. Now the VA in Newark is trying to deny guys because of self-medication, because the disease is also symptomatic to alcoholism.” Herb is the President of the New Jersey State Council. He has been married to Angela Sorrentino since 1968; they met in high school. “She supports me 10 million percent,” Herb said. Both went to college, Herb working a full-time factory job to stay in school at the New York Phoenix School of Design in Manhattan. Five days after he graduated in 1969, he was drafted. After completing AIT, he received orders to Vietnam as a Light Weapons Infantryman. He was assigned to the 2/60 Recon Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 9th ID. He found himself in “charmingly named hell holes” such as the Parrot’s Beak, Tan Tru, the Plain of Reeds, and then with the 25th ID in Cu Chi. “What is significant of such places is the amount of Agent Orange dumped on the Plain of Reeds and the barren dust bowl camp known as Cu Chi,” he said. Three years after he came home, he and Angela started a family, the firstborn being Karen, who would grow into such an attractive woman that strangers stopped her on the sidewalks of New York to ask if she were a model or an actress.
Learn more at VeteransHelpNet.com. HEY, VETERANS DID YOU KNOW …
Blue Water Navy veterans are eligible for Agent Orange exposure disability benefits? If you served on a Blue Water Navy ship on the inland waterways or coastal waterways of Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, or if you ever came ashore in Vietnam during that time, a recent court case decided that you qualify for the same disability benefits as “boots on the ground” veterans. There are 14 presumptive diseases that qualify Vietnam veterans for disability benefits due to presumed Agent Orange exposure. A surviving spouse may qualify for monthly financial benefits. To find out if you qualify and file a claim, contact a VSO (see “How Can I Get Help?”).
Continued on 2 / Agent Orange
Rotary 21 Club welcomes veterans to annual park picnic
S
1
pokane Rotary Club 21’s Support Our Veterans committee hosted its annual BBQ picnic for residents of the Spokane Veterans Home at the Manito Park picnic shelter on Wednesday, August 14. Rotary Club 21 has hosted this picnic every summer for the past several years, giving the residents of the Spokane Veterans Home the chance to enjoy the outdoors and eat some fine barbecued pork, fried chicken, coleslaw, potatoes au gratin, and dessert. The downtown Spokane Red Lion Inn catering department provided the food, which was outstanding. Approximately 20 veterans attended the picnic, including some who had served in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Afghanistan War, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq. Also present were several Veterans Home staff members and American Red Cross volunteers.
“Where’s my disability check?” About 20 Rotarians attended the picnic, spending time talking with the veterans and serving food. One Rotarian played his guitar and sang songs during the event as well. The veterans were very appreciative of this tribute to their service, and expressed their gratitude to Rotary Club 21 for hosting this event. Below is a thank-you message that Joy Drake, the co-chair of the Rotary Club Support Our Veterans Committee, sent out to the committee members who helped put on this event. “Hello, everyone. A sincere thank you to those whom were able to make it to the Manito Park Veterans BBQ lunch this afternoon.The weather was perfect, Greg was amazing on the guitar and our Rotary smiles filled the pavilion. I have attached a few pictures to enjoy. Thank you.”
MILITARY/VETERAN APPRECIATION GAME
Nov. 9, 2019 | 12:30 p.m. kickoff | Whitworth University Pine Bowl Please join us as the Whitworth Pirates take on the Linfield Wildcats, with special programming honoring our armed forces throughout the game. Free admission for military/veterans and their families.
At a pre-planning seminar about funeral arrangements, there was a section about benefits available to veterans. One of the attendees commented that he was receiving health care from the VA, but had never received his monthly check for disability benefits. Five years earlier, a Veterans Service Officer had helped him obtain the medical benefits, but he hadn’t heard back regarding his disability claim. Why did he wait so long to ask? He said that he didn’t want to bother them! It is the VA’s job to help you, but it is your job to follow up with them regularly until you are satisfied that you are receiving the appropriate benefits. Veterans must follow through on all applications, but help is available. If you need help filing or appealing a claim, see our “How Can I Get Help?” section and call one of the Veteran Service offices listed.