Defense Bill will add 3 new AO presumptives

[Berta]

Defense Bill Would Add 3 New Diseases to Agent Orange Presumptive Conditions List | Military.com

[Berta]

John, I do not believe the USS Hancock is on the VA AO ship's list- however, you have been incountry Vietnam, and I assume that  was a COD plane that took you there from the ship:

https://www.va.gov/vetapp20/files6/20040078.txt

Your ship is also at Facebook.

This vet above proved that he was sent to Vietnam with supplies from the USS Hancock.

BVA awarded his DMII claim but remanded the claim for other issues.

A widow vet advocate I know proved her husband was on the USS Bon Hommee-I am spelling that wrong, and I think this ship is now on the AO list, but she had to prove he was sent to Vietnam on the ships COD planes and proved his disability was from AO and it caused his death..she was an aggressive advocate for Blue Water Navy as well and helped get HR 299 passed.

Can you scan and attach the denials here? We need to see the evidence list they used as well as their rationale for denial.

Cover your C file #, name prior to scanning it.

You said: The logs were destroyed- do you mean they are not in your Military Personnel file?

They might be on line at this web site:

https://www.usshancockassociation.org/index.php

But you do not need them if you prove Boots on Ground-Vietnam.

The site above has a reunion roster I believe and that is a good way to find a buddy.

TWS ( TogetherWe Serve) might help as well.

 

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Jarhead11- Al green was a popular singer for many years and in late 1989 I bought every "album" of his that I could afford.

My Army husband was hospitalized due to a brain tumor , and music gave me some relief from the stress of wondering if he would ever come home. He never did.

 

My daughter,on her first leave in USAF, came home at Christmas in 1998 ,with a great CD player for me ( I still used a 'record player,' in those days,) and she gave me his entire Anthology on CDs and we played every CD while she was here ( she grew up with mommy's music and what a gift that was- I make my own CDs now and have some of his music on them for my car.)

 

 

He was one of the first black singers who attracted large white female audiences-( it is so  odd to write that, as music really has united our country in so many ways)- 

He started out with love songs, and then added Gospel to many albums and wrote most of his songs himself , but is now the pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Macon Georgia.

 

I brought my portable CD player and played part of one of his songs, at a senior luncheon at my church, when they asked to hear my testimony again.

 

Almost every senior there  recognized the song I played. And they remembered how popular he was. 

 

Thanks for asking. I have found music can relieve a lot of stress and takes us to a different place when we feel overwhelmed. And nothing can add  a lot more stress to any veteran or their survivors,  than dealing with the VA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/128667737214096/

More for John: but I think you can prove Boots on Ground, so you would not need the logs-

" Unfortunately the flight logs have been destroyed and deck logs don’t specify exact aircraft or passengers that launched or where they are headed. '

Where did you get that info- as t the deck logs being destroyed - there are Many sites online that have deck logs and they should also be in your Military Personnel file ( NAV201) .

I was a member of BWN Association when John Rossie was President of it- carriers have had a hard time getting on the AO ship list but you had Boots on ground-Vietnam and somehow that can be proven. 

As GBA said-= you need a buddy statement and the USS Hancock has a web site-I assume they have a crew list and maybe a reunion roster- a good way to find a buddy- you can also try TWS (Together We Served)

https://www.usshancockassociation.org/index.php

She is also at Facebook. with over 800 members

https://www.facebook.com/groups/128667737214096/

NOTHING is impossible- ad the only reason the VA AO Ship's list has grown ( links to it are here under a search) is because Navy  veterans themselves took the bull by the horns and proved their ship was within the 12 mile limit that HR 299 reveals , to prove their exposure to AO.

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Edited December 5, 2020 by Berta
have problems with post vanishing am in cloud

[Berta]

John, you were correct that the USS Hancock's logs were destroyed:

https://historyhub.history.gov/thread/2340

The letter in this link came from :

"Sincerely,

Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RDT2)

National Archives at College Park, MD"

I was concerned that maybe the VA or some vet rep told you that.

I never believe some of the stuff VA says.  or vet reps say ,for that matter. Sorry I questioned your source.

One of my past vet reps asked me to help a friend of his and had the vet's permission to show me his SMRs.

The VA had denied his claim saying his SMRs were burned in the St Louis fire and NARA had only provided to VA a few pages- that he handed to me.

No watermarks, no charred edges- and since I had been with the local volunteer fire department for 8 years I said firemen at that St Louis Fire never had time to retrieve a few documents here and there. It was VA BS- they probably put the rest of his SMRS into someone else's C file.

The vet sent NARA a SF 180 and got his complete SMRS.

Unfortunately they did not help his claim.

Another vet I ran into at the VAMC  Chapel showed me his VA denial saying his SMRs were burned in the St Louis Fire.

I asked him when he was born- he was a young guy and then I told him -you served years AFTER that fire. The VA is full of BS.

I wrote on a pad in my purse- To XXXX ( I knew his rep) This denial holds  a CUE under 38 CFR 4.6 -and signed it and I said  tell your rep ( state vet rep office was next to the Bath VA Chapel) I told you this ,and he has my phone number if he does not understand the note.

I dont know how he made out.

I only believe things the VA says in writing, if they are Good. VAROs make MANY Errors and I do believe many of those errors  are deliberate.

Hopefully he got his SMRs from NARA web site with a SF 180.

 

 

[GBArmy]

The VA announced that they will begin adjudicating the 3 new add-ons for presumptive diseases: Parkinsonism, hypothyroidism, and bladder cancer. Says they "won't make the Vietnam veterans wait any longer." Huh!!! They had the directive in 2014; must take a long time for news to travel down in D.C. Anyway, it says they will take a new look automatically on any veteran who was denied prior. I'm in that group and I don't think I'm waiting too long for them to get back, ya know what I mean? https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5675

 

[john999]

Where is benefit of doubt regarding Vietnam vets and AO? I have three AO conditions as well.  I also have high blood.  If the heart condition and diabetes does not kill me I can look forward to a stroke. Would it be wise to file for high blood and wait for denial and then file again when and if it becomes presumptive?  I really feel for those who were exposed but not stationed in-country.  It has been 50+ years for many of us.  Time is running out for most of us.  I think the VA is just waiting for us to die to save a buck.  The bean counters at the VA and treasury value dollars more than lives.

[GBArmy]

John999 If you're already 100% P&T, it doesn't make much sense to file. That is UNLESS you are working on SMC's. But I do think your advice is good for most others not in that situation. I actually believe that Htn will be declared a A.O. presumptive as part of a consolidation of all the Veteran benefits at committees in Congress right now. They just announced today they are accepting the three other "new" presumptive disabilities and will automatically review those previously denied. Either file now to get a EED, or wait until it is officially declared service-connected by the VA later and lose out on some extra months back pay.

[john999]

Yeah, I won't get any backpay either way.  VA is dragging their feet on HBP.  I may not live to file.  Most of us Vietnam vets are in our 70's.