From: jewell@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Larry Jewell)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: 'NamVet Newsletter, Vol.5, no.7 (4/6)
Date: 29 Aug 92 23:49:15 GMT
Organization: Purdue University


            While others returned in a box or in a sack.
        We may not agree, why they all went,
            But let's praise 'n pray, say thanks for the debt.
        This is a day for us to reflect,
            So let's not forget, they're all "our" vets.
                                         Jim Kramer"
     
     "The Vietnam vets experiences are unique in American history. We 
     were participants in the longest military involvement; the only 
     one in which America was not the victor. We were young; our 
     average age was about 19 years old, while WWII vets' average age 
     was almost 26. Our country was not behind our efforts, thus the 
     hostility of those against the war was focused on us. It was 
     common when we came back home to be greeted by war protesters. We 
     were called "baby killers", and were spat upon. Many of us turned 
     to drugs and alcohol to try to escape the pain in returning to a 
     society that simply did not show it cared.
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 46
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

       Sadly, but ever so true, our churches did not treat the Vietnam 
     Veterans any better than did society as a whole. Most church 
     leaders failed to realize that the emotional and behavioral 
     problems that the Vietnam vets were going through, was in fact a 
     "SPIRITUAL" problem. As a result no effort was made to 
     evangelize or restore these vets.
     
                                STATISTICS
     1. Nearly 3 million American men and women served in Southeast 
        Asia during the Vietnam era between 1964 - 1973. About 1 
        million saw active combat or were exposed to hostile, life-
        threatening situations.
     2. About 58,000 Americans lost their lives in Vietnam. Almost 
        350,000 Americans were wounded.
     3. Over 800,000 Vietnam vets are suffering from varying degrees of 
        post-traumatic stress syndrome as a result of their experiences 
        in 'Nam.
     4. Over 40 million Americans, nearly 20% of our population, have a 
        distinct, direct personal link to a Vietnam era vet (i.e., 
        parents, wives, children, etc.).
     5. The suicide rate for Vietnam vets has climbed to over 100,000 
        (86% higher than their peer group)- almost twice the number who 
        actually died in Southeast Asia.
     6. To date, there are almost 100,000 Vietnam vets incarcerated and 
        almost 200,000 on parole.
     7. Vietnam vets' divorce rate is double the national average. Of 
        combat vets, 80-90% have been divorced.
     8. Unemployment is twice as high. One in four Vietnam vets earns 
        under $7,000 per year.
     9. Untold thousands of Vietnam vets are suffering and dying from 
        Agent Orange poisoning - a defoliant sprayed on the jungles in 
        Vietnam and one of the most toxic substances known to man."
     


























     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 47
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

       XXXXX           XXXXX                XXXXX                 XXXX
       XXXXX           XXXXX                XXXXX   \   \   \  \ \XXXX
       XXXXX           XXXXX.::::::::::::::.XXXXX  INCARCERATED   XXXX
       XXXXX           XXXXX   ---------    XXXXX \ \ \  \  \  \ \XXXX
       XXXXX          .XXXXX   W W   I I    XXXXX.   VETERANS \  \XXXX
       XXXXX         ::XXXXX   ---------    XXXXX::.  \  \  \   \ XXXX
       XXXXX        :::XXXXX -------------  XXXXX:::.             XXXX
       XXXXX       ::::XXXXX K  O  R  E  A  XXXXX::::             XXXX
       XXXXX       ::::XXXXX -------------  XXXXX::::             XXXX
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       XXXXX       ::::XXXXX -------------  XXXXX::::             XXXX
       XXXXX       ::::XXXXX::::::::::::::::XXXXX::::             XXXX
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       XXXXX.::'   ::  XXXXX: PREPARED TO   XXXXX  .''      ''..  XXXX
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     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 48
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991



     ==================================================================
                         Ol' Glory n' Shiftin' Sands
     ==================================================================

       LEGISLATION EXPANDS VA BENEFITS FOR PERSIAN GULF WAR VETERANS
                      DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
                  Office of Public Affairs - News Service
                    Washington DC 20420  (202) 233-2741
                         Input by: G. Joseph Peck
                         NamVet's Managing Editor
                        VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA
                              (413) 443-6313
     
       President  Bush signed a comprehensive benefits package April  6 
     providing  or expanding a variety of benefits administered by  the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs for Persian Gulf War veterans.
       The  legislation  formally defines the conflict in  the  Persian 
     Gulf as a period of war for benefits purposes,  beginning Aug.  2, 
     1990, and ending by Presidential proclamation or by law.
       The bill also expands eligibility for VA readjustment counseling 
     for  Persian  Gulf War veterans,  as well as veterans  who  served 
     during  other  periods of armed hostilities following the  Vietnam 
     War,  such  as  Lebanon,  Grenada and Panama.   VA's  Readjustment 
     Counseling  Service,  which operates a national network of 195 Vet 
     Centers,  was  originally  established to provide  counseling  and 
     outreach services to Vietnam veterans and family members.
       Other highlights of the benefits package:
       ^ Montgomery  GI  Bill-Active  Duty basic  education  rates  are 
     increased from $300 and $250 per month to $350 and $275 per month, 
     beginning Oct. 1991 through Sept. 1993.
       ^ Rates  for  full-time training under the Montgomery  GI  Bill-
     Selected  Reserve  are  increased  from $140 to  $170  per  month, 
     beginning Oct. 1991 through Sept. 1993.
       ^ Eligibility  for VA-guaranteed home loans is extended to  each 
     veteran who served during the Persian Gulf War for 90 days or more 
     (previously  181 days or more),  even if they did not serve in the 
     combat area.
       ^ Eligibility  for  VA pension programs is extended for  Persian 
     Gulf War veterans and their survivors.
       ^ Persian  Gulf  War  veterans who develop an  active  psychosis 
     within  two  years of discharge will be presumed to have  incurred 
     this disability during active duty (for health-care purposes).
       ^ Dental  benefits  are  authorized for veterans who  served  on 
     active  duty for 90 days (previously 180 days)  during the Persian 
     Gulf War.
       ^ Maximum  Servicemen's  and  Veterans'   Group  Life  Insurance 
     coverage is increased from $50,000 to $100,000.
       ^ For  more  information  on VA benefits,  veterans  and  family 
     members  are  urged  to contact the nearest  VA  regional  office, 
     listed in telephone directories under U.S. Government.   Toll-free 
     numbers are available in all states.
                             (April 17, 1991)
     






     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 49
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
       Operation Desert Shield
     
     NMNMNMNMNMNMNM\                        Operation Desert Storm
     MH *  *  *  HN/NMNMNMNMNMNMNMNNMNM\
     NH  *  *  * HM/MH   *  *  HMNMMNMN/MMMMMMMMMMMMM\
     MH *  *  *  HN/NH *  *  * H////////MMMMMMMMMMMMM/MMMMMMMMMMMMMMH
     NH  *  *  * HM/MH   *  *  H//////////////////////MMMMMMMMMMMMMMH
     MH *  *  *  HN/NH *  *  * HNMNMMNM/////////////////////////////H
     MH  *  *  * HM/MH*  *  *  HMNMNNMN/NMNMNMNNMNMNM///////////////H
     MH *  *  *  HN/NH *  *  * H////////MNMNMNMMNMNMN/NMNMNNMNMNNMNHH
     NH  *  *  * HM/MH   *  *  H//////////////////////MNMNMMNMNMMNMNH
     MH *  *  *  HN/NH *  *  * HMNMMNMN/////////////////////////////H
     H//////////////MH   *  *  HNMNNMNM/NMNMNMNNMNMNM///////////////H
     H//////////////////////////////////MNMNMNMMNMNMN/NMNMNNMNMNNMNMH
     NNNNNNNNNNNNNN///////////////////////////////////MNMNMMNMNMMNMNH
     NNNNNNNNNNNNNN/NMNMNMNMNMNMNMNNMNM/////////////////////////////H
     H//////////////MNMNMNMNMNMNMNMMNMN/NMNMNMNNMNMNM///////////////H
     H//////////////////////////////////MNMNMNMMNMNMN/NMNMNNMNMNNMNMH
     MNMNMNMNMNMNMN///////////////////////////////////MNMNMMNMNMMNMNH
     NMNMNMNMNMNMNM\NMNMNMNMNMNMNMMNMNM/////////////////////////////H
                    \NMNMNMNMNMNMNNMNMN\NMNMNMNNMNMNM///////////////H
                                       \MNMNMNMMNMNMN\NMNMNNMNMNNMNMH
                 WELL DONE !!!                       \MNMNMMNMNMMNMNH
     
                WELCOME HOME!!!
     
     
     
     
     
     













     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 50
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991



     ==================================================================
                           Don't drink the water!
     ==================================================================

     From a report titled: Agent Orange Phuoc Vihn Ground (Water) Zero
                             by Gregg Knowlton
                      Areas of Agent Orange Spraying
                           Input by Jim Ferguson
              NamVet's Assistant Agent Orange Section Editor
                        VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA
                              (413) 443-6313
     
     
                     HERBS TAPES USAF HERBICIDE TOTALS
                            (from 1965 onward)
     These totals represent the USAF Ranch Hand sprayings ONLY; they do
     NOT INCLUDE the US Army helicopter or ground applications,  or any 
     form of the Insecticide programs by GVN or the US Military.  Areas 
     specified  are  either  cities  or  US  military  bases;  and  the 
     gallonage  represents  sprays within 8 km of the  specified  area. 
     (Thus, each area is 9.6 mile diameter.)
     
                                       Orange    White     Blue
     I CORPS:
           An Hoa                        6500     1800    11250
           A Shau                       53550     2550     6128
           Hue                          41395        0     5070
           LangCo Bridge                50610     5600     3500
           Phu Bai                      54300     3000      120
           Con Thien                    84700    12460    10925
           Cam Lo                       80375     8660    12785
           LZ Sandra                   118780    20210    24755
           FB Rakkassan                150145    23900     2510
           FB Jack                     140875    11900     3280
           Marble, Hill 59              15405     6720    18508
           LZ Profess(ional?), Hill 55  39300    13000    17209
           Chu Lai                      12170     4150     1598
           LZ Jane, FB Barbara          91150     6750     3700
           Duc Pho, LZ Bronco           46225    14400     1175
           Da Nang, China Beach         13800        0     2000
           LZ Dogpatch, Hill 327         4490        0     8250
           LZ Rockcrusher, Hill 85      47800        0        0
           Quang Tri, LZ Nancy          68000     2750     3700
           LZ Langley, FB Shepherd      72105     7040     4800
           LZ Snapper, FB Leather       11350        0     3000
           Khe Sanh, FB Smith           43705     3040     4300
           Phu Loc, LZ Tommahawk        78250     4000        0
           FB West                      15405     3690    18480
           LZ Ross                      15405     6720    18508
           Quang Nai                    25605        0     1800
           Camp Evans                   18690        0      880
           LZ Baldy                     15430     3000    13950
           Hoi An                       17520     3000    13950
           Hill 63                      20500     3200        0
           Bihn Hoa                      8220        0     1600
           Camp Eagle                   14250        0        0
           LZ Rockpile                 110050    15440     7650
           Camp Esso                    53410     5600     5500
           Camp Carrol                  78200     5400     5050
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 51
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

           LZ Geronimo                  22535    14000      468
           Camp Henderson               68155     7040     4800
           Dong Ha                      54385     5060     9935
           Hill 69                      11620     4150     1598
     
     II CORPS:
           An Khe, Camp Radcliff        37810     6400     5610
           LZ Dog, LZ English           63073      630     6000
           An Lao, LZ Laramia           68970      490    10570
           Phu Cat, LZ Hammond          29700     7210        0
           Plei Me, SF Camp             15300     1260      110
           Bon Song, LZ Two Bits        80643      630     6000
           LZ Putter, FB Bird           50095        0     7200
           Tuy An                       13215     3740        0
           Cam Rahn Bay                 21227     1373        0
           LZ Uplift                    43455     3220      275
           FB Pony                      43490        0     3800
           Nha Thrang                    6950      325        0
           Ban Me Thuot                 16000     9250        0
           Tuy Hoa                      29565     4485        0
           Qui Nohn                     53215     1800     4125
           Bre Nhi                       6600        0        0
           Phan Rang                      110     2075        0
           Phan Thiet                    5000      330      220
           Kontum                           0      415        0
           Song Cau                      5650       55        0
           Che Oreo                         0     1800        0
           Da Lat                         575        0        0
           Plei Jerang                  98220    51235     1800
           Pleiku                        1210    11640     1950
           Camp Granite                 59310     2075     5390
           Ben Het                      80495     7230     3000
           Dak To                       49460      600    34800
           LZ Oasis                   No Data  No Data  No Data
     
     III CORPS:
           FB Jewel, LZ Snuffy         219550   146010     7300
           Long Binh, FB Concord        13445    57560        0
           Dien Duc, FB Elaine          66850    25500        0
           Nui Ba Den, FB Caroline      50020    66500     2100
           Vo Dat, FB Nancy             14180    29100        0
           Saigon                     No Data  No Data  No Data
           Nha Be (Navy Base)           19725   121925     6000
           Cholon                         320        0        0
           PhuLoi                       79000    83430        0
           An Loc                       77000    79830        0
           Lai Khe                      57120    22300     1800
           Xuan Loc                     23865    58750      660
           FB Frenzel                   13445    57560      900
           LZ Bearcat                   17840    75470        0
           Trang Bang                   32365    39560     6000
           Bien Hoa                     35045   124525     3950
           Phu Cuong                    39845    62230    12055
           Loc Ninh                     46660   103710     1800
           Qua Viet                     50610     5600     3500
           FB Mace                      34280    23350      730
           Quan Loi                     44190    34300        0
           LZ Schofield                 38640    17210     7800
           Tan Son Nhut                  6320        0     1595
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 52
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

           FB Di An                      6000        0     1595
           Ben Cat                      87250    83640    20105
           Tay Ninh                       750     3225      600
           Vung Tau                      7350        0        0
           Song Be                       1900     9220        0
           Dau Tieng (Michelin)         32370    45800     3600
           LZ Fish Hook                 44000    23800        0
           Duc Hoa                        750        0        0
           Cu Chi                       59150    67540    14105
           Phouc Vinh                  484383   146576    12810
           Katum (not basecamp/FB)     299420   239395    20000
        
     IV CORPS:
           Vihn Long                     8360     9755      890
           Vihn Loi                     30010        0        0
           Tra Vihn                      9885     8000        0
           Tieu Con                      8700        0        0
           Tan An                       89550    36450        0
           Soc Trang                     3410     2391     1280
           Seafloat                      4700        0        0
           Phu Quoc                     19000        0        0
           Phnom                            0      184        0
           Rach Gia                         0     2155        0
           Nam Can                     150345    64295        0
           My Tho                       13320     7316      965
           FB Moore                      9820        0        0
           Moc Hoa                      12400     6590        0
           Ham Long                      3275     1620        0
           Ben Luc                      45900    14838        0
           Ben Tre                      24800    24750        0
           Can Tho                      15160    13915    11685
           Cao Lanh                      1875     2935      830
           Dong Tam                      5870      605      165
           FB Grand Can(yon?)               0     1540        0
     
     Available from the New Jersey State Commission on Agent Orange
                        P O Box 1717
                        Trenton, NJ  08607-1717

     No,  you  don't have to live in New Jersey.   Write to them for  a 
     packet  of articles,  including the one noted above.   It'll  open 
     your eyes to a lot.
     
     















     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 53
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

          
          
                       _     ______   _______  __    _  _______
                      /\\    H    M   H        H\\   H  HHHHHHH
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                  -  .        .   .  -  -   .         .   -.
                  - .  .. V I E T N A M  V E T E R A N  . _ -
                 -   .   .    .    _ _   _ . _-_ .    -     -
                 - .            - -   -_- -_-xxx _ -.  . - .-.
                  - . .  .  .  - XXXXXxxXXXXXXXXXXXx -. - .- .
                  -    .  . XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-.  .--.
                  - .-   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -.- -
                   -.-  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -.  -.
                    -. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx .g -.
                     -. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX .- j.
                     .- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  .  p
                    .-.  XXXXXXXX   ]XXXXXXXXX  ]XXXXXXXX  .-  -
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                                   XXX[ XX XX XXX
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               "  I t ' s    o n l y    t e e n a g e    a c n e !  "
                                                   -Robert Nimmo-
          
          
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     


     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 54
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

              NPR's Bob Edwards & Vernon Loeb - An Interview
                           Input by Jim Ferguson
              NamVet's Assistant Agent Orange Section Editor
                        VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA
                              (413) 443-6313
     
     The  following  interview  between National Public  Radio  Morning 
     Edition host,  Bob Edwards and Vernon Loeb,  foreign correspondent 
     with  the  Philadelphia Inquirer was aired on the Morning  Edition 
     radio news program on April 16, 1991. I have left out a few "uhs," 
     "you knows," and "sort ofs."  Other than those,  I believe it's an 
     accurate transcript.  I've also included a copy of the note I sent 
     to them regarding this broadcast.
     
     EDWARDS:   Between  1962  and  1971,   The  United  States  dumped 
     11,000,000  gallons of Agent Orange on South  Vietnam,  blanketing 
     about one-eighth of the country.  Thousands of U.S.  soldiers were 
     exposed  to  the defoliant and the health problems it caused  them 
     continue to be a source of debate between the U.S.  government and 
     veteran's groups.
     
     Thousands  of  Vietnamese suffered more extensive and more  direct 
     exposure to Agent Orange.  They, too, suffer from certain types of 
     cancer  and other ailments which they blame on Agent  Orange,  but 
     they  haven't  been  able  to  prove  it  because  the  Vietnamese 
     government lacks the resources to conduct a comprehensive study of 
     Agent  Orange.  On Capitol Hill yesterday,  there were suggestions 
     that  Washington  provide the funds for such a study and that  the 
     U.S. Government lift its embargo on aid to Vietnam.
     
     Vernon Loeb ?sp  is a foreign correspondent for the Philadelphia 
     Inquirer.   He  travelled to Vietnam to observe the effects of the 
     defoliant on the land and on its people.
     
     LOEB: I can really remember seeing in one...  bamboo...  hut where 
     one family lived,  with a fire inside and it was very smoky and we 
     were  waiting  for their aunt to come down the road and  when  she 
     came,  they  took  me outside and I remember watching  this  woman 
     hobble  down the street...  the dirt path through this village  on 
     what  looked like a club foot.  And...  she explained that she was 
     out  in the fields working one day back in the late sixties when a 
     plane flew over,  sprayed this white liquid...  down on the fields 
     and  shortly thereafter,  she couldn't walk at all and I think she 
     said she couldn't walk for a year.  And she's slowly gotten better 
     but  all  these  years later she basically can't use half  of  her 
     body.  And  there were a number of other people in the village who 
     were suffering from the same sorts of things.
     
     EDWARDS:  You quote a doctor as saying that they used to be afraid 
     of the B-52 bombing, but that wasn't the worst thing that the U.S. 
     dropped on them.
     
     LOEB:  Right.  It's  funny,  a  lot of the people that I spoke  to 
     who...  who  lived  in ...  directly under the spraying said  they 
     didn't  know what it was at first.   They had no idea what this... 
     this  spray,  this mist,  almost spring-like mist coming down from 
     these  airplanes was supposed to do.  They quickly figured it  out 
     when the leaves started to shrivel up within a day or two.   And I 
     think   the  comment  about  not  realizing  that  this  was  more 
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 55
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

     devastating than the B-52 bombing, you take a B-52 bomb [run]  and 
     if you survive, the worst is over.  When your land is sprayed with 
     Agent Orange and you survive, your... your land isn't gonna be the 
     same  anymore  and you may have some strange disease that may  not 
     show up for ten or fifteen years.
     
     EDWARDS:  And  it's a recurring problem in that the land is...  is 
     diseased.  It's...  difficult  to  grow anything that hasn't  been 
     poisoned...
     
     LOEB: In many ways it's easier to see what the Agent Orange did to 
     the  land  than  it  is to see what it  did  to  the  people.   It 
     basically reduced thousands of acres of dense tropical rain forest 
     to...   vast expanses of...  of barren grassland.   The Vietnamese 
     call  it "American Grass."  It's almost like cudzoo...  it's  tall 
     grass that keeps anything else from growing.  And you can stand up 
     in the mountains and you can look all the way back down to Highway 
     1  and  the  South China Sea and in some stretches it's  just  ALL 
     grass.   And the Vietnamese can tell you how...  before the war... 
     it  was ALL jungle.  And so...   the use of Agent Orange has  just 
     permanently... and dramatically... DEVASTATED... whole sections of 
     South Vietnam.
     
     EDWARDS: You had a number of different reactions.  You had doctors 
     who  wanted  to  set up a research laboratory on  the  subject  in 
     Vietnam.  You had others who were just... angry... furious.
     
     LOEB: Yeah. I was... the Vietnamese, culturally, do not often show 
     emotion  the way...  Westerners do.   Culturally to the Vietnamese 
     it's...  it's...  it's a sign of weakness...  to...   to show your 
     vulnerabilities,  to show your emotions.  But I was surprised when 
     the  subject  turned  to Agent Orange how  quickly...  in  Vietnam 
     emotions  came  to  the surface.  And it's almost  as  though  the 
     Vietnamese on... on... on one level thought, in a war, it was fair 
     game  to use bombs and...  and guns but...  the chemicals...  they 
     seem to find...  far less acceptable or understandable and...  and 
     they... they...  it really did make them angry to talk about it... 
     just...  hearing them tell stories about how...  this liquid would 
     fall  on  their...  on their arms and in their hair and make  them 
     itch and vomit.   It really was a powerful experience to hear them 
     talk about it.
     
     EDWARDS:  You  say  that in all of Vietnam,  there's not a  single 
     dioxin measuring machine.
     
     LOEB:  Right.   That  was..  that  was  one of  the  most  amazing 
     discoveries  I made doing the story.   I was interviewing a doc... 
     they  have  a...  they have a National Agent Orange  committee  in 
     Hanoi  that...  that  conducts research as best it can  with  very 
     limited  funds.   I was interviewing a doctor there and he  was... 
     very...  politely...  studiously answering my questions and at the 
     end of the interview he excused himself for a minute and came back 
     just a minute later with a list and he said, "Sir...  if you could 
     help  us with any of this equipment,  we would be most  grateful." 
     And on the list was a Hewlett-Packard gas chromatograph,  which is 
     the  machine that you use to measure dioxin.   And that's when  it 
     hit   me  that  this  country  that's  probably  the  most  dioxin 
     contaminated  country in the world doesn't have a single machine.. 
     capable of measuring dioxin content.
     
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     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

     
     EDWARDS:  The  Veterans  Administration won't acknowledge  a  link 
     between Agent Orange and physical problems that have shown up with 
     U.S. Veterans, but the chemical companies seem to understand there 
     is a link.
     
     LOEB: Yeah... One... one thing that struck me in reading about all 
     of  the research going on in the United States is that...  it seem 
     to  me  if  people were really interested in establishing  a  link 
     between...  various  diseases and Agent Orange that they should go 
     to Vietnam to do it.  Because the Vietnamese experience with Agent 
     Orange is... is vastly different from the American experience,  in 
     that the Vietnamese were directly sprayed with Agent Orange,  men, 
     women  and children.   The...  the...  connection of veterans with 
     Agent  Or...  American  veterans with Agent Orange  is  different.  
     They  would come into an area that had been sprayed...  days or... 
     or weeks later.  The Vietnamese, on the other hand,  were...  were 
     under  or  in...  in the jungles when the planes flew  overhead... 
     they had the stuff fall right on their bodies.   So it seems to me 
     that  if veterans groups or anyone else really want to get to  the 
     bottom of this mystery... Vietnam would be a good place to start.
     
     EDWARDS: Vernon Loeb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.   He spoke with 
     us from Jerusalem.
     
     
                                                   1593 Spring Hill Dr.
                                                  Hummelstown, PA 17036
                                                    (717) 534-5562 Days
                                                    (717) 566-7327 Eves
     
                                                          April 16,1991
     
     Dear Morning Edition:
     
     I  thank you for your recent interview with Vernon Loeb concerning 
     the effects of Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people. As a veteran 
     with  a  rare  type  of cancer having an  association  with  Agent 
     Orange,  I certainly support additional research as to the effects 
     of the defoliant.
     
     However, my purpose in writing is to correct a fallacy included in 
     your  report.   This is the basic idea that the Vietnamese  people 
     "suffered  more  extensive  and  more  direct  exposure  to  Agent 
     Orange."  No  one can argue that the Vietnamese have endured  MUCH 
     LONGER TERM exposure to the effects of Agent Orange.  However, Mr. 
     Loeb  made  a  statement that while the Vietnamese  were  directly 
     sprayed with Agent Orange, U.S.  troops came into these areas days 
     and  weeks  later.   In fact,  a sizable number of  U.S.  veterans 
     report  having  been  directly sprayed  with  defoliants.   Others 
     report  moving  through areas immediately after (still  wet  from) 
     spraying,  and  the defoliant saturating their clothing.   I  have 
     seen  a  photograph of a man in shorts using a hand-held or  back-
     pack  sprayer,  reportedly filled with Agent Orange to kill plants 
     around his "hootch" and in the barbed wire perimeter.  (To do this 
     he  would have handled quantities of liquid defoliant filling  the 
     sprayer,  then  walked around spraying at his feet.)  Still  other 
     U.S.  veterans  (including me)  worked from or lived on  artillery 
     support "firebases" which were basically hills in the jungle which 
     
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     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

     had  been  heavily  defoliated.   My point is not  to  initiate  a 
     contest of who was most exposed but at the same time I do not want 
     Mr.  Loeb  or the Vietnamese to rewrite history and imply that the 
     U.S.  military  somehow  knew  the  dangers of  Agent  Orange  and 
     "protected"  its troops from direct exposure.   That is simply not 
     the case.
     
     A second incorrect statement in the report was that the Department 
     of Veterans Affairs (DVA)  "won't acknowledge a link between Agent 
     Orange  and  physical  problems  that  have  shown  up  with  U.S. 
     veterans." On May 5, 1990,  retired Navy Admiral Elmo R.  Zumwalt, 
     Jr.  filed  a report with the DVA citing 27 diseases/disorders  as 
     being  "more  likely than not"  related to dioxin  (Agent  Orange) 
     exposure.  Thus far,  the DVA has officially recognized only three 
     of  these conditions as being service connected.  For a long time, 
     chloracne  (a  skin  disorder)  has  been  recognized  as  service 
     connected,  provided  it  was  manifested within three  months  of 
     exposure.  The  DVA currently proposes lengthening that period  to 
     nine  months.  The DVA also recognized non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas  in 
     March  1990 and soft tissue sarcomas in May 1990 as being  service 
     connected.
     
     The  history  and controversy over Agent Orange is far from  over, 
     much additional study needs to be done.
     
                                                           Jim Ferguson
                                              Vietnam, Class of '70-'71
     































     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 58
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

          VA OK's BENEFITS FOR NERVE ILLNESS TIED TO AGENT ORANGE
                            7/2/91 Boston Globe
                       Submitted by: Sarge Hultgren
                       NamVet's Editorial Assistant
                      Freedom's Choice BBS - Lynn, MA
                              (617) 593-2605
      
     ---------------
     WASHINGTON POST
     ---------------
      
     WASHINGTON   -   The  Department  of  Veterans  Affairs  announced 
     yesterday  it  will begin compensating Vietnam veterans  suffering 
     from  a  third  disease linked to exposure to  Agent  Orange,  the 
     widely  used  herbicide  that  veterans  groups  have  alleged  is 
     responsible for a wide range of ailments.
       The  decision by VA secretary Edward J.  Derwinski means that  a 
     limited number of veterans suffering from peripheral neuropathy, a 
     nervous-system disorder that causes numbness and tingling, will be 
     allowed  disability  payments.  The VA previously awarded  similar 
     payments  to  Vietnam veterans who have non-Hodgkins lymphoma  and 
     soft-tissue sarcomas, two forms of cancer.
       Spokesman  for two veterans groups expressed disappointment that 
     the  department did not do more.  "I suppose they expect a pat  on 
     the  back for this,  but they should just grant the benefits"  for 
     all  the  ailments,  said John Minnick,  a spokesman  for  Vietnam 
     Veterans of America.
          Richard  S.  Christian,  deputy  director  for  research  and 
     technology assessment for the American Legion, charged that the VA 
     imposed  so  many restrictions on the latest decision that few  of 
     the  34,000  veterans  who  have filed Agent  orange  claims  will 
     benefit.    "This  just  gets  a  handful  of  people.   It's  too 
     restrictive," he said.
       Dennis Boxx,  a spokesman for Derwinski,  and the department was 
     unable to estimate how many veterans would be affected.  "We don't 
     think it's a large number," he said.
       Service-related  disability payments would be limited to Vietnam 
     veterans  who showed signs of the nervous illness within 10  years 
     of  exposure to Agent Orange and to those who were not exposed  to 
     other chemicals that could cause the condition. It would not apply 
     to those who suffer from another ailment, such as alcoholism, that 
     would cause the reaction.
       Derwinski  also announced he was rejecting claims that  exposure 
     to dioxin, the carcinogenic agent in the herbicide,  was linked to 
     lung  cancer  and was asking the National Academy of  Sciences  to 
     study a possible link to diabetes.
       "These latest steps are a mark of progress in helping to resolve 
     some  of the lingering concerns felt by Vietnam veterans and their 
     families," Derwinski said.
       Congress  recently  directed the National Academy to  study  the 
     Agent  Orange issue,  hoping to end the prolonged debate over  the 
     chemical's impact. The academy would replace the Veterans Advisory 
     Committee  on  Environmental  Hazards,  a VA  panel  that  Minnick 
     claimed "was a bogus committee from the start."
     




     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 59
     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991



     ==================================================================
                              The NamVet Chapel
     ==================================================================

               Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Former POWs
                               By Ron Langer 
      In: Post Traumatic Stress Disorders: A Handbook For Clinicians
                         Input by: G. Joseph Peck
                         NamVet's Managing Editor
                        VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA
                              (413) 443-6313
     
            (SPECIAL INSERTION in/on behalf of ALL our exPOWs)
     
     INTRODUCTION
     In the summer of 1983,  while working in the psychiatric emergency 
     room and the outpatient psychiatry clinic of the VA Medical Center 
     in Denver,  I began to notice a significant number of World War II 
     combat  veterans  who were manifesting symptoms of  post-traumatic 
     stress   disorder  (PTSD).    Some  of  these  veterans  had  been 
     chronically  symptomatic.   Others had displayed brief periods  of 
     symptoms  shortly  after the war,  but began  developing  symptoms 
     again  in their late 50s and early 60s.   I hypothesized that  the 
     exacerbation  of PTSD symptoms was due to the various losses these 
     veterans   were   currently   experiencing:   e.g.,    retirement, 
     deterioration  of physical health,  deaths of contemporaries,  and 
     loss of previous physical and sometimes mental abilities.
     
     Aware  of the success of group treatment of Vietnam veterans  with 
     PTSD, I began talking with other psychiatric staff about a therapy 
     group  for  World  War  II combat  veterans  with  PTSD.   Another 
     therapist at the clinic, Cynthia Ochs, expressed interest in being 
     co-therapist  for  such a group.   When I mentioned the  group  to 
     Steve Oboler, who wrote another chapter in this book, he described 
     to  me  the exPOW protocol evaluation program he was  coordinating 
     and  noted  that he was identifying many exPOWs not  currently  in 
     psychiatric  treatment  who could benefit from the  program.   Dr. 
     Ochs  and  I  then decided to do a therapy group  exclusively  for 
     World War II exPOWs.
     
     In December 1983, we began a weekly,  one-hour psychotherapy group 
     with  five exPOWs from both the European and the Pacific Theaters.  
     The  group has now been in existence for over two  years.   During 
     this  time,  we  have added six members,  and one of the  original 
     members  has discontinued.   During this two-year period,  I  have 
     evaluated  perhaps  a  dozen  other exPOWs  who  were  either  not 
     interested   in  or  not  appropriate  for  the  group.    I   see 
     approximately   half  of  these  in  individual  psychotherapy  at 
     frequencies ranging from once a week to once every few months.  We 
     have  also run a time-limited (six months)support group for  wives 
     of exPOWs,  with the primary purposes of education and helping the 
     women  develop a mutual support system (see  C.  Williams,  "Women 
     Partners," this volume). ["this volume" referring to the book from 
     which this article is quoted - Joe]
     
     COMMON FEATURES OF PTSD AMONG FORMER POWS
     I  have  come  to understand the PTSD syndrome among exPOWs  as  a 
     result  of the traumas they experienced and their attempt to adapt 
     to  and/or  master these catastrophic experiences.   This  section 
     
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     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

     will review some of the more prominent features I have noted among 
     exPOWs,  and will attempt to clarify my belief that these symptoms 
     are the result of the POW experience and are an effort to adapt to 
     and overcome the traumas.
     
     How  many  of  these exPOWs actually  have  PTSD?   From  Oboler's 
     figures  (this  volume),  we see that only 28 percent  of  Pacific 
     Theater  and 11 percent of European Theater exPOWs were  diagnosed 
     with PTSD on their exPOW protocol examinations;  82 percent of the 
     former,  and  60  percent of the latter received some  psychiatric 
     diagnoses.   It  is  my impression,  however,  that the number  of 
     exPOWs with PTSD is far greater than this,  and that some of these 
     exPOWs  who  received  other psychiatric diagnoses  actually  have 
     PTSD.  Whether this is true or not may be a question of semantics.  
     What  is  undeniable,  though,  is the great frequency with  which 
     features of PTSD occur among this population.
     
     PTSD  is  a diagnosis that is difficult to make,  and one that  is 
     often  missed.   It  is a new diagnosis (officially recognized  in 
     1980), and its existence is controversial,  especially among older 
     clinicians.   It  is often confused with character  disorders,  on 
     which   it   is  sometimes  an  overlay.    It  is  difficult   to 
     differentiate   from   dysthymic  disorder  and  various   anxiety 
     disorders.   In some cases,  it is only after a significant period 
     of  evaluation  and/or treatment that PTSD can  be  differentiated 
     from character disorders,  affective disorders,  and other anxiety 
     disorders.  When PTSD has psychotic features, it is often confused 
     with other psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia.
     
     We  have  found the following symptoms among the World War II  and 
     Korean exPOWs whom we have evaluated and treated.  Of course,  not 
     all symptoms are present in all patience (cf. Jacob, Goodwin,  and 
     Newman, this volume):
          > Anger
          > Depression
          > Fear of loss of control
          > Guilt
          > Overstimulation
          > Nightmares
          > Acute Psychoses
          > Anxiety
          > Interpersonal distancing
          > Feeling misunderstood by - and distrustful of - nonPOWs
          > Disorders  of  self-esteem  (both inappropriately  low  and 
             inappropriately high).
     
     ANGER AND IRRITABILITY
     Perhaps  the most common presenting symptom,  and the symptom most 
     often  described by exPOWs and their families,  is excessive anger 
     and irritability.   These veterans are often involved in conflicts 
     with the VA and other large systems.   Anger at strangers for real 
     or perceived slights,  anger at Orientals,  even anger at Japanese 
     automobiles and their drivers,  is common.  One group member,  Mr. 
     A.,  frequently  had  to pull off to the side of the road when  he 
     felt he was being cut off by drivers in Japanese automobiles.   He 
     sometimes  had thoughts of driving his vehicle into the  offender.  
     Another  group  member,  Mr.  B.,  was a frequent visitor  to  the 
     Hospital   Director's   office  to  register  complaints   in   an 
     inappropriate - generally impatient - manner.
     
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     Volume  5, Number  7                                 July 27, 1991

     
     It  is  not  difficult to understand why these people  are  angry.  
     They  have been subjected to  deprivation,  torture,  humiliation, 
     threats of death,  and have seen their comrades die.   Through all 
     of  this,  they  were  unable  to express  the  anger  they  felt.  
     Therefore, massive amounts of anger still exist to be displaced on 
     other authority figures.
     
     Anger  is a healthy,  normal response to being abused,  especially 
     when  one is helpless.   On the other hand,  it is difficult to be 
     the object of anger.  As a counselor,  it is important that you be 
     aware  of  your  own  emotional response to  the  anger  of  these 
     patients,  and  not to allow them to push you away,  as they  have 
     pushed away so many other people.
     
     Anger   is  also  functional.    It  is  a  good  defense  against 
     depression,  a symptom that is not far from the surface in many of 
     these patients.  Also, it serves to discharge psychic energy, thus 
     avoiding overstimulation, a problem common among exPOWs, and one I 
     will  discuss  in more detail later.   Anger is also  adaptive  in 
     keeping  people away,  and protecting the exPOW from the threat of 
     intimacy.  This must have been important in situations where death 
     of  comrades was frequent.   This,  too,  will be treated in  more 
     detail at a later point.
     
     DEPRESSION
     Depression  is very common,  indeed almost universal,  in  exPOWs.  
     However,  it is often masked by anger,  anxiety,  and a variety of 
     other  defenses.   Depression was not acceptable in the POW  camps 
     because it mean giving up and dying.   "The testimony of survivors 
     is  practically  unanimous that prisoners who became depressed  or 
     allowed   themselves  to  become  agitated  by  thoughts  of  home 
     developed distaste for food and died" (Wolf & Ripley, 1947).   Mr. 
     C.,  a  group  member,  describes being forced ot eat by a  friend 
     shortly  after his arrival in Manchuria from the  Philippines:  "I 
     hated it then, but it saved my life."
-- 
#Larry W. Jewell (ex-USN)     WWII-L Listowner    jewell@mace.cc.purdue.edu # 
#"Sunday's horoscope is noteworthy because of its strange, sudden and wholly#
#unpredictable and inexplicable occurrences, affecting all phases of life." #
#--"Your Horoscope," L.A. Evening Herald Express, Saturday, Dec. 6, 1941.   #