Vietnam Veterans

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Vietnam Veterans

US Military involvement in the Vietnam War officially began on August 5, 1964; however, the first U.S. casualty in Vietnam occurred on July 8, 1959. Approximately 2.7 million American men and women served in Vietnam. During the war, over 58,000 U.S. military members lost their lives and 153, 0000 were wounded. There were 766 prisoners of war, of which 114 died in captivity. The war was officially ended by Presidential Proclamation on May 7, 1975.

Agent Orange was a tactical herbicide used by the U.S. military for control of vegetation. It was named for the orange band around the storage barrel. The military sprayed Agent Orange and other tactical herbicides during the Vietnam War. Veterans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange include Veterans who served in different locations, including Vietnam, the Korean Demilitarized Zone, on Thai Air Force bases, at other locations and who flew on or worked on C-123 aircraft.

Agent Orange Locations

The VA bases eligibility for VA disability compensation benefits, in part, on whether you served in a location that exposed you to Agent Orange. They call this having a presumption of exposure. To receive a presumption of exposure you must meet at least one of these service requirements.

Between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, you must have served for any length of time in at least one of these locations:

In the Republic of Vietnam, OR
Aboard a U.S. military vessel that operated in the inland waterways of Vietnam, OR
On a vessel operating not more than 12 nautical miles seaward from the demarcation line of the waters of Vietnam and Cambodia

Or you must have served in at least one of these locations that the VA has added based on the PACT ACT:

Any U.S. or Royal Thai military base in Thailand from January 9, 1962, through June 30, 1976, OR
Laos from December 1, 1965, through September 30, 1969, OR
Cambodia at Mimot or Krek, Kampong Cham Province from April 16, 1969, OR
Guam or American Samoa or in the territorial waters off Guam or American Samoa from January 9, 1962, through July 31, 1980, OR
Johnston Atoll or on a ship that called at Johnston Atoll from January 1, 1972, through September 30, 1977

Or at least one of these must be true for you:

You served in or near the Korean DMZ for any length of time between September 1, 1967, and August 31, 1971, OR
You served on active duty in a regular Air Force unit location where a C-123 aircraft with traces of Agent Orange was assigned, and had repeated contact with this aircraft due to your flight, ground or medical duties, OR
You were involved in transporting, testing, storing, or other uses of Agent Orange during your military service, OR
You were assigned as a Reservist to certain flight, ground, or medical crew duties at one of the locations listed here

Eligible Reserve locations, time periods and units include:

Lockbourne/Rickenbacker Air Force Base in Ohio, 1969 to 1986 (906th and 907th Tactical Air Groups or 355th and 356th Tactical Airlift Squadrons)
Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts, 1972 to 1982 (731st Tactical Air Squadron and 74th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, or 901st Organizational Maintenance Squadron)
Pittsburgh International Airport in Pennsylvania, 1972 to 1982 (758th Airlift Squadron)

VA does not recognize service medals as proof of service in Vietnamese waters.

For more information on Agent Orange exposure and VA disability.

Presumptive conditions

The VA considers a condition presumptive when it's established by law or regulation. If you've been diagnosed with one of these conditions, you don't need to prove that it started during-or got worse because of-your military service.

Cancers caused by Agent Orange exposure

Bladder Cancer
Chronic B-cell Leukemia
Hodgkin's disease
Multiple myeloma
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Prostate Cancer
Respiratory cancers (including lung cancer)
Some soft tissue sarcomas (Does not include osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or mesothelioma)

Other illnesses caused by Agent Orange exposure

AL amyloidosis
Chloracne (or other types of acneiform disease like it. Must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of herbicide exposure.)
Diabetes mellitus type 2
High blood pressure (Hypertension)
Hypothyroidism
Ischemic heart disease
Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)
Parkinsonism
Parkinson's disease
Peripheral neuropathy, early onset (Must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of herbicide exposure.)

The VA continues to do studies and add conditions to the presumptive list.

Survivors and dependents:

If a veteran has already passed away due to an herbicide related condition, and their service is now considered presumptive under the law, their survivor(s) as defined by VA will be eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and related ancillary benefits. If you had not previously applied, you can submit a new application.
If a survivor had previously filed a claim for DIC and was denied due to the fact that the veteran did not serve in Vietnam, or passed from a condition that is now covered, they will be eligible for DIC and related ancillary benefits. The VA will try to contact you but do not wait to have that claim reevaluated.
*Note that adult children may file for accrued benefits on behalf of their parent veteran and may be eligible for retroactive DIC benefits if they had previously filed, up until the age where VA would no longer consider them a dependent.

Where can I find deck logs?

If the veteran was previously denied compensation for a presumptive condition, but the ship they served on was added to VA's "Agent Orange Ships List" because it was in the inland waterways of Vietnam during the time the veteran was on the ship, the veteran should be able to have their claim processed now and obtain an earlier effective date due to newly discovered service records.
If the veteran's ship is not on VA's "Agent Orange Ships List", National Archives has digitized many deck logs from 1941-1978, which are available at: https://www.archives.gov/research/military/logbooks/navy-online.

If the deck log is not on the National Archives website, National Archives suggests emailing archives2reference@nara.gov to see if they have a copy in their physical archives.