Ao Question

[EODMOMMY]

After I started posting on this forum in regards to my husband's disability claim, I was reading some of the AO ones and they got me thinking......not about my husband, but about my uncle.

My uncle was in the Navy and over in Vietnam during the war. I remember my mom telling me about him going on shore one time, but that was it. I did some additional reading about the Navy and their water supply from the off shore disalinization and exposure to AO because of that.

My question is, for Navy personnel who served in Vietnam during the war, what would the VA consider as exposure?

All I know is this is my dad's baby brother (he was a kid when my dad entered the Air Force in the 50's). They where never really close till recently. My uncle had a heart attack, I can't remember exactly when, I know it was before my dad had his (2000), and he had to have bypass surgery. I also learned that my uncle is has DMII, but I don't know how long he has had that. I tried to call him, but I found out he works during the weekend and he told my dad the best time to catch him is during the week. He use to work for Ford Motor Company, working on their corporate jets, but Ford sold off that part of the company to another and that company later sold it off to another company out of Russia and they went bankrupt. My uncle had been put on permanent disability because of his bypass surgery and was collecting his retirement, till that one company went bankrupt. Now his retirement is gone. So he is now having to work...I think he is only working part-time. But I know he has been having a lot of problems with his feet and recently saw a podiatrist who prescribed him diabetic shoes.

But I am going to call him tomorrow (hope I catch him, he can be a slippery sucker to catch) B) ....we don't talk much. My main memories of him are when I was little and he was in the Navy and would visit us when he came into port in VA, since my dad was stationed in VA at that time. I remembered him as this GIANT!! B) Scary for a little kid. But then I saw him about 20 years later and thought to myself, he isn't as tall as I remember him being! But with my dad being in the Air Force and retiring on the other side of the country, I never got to really know my uncle much. When we talk on the phone, I am like..what do I say to him? The biggest thing we have in common is a family scandal...we both got divorced in the same year... B) My last conversation with him mainly consisted of me asking him if he hit his head a lot on the doors in the aircraft carrier. He said, Nope...mostly my shins. Then I end up talking to his new wife, if she is home.

Edited June 6, 2006 by EODMOMMY

[john999]

If you Uncle put his feet on Vietnamese soil even one time he was exposed. Can he prove that he did this? It is called the "boots on the ground" theory. Anyone who had boots on the ground in Vietnam is considered to have been exposed.

[Berta]

Yep- John is right-

He could write to the

Ships History Branch, Naval History Center ,Building 57,

Washington Navy Yard

Washington, DC 20375-0571

He should be as specific as he can regarding dates and places (if he knows them) to ask for deck logs and the ship's station history.

I have Vietnam war map and a coastal map if he needs copy to jog his memory.It sure helps with the spelling of Nam areas.

as well as he should attempt to contact his unit- to do what he can to prove he did step on Vietnamese soil.

I seem to recall I helped a AO vet who stepped on land while helping a Vietnamese Officer get aboard a launch and also we had a Blue Water vet here whose daughter did LOTS of work and the vet finally succeeded-there are many ways to attempt to prove if he did get on shore-

and he got a very large retro award. (Laura Lilly's dad)

Had another vet who picked up the ships mail one day on Vietnam soil.

Was your uncle directly involved with the distillation MOS that took him on shore?

His ship might have a web site-

What base did the distilled water come from? Danang?

[john999]

Veterans did not invent the crazy AO rules. If you were in RVN waters and brought fruit, water or food on board they in my opinion you were exposed but the VA does not agree. This is not science but just drawing a line in the sand to deny claims and save money.

[EODMOMMY]

If you Uncle put his feet on Vietnamese soil even one time he was exposed. Can he prove that he did this? It is called the "boots on the ground" theory. Anyone who had boots on the ground in Vietnam is considered to have been exposed.

I spoke to my uncle today. Boy that man got around when he was in the Navy. He did put "boots on the ground" for a couple of hours. I couldn't get a straight answer if his ship was offshore of Vietnam. He had been all over and I think he was at Okinawa at the time he got sent over to Vietnam. He was a jet mechanic. I don't know if he could prove it, besides his word.

What is the VA position on Jet fuel? He said he used to get soaked with it all the time.

Edited June 6, 2006 by EODMOMMY

[EODMOMMY]

Yep- John is right-

He could write to the

Ships History Branch, Naval History Center ,Building 57,

Washington Navy Yard

Washington, DC 20375-0571

He should be as specific as he can regarding dates and places (if he knows them) to ask for deck logs and the ship's station history.

I have Vietnam war map and a coastal map if he needs copy to jog his memory.It sure helps with the spelling of Nam areas.

as well as he should attempt to contact his unit- to do what he can to prove he did step on Vietnamese soil.

I seem to recall I helped a AO vet who stepped on land while helping a Vietnamese Officer get aboard a launch and also we had a Blue Water vet here whose daughter did LOTS of work and the vet finally succeeded-there are many ways to attempt to prove if he did get on shore-

and he got a very large retro award. (Laura Lilly's dad)

Had another vet who picked up the ships mail one day on Vietnam soil.

Was your uncle directly involved with the distillation MOS that took him on shore?

His ship might have a web site-

What base did the distilled water come from? Danang?

I will e-mail the questions you brought up to my uncle, all I know is he said he flew into Vietnam. I thought his ship was stationed in the waters of Vietnam, but I think his brain is a little off now as he is getting older and I don't know. But he did have boots on the ground in Vietnam, if only for a few hours.

[Berta]

If he flew in-(Navy)- he most likely arrived from Okinawa to Danang Air Base-

If he has ( or can get via NARA) his SRB- Service Record Book as well as his SMRS- in the SRB (NAvy, Marines) NAV 118 -there is usually a destination log and it should show an arrival in Vietnam and where the plane landed. But the "few hours" -that also should be in the SRB too as additional departure because he most likely got on another plane? Meaning he did have to step on land in Nam to get onto the other plane.