[Need Clairafication]

B) darkhorse, thanks for your valued opinion. Guess i need to get down to business now. Thanks again, Dick

[Need Clairafication]

B) good advice... i read and copied part 3.310 and agree with you on this section. I was hospitalized a couple of weeks ago at the Tampa VA hospital and was diagnosed with abnormal gastric emtying of solids of the stomach being consistant with diabetic gastroparesis partially responsive to Reglan. It was futher found and diagnosed that i have extensive erosive esophagitis, atrophic gastritis.[Gastroesophageal refux disease] which was also denied on my last C&P because it was not connected to my DM11 it was also denied.

Question here being do i file the NOD or the new claim first? I suspect that filed in the wrong order a delay in a decision will be the result. Which should i file 1st?

[Need Clairafication]

i guess my question is: in my c&p progress report the Dr said in section 2 the pn in the lower bilateral extremitiesis less likely than not [less than 50/50 probability] caused by or a result of DM. However in section 3 of the report it states [ his PN, bilateral lower extremities was most likely aggravated by DM. Based on medical opinion that your PN was diagnosed prior to dx of DM, entitlement to service connection for PN due to DM11 is denied. Based on this should i NOD their decision?

thanks

Dick

[Need Clairafication]

the doc said my primary cause of my pn was my drinking in the past. May be the case but i don't think he beleived that either. Need to go ahead with my nod and get to the bottom of it.

[Need Clairafication]

everything is secondary. My new claim will also be 2ndary to dm11. I am just confused about what to do next.

[Need Clairafication]

<_< i am presently 60% sc with primary dx of dm11. On 3/18/08 my claim for reflux disease and to finally get my request for a decision which had been deferred for over a year on my PN in my legs resolved. My PN on 8/21/2009 was denied . After reading my 1st C&P Progress Notes i found on page 21 section 3 that the examiner stated that the lower extremities was most likely aggravatesd by DM. This was also stated for my claim for ED. When i read the reference to 38 of the CFR's it is stated that "service connection "may" be granted for a disease or inlury which resulted from a service -connected disability or aggravated thereby". Unless i am misinterpeting this i should be entitled to compensation due to aggravated circumstances as stated by the doctor during the exam. What is the real meaning of this statemant? Should i file a NOD for reconsidertation of this decision?

I was released from the va hospital on 9/3/09 with a dx of gastoparesis likely secondary to DM automic neuropathy secondary to gastritis and esophagitis. Any suggestions on my options?

Thanks

Dick

[Ao Korea 1968]

The Captain i was telling you about left his e-mail address here on Hadit. It is :pesteward@hotmail.com...... Just in case you didn't see it .

Thanks

Dick

[Ao Korea 1968]

Berta,

That ex Captain i told you about on Korewan War Project his e-mail is : pesteward@hotmail.com....

[Ao Korea 1968]

Berta

This is truly a complicated situation. I have on my letter from the VFW Effective dates ranging from March18,2007 to May 6, 2008. The list is not complete as there are a couple of items that i have or will claim in the future. These will include PN in the lower extremities which seem to be getting worse with time. I think i'll give the VFW a call and get the VSO's take on the situation.

Many thanks for you excellent help and speedy replys

Dick

[Ao Korea 1968]

Berta,

I received a letter today from the VFW Service Office in St Petersburg, Fl stating that the VFW and the Dept of VA determined that i am sc for my time in Korea and my exposure to AO. They futher state i am 60%. I called the RO to check on the status of my claim this morning and they said it was at the Rating Board and that a decision had not been made at this time. How does the VFW get this info? Is there any retroactive date other than the date in which the claim was filed for AO for Viet Nam and Korea vets? Not trying to be greedy but when they wait 30 years to admit that AO was used in Korea......

Sure appreciate your help

Dick

[Ao Korea 1968]

Berta, can i just go to the RO and ask for a copy of my C file or am i going to need to jump through hoops to get a copy. Like i said i'm not sure

of my dates on the DMZ but i was at Camp Casey July 29-31 for NCO school. Last nite i found the BVA decision for a veteran who was stationed

at Camp Casey and won his claim. For your reference it was case #990674. Gives me some hope anyway for a favorable result for my claim.

Perhaps the VA has learned from the NAM vets how to slow down the other claims down. I'll try to get my file and get back to you and give you

an update.

Thanks for your help

Dick

[Ao Korea 1968]

Berta

I have not received the VCAA since completing my last c&p for my eyes a few weeks ago. The individual that e-mailed me is William Kenny at hawkvets@gmail .com and he said he works with ex Cpt Phil Stewart. Phil's who's address can be found at the Korean war project where he tries to keep everyone updated. He is attempting to prove other units and camps were sprayed after July 69. I feel i have a valid claim and i do meet the 3 requirements but i don't feel confident not knowing the dates i was on the Z. How do i go about getting a copy of my C file? I want to start gathering info for a NOD in the event i am denied. I have read many of the claims info at the BVA site and most of them are units not recognized. I haven't read too many that are from the units listed which should be a good indicator. I hate not knowing or understanding how the system works. Perhaps my problem is being in limbo and not being able to proceed any futher with the claim until i hear from the VA. Doing nothing has never been one of my good suits.

Thanks for all your help

Dick

[Ao Korea 1968]

Thanks for your service Dick-

I am involved with a group that is asking Congressman Filner to make sure ALL vets exposed to AO anywhere at all get proper compensation for their presumptive

disabilities.

This is for the Agent Orange Equity Act, HR 6965.

The main leader of the push for inclusion of ALL ao vets is a Thailand AO vet who recently proved his claim and got sensitive Mil documents that reveal AO was used at many US installations in Thailand.

Many AO Korea vets also have been awarded AO comp-at the BVA web site (we dont knowe how many at RO level were awarded) and recently the AMC even awarded a AO vet due to his exposure to AO-in Alaska!

MY AO Korean unit list says-2nd Brigade,2nd ID ,1-72 Armor.

Units exposed were near the southern edge of the DMZ north of the civilian control line between April-August 1968 and between May to July of 1969.

Did you get a VCAA letter from the VA yet? Also did they send you an Election response form?

Here at hadit under a search is some of the claims to include AO Korea vet claims that have been awarded via the BVA for exposure outside of Vietnam.

Here are two of them-you might have to copy and paste the links into the browser if the links dont work:

http://www.va.gov/vetapp07/files5/0739875.txt

http://www.va.gov/vetapp07/files4/0729785.txt

You filed in March 2008?

One thing is for sure- there is a tremendous backlog of claims these days at the ROS and the BVA-no claim is going to get a fast award.

Many many claims are denied too in spite of excellent evcidence-

and then finally awarded after a tedious appeal scenario.

I suggest you go to the BVA web site :

http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/bva.html

and search by year Agent Orange Korea

Right away you will see how the VA is strickly adhering to the date criteria as well as to the unit list-

Agent Orange has been the most compelling veterans issue I ever have dealt with- my husband was in the original AO Settlement fund-the Dow lawsuit-and I have seen not only the list of presumptives grow but also the list of confirmed exposures to include Korea units and dates above.

A veteran with bonafide proof of exposure and a presumptive AO disability CAN get SC no matter where or when they served by direct SC regs.

You seem to me to definitely fit the bill for the presumptive regs.

Do you have copies of your inservice personnel records and SMRs?

"I got an e-mail from an individual who says he works with a former engineering Cpt Stewart who works through congressmen and Senators to get all the cards out on regarding AO exposure for all troops stationed there during the AO use."

Does he have a web site or is he with any internet vet org?

Thanks to evryone who has replied to my post. The ex Cpt's name is Phil Stewart and the individual i got the e-mail from address is "hawkvets@gmail.com . I know Cpt Phil and his group of people have been working tirelessly for years on this AO situation in Korea. I believe in my soul they will prove it was used in Korea later than July 1968. I guess my only concern for the time frame April 1968 to July 1969 is i may not have been on the DMZ in that time period. I may have been there in the later part of 69. It's a shame the old brain is failing me now . I can visualize the post i was assigned to while on the Z. I have pictures but have no dates on them. Go figure. I was at Camp Casey the last 3 days of July 69 and there was a Vet awarded his claim and his BVA case said nothing about him being on the Z but only that he was stationed at Camp Casey. I was with the 2nd Batallion 72nd Armor and they too have presumption. The word i got was if i met the 3 criteria for presumption i didn't have to prove i was even on the DMZ. [1] in country during April68 til July 69 [2]assigned to a listed unit during the same time frame [3] one of the presumptive ailments listed. I meet all 3 requirements but i don't know if it also includes being on the Z during the same time frame. When i was first Dx with DM11 my mother done a family background check and the was no record or history going back 150 years on either side. My family Dr. wrote a letter to the VA stating this and the fact that i have none of the risks for diabetes so a more likely than not cause was the exposure to the AO. With the problems i am having with my health today i may not live long enough to see this thing through. Sorry to sound so unsure of myself but this is my first go-around with anything like this with the VA. I always felt so hurt when i would read about our Viet Nam vets and all the hurt they were going thru because of AO and now to find myself in the same situation really brings the problem home. It was almost 40 years after i left Korea before i was aware of the AO situation. How many of our brothers are dieing or have died without knowing? What a SHAME. Thanks again for all your help. Dick

[Ao Korea 1968]

This is my 1st post since joining so i hope my question will come across and make sense to the reader. I was in Korea from Dec 1968 til Jan 1970 and was with the 2nd Batallion 72nd Armor 2nd ID. During that time I had duty on the DMZ though i don't remember the dates. I was also at Camp Casey for NCO school starting July 29 til Aug 29. I have completed the AOR and completed my C&P's as required. I have posted on other forums and have gotten positive answers to most of my questions. I got an e-mail from an individual who says he works with a former engineering Cpt Stewart who works through congressmen and Senators to get all the cards out on regarding AO exposure for all troops stationed there during the AO use. He told me to get a tight grip and hang on for a long ride because my claim will be denied. This goes contrary to what i have been told up to his e-mail. My unit is one of the units presumed to have been exposed during the time frame and i have been dz with DM11 and my Dr. in July put in writing that i am 100% disabled and may never work again. This was a shock to my system and it is a result of problems with my DM11. Now i have to fight SS & the VA. I haven't been able to find a web site where veterans that have been awarded their claim and the process they had to go through to get approved. I meet the 3 requirement listed so i was wondering the reason that i could be denied? Any help or info would be greatly appreciated. I just learned in March 2008 that AO was even used in Korea. Dealing with the VA is new to me though to-date they have been what i consider fast and fair with my claim .

Thanks

Dick