agent orange sprayed on Alaska Pipeline-Ft. Wainwright

[JHutchinson]

My husband spent 18 months at Ft Wainwright Fairbanks Alaska 1967 - 68..  I have obtained reports from the 2 Indian Tribes where the US government admitted to spraying  Agent Orange on Pipeline.  I have report from DEC in Alaska where Corps of Engineers admit to spraying in Alaska.  I am trying to locate anyone who may have claims approved for this same area.  I now am looking for anyone at Ft. Wainwright who may have served during this same era who may have any pictures of storage of agent orange on base or pictures of the bare pipeline.  I forgot to mention that I also have letters from the US Army to the Canadian government outlining the spraying of agent orange.  Any info would be appreciated or if anyone can put me in contact with veterans from Ft. Wainwright serving during the same time as my husband.  He was a helicopter mechanic who worked on some of the Hueys returning from Viet nam which had been used for spraying agent orange.  Any help???? 

[JHutchinson]

On ‎9‎/‎14‎/‎2017 at 9:10 AM, Berta said:

I also found email from a lawyer who contacted me via hadit many  years ago, to see if I could help with his first CAVC case, which involved proving exposure to Agent Orange.(Alaska-repaired Bird Dogs )

He wrote:

"Wow! Thank you for this update. My involvement with the vet that led me to connect with you back in 2009 ended several years ago, following my pro bono involvement and the grant of remand. I tried to keep in touch and assist him in the process following remand. Even helped ghost write a couple letters to move his remanded claim off of dormancy. But, I never heard the final result. I still wonder what became of him and his claim His claim was not as clear or direct in terms of exposure as this ruling you forwarded on the post-war C-123s. My claimant's matter was aircraft related, but his claim was that certain 0-1 "Bird Dog" planes he worked on in Alaska, that had been sent there for repairs, had been used in herbicide spraying operations. The VA maintained that the 0-1 was only used as a forward air control spotter plane, and that they had never found any evidence or record of the 0-1 being used in Vietnam for AO or other herbicide spraying. They in fact maintained that the 0-1 could not have been used for spraying, but I did find actual manufacturer manuals and related literature that showed that the aircraft did in fact have an optional configuration for spraying. But, never could find any evidence or anecdote of one being actually used in Vietnam for spraying. In fact, every 0-1 vet I could find said, to a man, they'd never heard of or seen an 0-1 used for spraying. It is encouraging however to finally see the acknowledgement, as noted in this ruling you sent me, that exposure could and did come from a lot more paths and methods of exposure than first hand. Thanks again. Kudos to you and all those who continue to press for what is right for these vets. -- Randy Holliday"

I wonder after all these years, if the veteran succeeded on remand and was awarded at the regional level.If so, we will never know.

However the point I have made is clear here as well....

I was a student pilot and knew this plane the lawyer's client referred to ,was as small as the ones I took flying lessons in Pipers or cessna 152s and could not  possibly hold AO spraying equipment and containers of AO.

You definitely need to  prove that the helicopters he worked on were used in Vietnam to spray AO or, by the fact they were on ground and in air - Vietnam as well for refueling,so  that , as Wes Carter proved, the helicopter (and it's pilots) were exposed to AO from a contaminated aircraft.

 

 

I have a picture showing a Huey that crashed in Viet Nam with AO aboard.  A passenger on this Huey stated it actually was a Huey and that he had been covered by AO.  I have a poster published by the VA showing a Huey spraying over a field in Viet Nam.  I do not know how to contact any members of his unit.  He was in trans med helicopter, 19th Aviation Battalion.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Berta]

There are  at least 3  Fort Wainwright vets with their email addys at this site-

who served near the time your husband did---in the long list of vets who discussed working with helos during the Vietnam War.

Here is one of them:

 

“Phillip Newton 1SG Ret., e-mail, 06.11.2016

Good day all. The dates above are a little off, because I was working on and flying in H-21's in 1967, Fort Wainwright Alaska, Transportation Medium Helicopter Co. 19th Aviation Battalion. I was just a PFC back then and received orders for Vietnam halfway through my tour there, but I loved those old birds and it was a great company with good leadership and good sergeants. I retired from active service in 1994, but I never got back to Alaska.”

Perhaps your husband worked on Piasecki H-21 ( the H-21 Shawnee Flying banana) was not used after 1965 but the other H-21s were  

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/piasecki_h-21.php

I found this site in a few minutes----and many of the emails posted there are  fairly recent but , as a hardcore claimant myself, it often takes a LOT of searching on google, changing the search terms often.

Does he has a Presumptive AO disability? 

Are you this poster at Ben Krauses site, who replied to me some time ago, stating the presumptives he has ?

http://www.disabledveterans.org/2015/06/15/reversal-of-agent-orange-boots-on-the-ground-policy/

I forget if I mentioned here or at Ben's site that the AMC award (in my opinion) to the vet who served in Alaska , was erroneous.I discussed it with a AO lawyer I know ,who was as stunned as I was....because  the vet relied on a newspaper article from the Haines Alaska Press (I  might still have the article- it did not help another vet I know, who claimed AO from Alaska) but the AMC decision contained no evidence that put him into the swath of pipeline area, during the spraying time line  nor identified him as with the USA Corps of Engineers who did the spraying. AMC makes many errors and I think this award was one of them....

You need to try that link I gave as one of those Alaska vets might be able to help.

Using Google has helped countless veterans  and certainly helped me with my claims.It just takes time and patience. You could probably even post a question at the aviastar site  link above.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2017 by Berta

[Shannon]

Hello! I am wondering if anyone here can help me help my father an Army Vet who was also a helicopter mechanic during the same years you are discussing above. He stated to me that he remembers barrels with orange stripes on them that were used for AO. I am attempting to gather more information and send in a claim for him. His name is Frank Travers-he was a drummer at the time and would sneak off the base at night to go into Fairbanks to play...unfortunately he went into the reserves after being in Alaska and he was shot in the head by a police officer as a passenger in a car and since then has struggled to survive on social security and a measly 140 from the VA-he has heart disease and lung issues (I think from exposure) and many deficits from the bullet still in his head-I am desperate to get him more money from the VA and any help from others that may have been there at the same time would be wonderful. I can be reached at 323-741-0044 (my office number). Shannon

[Shannon]

On 9/13/2017 at 7:44 AM, JHutchinson said:

My husband spent 18 months at Ft Wainwright Fairbanks Alaska 1967 - 68..  I have obtained reports from the 2 Indian Tribes where the US government admitted to spraying  Agent Orange on Pipeline.  I have report from DEC in Alaska where Corps of Engineers admit to spraying in Alaska.  I am trying to locate anyone who may have claims approved for this same area.  I now am looking for anyone at Ft. Wainwright who may have served during this same era who may have any pictures of storage of agent orange on base or pictures of the bare pipeline.  I forgot to mention that I also have letters from the US Army to the Canadian government outlining the spraying of agent orange.  Any info would be appreciated or if anyone can put me in contact with veterans from Ft. Wainwright serving during the same time as my husband.  He was a helicopter mechanic who worked on some of the Hueys returning from Viet nam which had been used for spraying agent orange.  Any help???? 

Hi! My Father was also a helicopter mechanic working on Hueys based out of Fairbanks Alaska during these times and also reported that he thinks he was exposed and remembers seeing barrels somewhere in the helicopters or nearby...he has ishemic heart disease and lung issues including COPD...I can be reached at 323-741-0044 Shannon (my office number) I would like to talk to anyone else that may have been there during that time

Edited November 16, 2019 by Shannon

[GBArmy]

Shannon, I wish you luck in your attempts. You can also place personal notes like "looking for" types in the several national veterans organizations magazines like the VFW, American Legion, Vietnam Veterans Of America, etc. Not sure if there is any charge but it reaches a lot of veterans. Possible resource for you. Good luck!

[Berta]

GBArmy that is good advice-I will add that to the thread from John 48.

Thanks!