Its Been A Long Dry Spell But I Have Another Winner!

[jamescripps2]

This claim was originally filed in 2003 and was denied several times, lost a few times, kicked around to various regional offices and eventually remanded for a C&P exam. I was asked to take a look in 2011 and I started working feverishly with the widow. There was a lot of evidence gathering in the face of the usual sea of naysayers but we never lost focus. It is very difficult for a Thailand veteran to win, much less the thought of a sole surviving widow signing on upon the death of the veteran and seeing the claim through to a win. Needless to say, the evidence needed to be overwhelming. I venture to say that this the very first win for a sole surviving spouse in a Thailand herbicide exposure claim. It is important to note that the veteran was not an MP nor was he a dog handler. When it is posted on the BVA list of prior decisions web site it is DOCKET NO. 09-17 560 and dated June 02, 2014.

It is such an honor for me to be able to work these kind of claims to a win. I expect that a 100% award will be awarded in the claim because the death of the veteran was the result of the now service connected chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The following is an excerpt from an email that I received from the widow this afternoon.

It has been a long, emotional, and painful ordeal, but I did receive a letter today from the Board of Veteran’s Appeal that says – For accrued benefits purposes, service connection for chronic lymphocytic leukemia is granted.

I had James Cripps, a friend who has guided me, the first vet to win an AO claim stateside, who works daily with vets – read the decision tonight to re-assure me.

I am going to copy two paragraphs that I thought was so interesting and James also pointed it out:

An August 2007memorandum of the Compensation and Pension Service confirmed that herbicides such as Agent Orange were only applied in Thailand from April-September, 1964, 3 ½ years prior to the Veteran’s duty there. Moreover, the only application site in Thailand was the Pranburi Military Reservation, not U-Tapao. However, the memorandum determined that routine maintenance such as brush clearing, weed killing, and range management was conducted by the base civil engineer at U-Tapao, and that involved commercial herbicides applied by certified applicators. The memorandum notes that security police units and dog handlers were known to have walked the perimeters and therefore have a greater likelihood of exposure to commercial pesticides and herbicides.

Several letters were submitted by fellow-servicemen who served with the Veteran, or served at the same base in Thailand. These accounts endorsed the Veteran’s assertion that he was present at the perimeter of the base at U-Tapao. While the Veteran is not presumed to have been exposed to any herbicide based on his service, based on the Veteran’s assertions as corroborated by these statements, the Board finds that, it is at least likely as not that he was actually exposed to herbicides during his service.

[john999]

I am trying to help a vet win an AO claim based on being exposed in Okinawa. There are news articles with 20 vets from Okinawa saying they dug up or buried barrels of AO in Okinawa. Since Okinawa is not on the list of places the DOD admits that AO was stored or used I don't feel very optimistic. When you won the Thailand exposure case did you use Buddy Statements? That is all this vet has.

John

[Chuck75]

Kadena USAFB

From Wikipedia

In June 2013, the government of Japan discovered 22 barrels buried on former base property that tests showed had previously contained dioxins and herbicides. Tests on the surrounding soils found dioxin levels at 8.4 times and groundwater at 280 times the legal limit. The land in question is a soccer field bordering the base's Bob Hope Primary School and Amelia Earhart Intermediate School. Angry parents accused base officials, under base commanders Brigadier General Matt H. Molloy[11] and Brigadier General James B. Hecker, of failing to notify them of the toxins near the school and not investigating into the matter. The parents established a Facebook group on 10 January 2014 titled, "Bob Hope/AEIS - Protect Our Kids." After the issue was reported in the Japan Times and Stars and Stripes, USAF officials tested the soil and water at the schools and said that no excessive toxic substances were found.[12][13]

http://agentorangelegacy.blogspot.com/search/label/Kadena%20Air%20Base

Two leading Agent Orange specialists have weighed in on the recent discovery of 22 barrels buried on former military land in Okinawa City.1 Richard Clapp, professor emeritus at Boston University School of Public Health, and Wayne Dwernychuk, the scientist previously in charge of identifying defoliant contamination in southeast Asia, likened the levels of dioxin contamination in Okinawa City to dangerous hot-spots in Vietnam where the U.S. military had stored toxic defoliants during the 1960s and ‘70s.2

Both scientists cited the risks to Okinawa residents and urged immediate clean-up of the land to limit the threat to human health. Dwernychuk also noted that the discovery of the barrels may disprove the Pentagon’s repeated denials that military defoliants were ever present on Okinawa.

Continue Learning: http://japanfocus.org/-Jon-Mitchell/3998

US Gov document contradicting the Japanese results. (You expected something different?)

I thought the high dioxin level mentioned for Da Nang was interesting.

http://www.kadena.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-140214-006.pdf

Edited June 6, 2014 by Chuck75

[Pete53]

Congrats

[Berta]

Lots of info here on AO Okinawa:
http://www.jonmitchellinjapan.com/agent-orange-on-okinawa.html



Here is a recent BVA Okinawa winner:
http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/view.jsp?FV=http://www.va.gov/vetapp13/Files4/1332861.txt

more here:
www.hadit.com/forums/topic/47701-vets-win-payouts-over-agent-orange-use-on-okinawa/

Nothing is impossible.

[jamescripps2]

Berta, The DIC, CHAMPVA, and chapter 35 benefits letter will come from the office of original jurisdiction, in this case the RO in Nashville TN. The notification will include her back pay effective date and amounts. I suspect in the neighborhood of half a mil.

Again, the most paid for nexus and medical opinions in the claim was nominal $15 and $30 copays. In the case of no insurance a cost of 85.00 can be expected for a medical opinion.

I am honored to have built the case and produced the evidence to win a favorable grant in

my own claim for the first CONUS win. 100% P&T

The first AO win at fort McClellan ALA, 100% P&T

The second AO win at Fort Gordon GA for a reserve officer who did not even carry a veterans status until he won his claim for AO exposure.

A win for a Korean vet who served outside the dates and unit requirements. 100% P&T

The granted claim for the widow of a Thailand vet's widow, despite her husbands death half way through the process. Again, he was neither an MP nor was he a dog handler. He worked in supply.

At this time I am working on another fort Gordon claim. It is at the BVA and ready for a decision and decision is very close.

I rely on Gods promise to those who care for widows and orphans to get me through the gates of heaven, I have spent my time in hell!

To John999, yes we relied heavily on buddy statements and a bucket full of properly written nexus letters. You can find my outline and

explanation for a properly written nexus letter at usva101.org. Just copy it and take it to your doctor when you go after the nexus letter.

[Computer Tech]

I used several buddy letters to win my AO claim at korat Thailand, I got 200% P&T for IHD and another 50% for DMII and secondaries.

Rick