USAFdaughter

Mom has no knowledge of Dad EVER receiving money from the VA in relation to a disability. So the letter stating his disability has been deemed service-related baffles us (and certainly intrigues us). Pursuing his C-files from the VA does seem the route to take concerning that. I do know Dad was not "on disability" until he acquired disability through General Motors around 1979. He was 100% disabled. GM even tried to tell him that it was all in his head, so he had to see a psychiatrist for a period of time, to prove that he wasn't a hypochodriac. (Clearly he wasn't. The extent of the physical damage to his body is just ridiculous. I've never met another person with a plethora of so many different medical problems--all seemingly unrelated and not genetic.) That BVA AO award WAS really helpful. And I see what you mean about them not including very much. It sounds so easy because they only include what attributed to their decision.

THANK YOU for your detailed responses! I appreciate it so much. This information can take FOREVER to find on your own! To answer your question, Dad's 1970 claim was for "disability" but I know little about it. I have found some papers from 1970 when dad was trying to file a disability claim with the VA. * There is a letter dated February 9, 1970 from the VA just saying he will receive an appointment for a physical examination soon. It has a reference number. * There was an outpatient appointment set for 10:00am, Friday June 26, 1970 at the Indianapolis VA. Again it has the same reference number. * There is a letter dated July 20, 1970 from the VA center in St. Paul Minnesota with a different reference number that states "Since your disability has been rated as service-connected, you may be eligible for this insurance..." So this tells me that at SOME POINT, the VA recognized Dad's disability as being service-connected, but as to my knowledge he NEVER received any benefits from the VA. In fact, as of 1980 he was still trying to get approved for benefits as a result of his exposure to toxins. * I also have a post card that was "acknowledgement of receipt of claim" saying they had received his application for benefits. There is no date on it, but his file number is that same number mentioned on the first 2 letters and below it, it says 1990. So I don't know if that was in the year 1990 or if 1990 was part of the file number. Could I or my mom talk to someone from the VA and give them those reference numbers and have them look up his file? Would a case/file that old be in the computers? I am still looking through dad's old papers so I'm sure I will run across more letters and info, as my father was sort of a pack-rat. . . in so long as no one threw it away after his death. Mom says she has a whole box of his medical papers from throughout the years somewhere and I have not even begun to tackle that. As for "Morbid Obesity" being the only cause of death listed, the family was pretty pissed about that.. I know it would have upset Dad, but you know what can you do? Dad couldn't lie flat on his back or else fluid would start building up in his lungs and he would start "gurlgling," so dad slept on the couch for years so that he would have a way to prop himself up. At the time of death he had acquired a hospital bed and was sleeping on that. Well one night he woke up mom saying his foot/ankle was feeling numb (a regular side-effect of his Type 2 Diabetes (DMII)) Mom woke up and started rubbing his ankle/foot area and he was relaxing again, dozing off. He started gurgling and mom tried to wake him so that he could lean up more. He wouldn't wake. She called 9-1-1. Dad at some point stopped breathing and CPR by the medics did not recessitate him. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Dad weighed on the upper 400-lbs so their inability to recessitate him probably was a result of his size. Perhaps that is how the "morbid obesity" "killed" him. Thank you for including the section of the law that includes DIC claims. That is very helpful!

Wow--Thanks for your detailed reply! This is very helpful and clears some things up for me. A couple of weeks ago, we sent away for Dad's military records. Officially it's mom who requested them, as I have heard the surviving spouse is able to receive more information than the children. I didn't know WHAT to ask for, as there isn't exactly a list of things to choose from and it seems that they want specific codes and special titles for things, but we just wrote a note requesting to be sent all service records available, including all medical records, travel papers and TDY assignments. To be honest, I expect they will probably send a copy of his DD-214 and a list of his immunizations. I hate to sound pessimistic, but it's better than getting my hopes up and then being pissed when that's all that comes-haha. This is probably a dumb question, but do you know if they keep military records somewhere where a person can go in-person and request copies of things? Or do you have to just mail in your requests and wait months to receive them? I did have another question about being "on or near the base perimeters in Thailand".... I do know that for a period of time, Dad was given some sort of "guard duty" at his base. It was something where the men were not allowed to be armed because that would violate some sort of agreement with Thailand. Have you heard of this? Would a duty assignment like this qualify for "putting him on or near base perimeters"? Yes---Morbid Obesity is the only thing listed on the death certificate. Does the actual cause of death HAVE to be AO-related? The fact he "could have" been approved for service-related disability doesn't matter, even if we could now prove his exposure? What does "SMR" stand for? Service Medical Records? I guess to answer your question about whether or not this incident is listed, we will just have to wait a few months and see what they send us. I did find letters he wrote home about being in the infirmary due to kidney stones. It is dated, so that should be "easy" to look up, I assume(?) If what dad was exposed to was actually a CONFIDENTIAL chemical.....and let's say the govt STILL hasn't declassified it (I honestly don't know), then would it be a "lost cause" in the sense that they still wouldn't admit anything happened because the stuff "never officially existed"? If you don't mind me asking, how were you able to prove it after so many years? Was DMII on his death certificate as cause of death? How did they diagnose him post-mortem? Did the doctors remember your husband so that they were able to make statements? Would we have to contact his old doctors in hope that they would remember him? Would the information just be available somewhere in his (oh-my-gosh-EXTENSIVE) medical records? Ha-sorry lots of questions, but I'm just trying to understand it all clearly. Thanks again for taking the time to help me to understand!

My father passed away in 2007. I have heard stories of widows who successfully received DIC even if their husband had not been awarded VA disability before their death, if they could show exposure through medical records, etc... Well, I have found some letters that Dad wrote that explain how exactly he was exposed to experimental and confidential (at the time.. I don't know about now) toxic chemicals. So far I only know it happened in 1967 (which is when he was stationed in Thailand, but also around the time he might have been doing clandestine missions with Air America), but knowing my dad, he probably has more specific information written down on a paper I am yet to find (I'm in the process of going through his papers). The papers are typed but at the end of one letter he did sign it with an ink pen (of course it's not certified, but as good as I'm gonna get with him passed away). The story is that there was an emergency landing by an aircraft near the weapons shop where Dad was working. The rear door opened and the airmen in the back were gagging and struggling to get out of the aircraft and there was this dark sticky stuff sprayed all over them and everywhere in the aircraft, even dripping out the back door. Dad rushed over to help them out and, in the process, got covered in the stuff. It was quite some time before he could get to barracks to change and shower and by then there were large red sores where the stuff had soaked through his fatigues and his skin had been burning for quite some time, but there was nothing he could do. He got some salve from the dispensery, but his skin stayed tender for days and the red spots took weeks to go away. He asked around and discovered that the sticky stuff was some sort of confidential and experimental agent that they were spraying until the line burst within the aircraft, spraying the belly of the plane as well as everyone inside. Within just a couple of months he started developing medical conditions such as bowel problems and reoccurring kidney stones, trouble taking deep breaths, fatigue, and upset stomach. Later medical tests showed that every organ in his body had sustained damage and he just got sicker and sicker until he died 40 years (to the year) after this incident. Do you think there is any way, assuming I find out what day or month his exposure occurred, to use this incident as "proof" of his exposure? There may be a record in existence of the emergency landing? Dad also mentioned extreme levels of radiation (due to a powerful radar system in place) at the Udorn RTAFB....and I wonder if there have been any claims related to that? Am I hoping for too much or is there something I can do to help my mom to receive DIC benefits or anything else? I have also found some papers that show that Dad submitted a disability claim with the VA in 1970. He was on disability, but it was NOT through the VA. It was through his employer as of 1979: General Motors. Dad DID have Type 2 Diabetes, which is now on the AO list. However, there was no autopsy and the cause of death is listed on the certificate as "Morbid Obesity". Nice of the govt to wait until so many veterans have passed away to start adding more "diseases" and countries to the AO lists. I was telling mom today how "funny" it is that they "forgot" where they used the stuff until .. you know.. some guy just "happened" to be looking through this 40, 50 year old file and was like "by golly, lookie here! I guess we used herbicides in Thailand and Korea too!" Is that how it happens? Ridiculous. In another 20 or 30 years, it will start getting released that they had other chemical agents, that other health problems are symptoms. Other countries were affected. And about the time my generation is retiring, they might mention that some of our health problems COULD have possibly been caused by AO but they are not sure yet, and about the time we are in our 80's or 90's and they don't have to much worry about us causing a stink anymore, they will admit why we developed sicknesses later in life too. Anyway, Thank you for any advice! I went to the county Veterans Affairs office Friday, but the Service Officer was out and his secretary was less than courteous or helpful in any way. I thought forums might offer more helpful (or at least heart-felt) advice.

So since we never had an autopsy done on dad and the death certificate says "morbid obesity" for his cause of death, then does this mean that we have no claim?

THANK YOU. I will read over the pdf file and do some searches. I appreciate all your help B) If you think of anything else, I'm all ears!!

Berta, thanks for getting back to me. To answer some of your questions... Dad was a USAF Ssgt who's specialty was Weapons and Munitions. He also had some sort of secret security clearance that allowed him to do secret operations as well, some of which have now been declassified. I know he was stationed in Japan and Udorn/Ubon Thailand and also served in Laos during some kind of secret war that is now declassified and also Korea and Vietnam. There was no autopsy done. They told my mom he probably died of a blood clot, but when the EMT's came, the CPR and defibulizer was of no use. He weighed like 480 lbs. On his death certificate, they just put cause of death as "morbid obesity". I don't believe anything else was listed on the certificate. He was dead by the time the EMT's arrived, I believe. He did not receive any type of VA compensation that I know about. I know that he was disabled and got government disability/social security, but he did not receive any disability from the VA. I've been told it's a lost cause to pursue DIC because he was morbidly obese and that can be a cause of Diabetes as well. Will they just turn us down because of this?

My father died in April of 2007. He was a USAF Ssgt who served from 64-67. He had many medical problems that we believe were a result of Agent Orange and was disabled, but never got officially tested for Agent Orange. He did have Type 2 Diabetes, but his official "cause of death" was "Morbid Obesity". I have only recently heard of the Dependents Indemnity Compensation and am wondering if our family would/could qualify for this? ((To clarify, his disability did not happen when he was in the service. I think his original cause for disability was back problems perhaps because of factory jobs after the service.. but then later he developed many medical problems with lungs, kidneys, weight, diabetes, colon, etc etc etc etc etc...many other causes for disbility.)) If you respond, please put it in "layman's terms" because I am very new to this. Thank you.