Veteran Needs Your Help !

[rthomass]

I need help from any Veteran that served in Thailand during the Vietnam Era; Specifically Nakon Phanom RTAFB "NKP" Air Force Base, "naked Fanny" during the peiod of August 1969 to August 1970. Need Corroboration of Agent Orange use to support claim remanded by the CAVC to the Board Of Veteran Appeals "BVA".

Randall D. Thomas Sr.

rthomass@insightbb.com

Edited March 29, 2007 by rthomass

[Berta]

Vike said:

"You would still need a nexus between that exposure in Thialand to the medical condition you currently have."

Even if VA considered the other case- it could show that you were there under same conditions that the other vet was.And I certainly see that point being made-

But it would still take the medical evidence-a doctor's statement-

for the nexus because the VA could say others who served same time and place at this air base do not have AO disability-so the exposure has to be specific and confirmed-because AO is not presumptive for Thailand vets-

If your case was remanded from the court-the remand should state what the VA specifically needs at this point-

In your military personnel file I would imagine there are names of some officers and also your MOS was designated.There should be a way to contact individuals from your unit.

This remand of an Okinawa vet shows what the needs from him-

aooarently he handled barrels of AO- I think the first Okinawa vet AO claim that succeeded did too:

http://www.va.gov/vetapp04/files2/0410171.txt

I know the regs say VA must make "reasonable attempts" etc-but I would not put much weight on that-

I do see you point on the other BVA claim-

but you would have to prove that you were there then-same time and place as him and were also exposed.

"I do have an eye witness to the use of agent orange durint this time period at NKP."

Has this person made a statement yet to VA and can they testify you were where the AO was? and back that up with their own MOS?

(By the way what was your MOS)

[rthomass]

Berta my "MOS" or "AFSC" (air Force Specialy Code) was 65190 which is a senior purchasing and contracting specialist. If you reviews a cnversation betwen myself rthomass and Vietnam_war_vet posted 6 December 2006 you will see that I have a cooroboating veteran.

MY oncologist is giving me a letter. Additionally the nexus non-hodgskins lynphomas i.e folliculr lymphoma is cited in 38 CFR 3-309(e).....which was cited by the Acting Law Juge At BVA as 38 CFR 3-309(a).....this erroneous citation gives one year after discharge to submit a claim while 3-309(e) is open ended......perhaps the VA makes mistakes too.

Edited April 1, 2007 by rthomass

[Vike17]

rthomass,

I wish you the best of luck with your claim!

Vike 17

[rthomass]

I thank you VIKE17....care to answer your rlationship to VA?

[Berta]

Vike's point is correct-

The Thai gov is still in an uproar over the AO:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/jun1999/thai-j25.shtml

I have more recent info but cant find it-

I know a vet who handsprayed AO in Thailand-

this is not corroboration- because AO is not presumptive exposure for Thailand vets.

I have pictures of vets from Nam sitting on AO barrels-

AO barrels looked a specific way-

Since AO exposure is not presumptive to Thailand you need eye witness account of how you came into contact with it in Thailand.

Did you remove it from planes, store it somewhere, put it back on planes, did any of the barrels open?Did any AO contaminate any water supply on the base or can you prove evidence of defolation near your MOS?

Did you ever use an empty AO barrel for a barbeque pit, to wash clothes in,or as a shitter?

I was around long before AO was presumptive and helped many vets try to support their AO claims.These were vets who were in the AO settlement fund.

Even if the VA denied at that time- under Nehmer and with AO presumptive illnesses they still had right to re-open and get past retro.

The specific evidence of exposure to AO in Thailand has to be proven.

[jimlane1949]

VIKE17 Thank you for your inciteful comments. I cannot cite or tell what the veteran that won his claim used as evidence since the BVA and only the BVA knows who this individual is and what his transcript or arguments of his case were. This information is under the control of the BVA and as such either they or the local Va RO should have assisted me as part of their duty to develpe my claim; I after all pointed the decision (case) out to them and even provided them a complete copy of the decision.

I am in contact with a veteran staioned at NKP during this period and he corroborate my case. In addition he has agreed to send me a letter attesting to his post statements pertaining to the presence of agent orange at NKP during this period in time. Remember this is supposedly a non-adversarial process.......when in truth we are all lying SOB"s and our word is not worth a plugged nickle. This whole idea of the Secretary of Veteran Affairs' boots on the ground in Vietnam is flawed. Veterans that were in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia were a big part of the Vietnam war as well as the Blue Water Navy. Has anyone heard of ground water conatamination, wind, and troical storms? They all disperse he herbicides in South East Asia. The VA has the bat, ball, glove, and rules....and they play the game any way they want....It is the GI's nature to use all means to protect himself from the enemy and the VA has a lot to learn about the ingenuity of that GI. If they used it in Vietnam to reveal the enemy and provide clear fire zones; The GI's in Thailand, Laos and cambodia took it upon themselves to use it too; often without the knowlege of the brass.[/b]

I think agent orange exposure should include all service members wherever they first encountered agent orange, Southeast Asia,the United States where it was manufactured, stored, transported, and where ever it was used. The manufacturer or s had a workforce that had to be exposed also because they were involved in agent orange manufacturing. I also agree that boots in vietnam is a flawed policy. I served in Viet Nam in 66-67 and support all military and civilians that have agent orange exosure issues, just my 2 cents worth. Jim Lane TDIU T&P.