Vietnam Veterans of America to Hold Town Hall Meeting on Generational Effect of Agent Orange

Sept. 14, 2012 - PRLog -- West Palm Beach, FL---Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 25 in West Palm Beach will hold a Town Hall meeting to address the birth defects, diseases and learning disabilities affecting the children and grandchildren of Vietnam veterans. The forum will be held on Friday, September 21st 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Amara Shrine Center 3650 RCA Blvd. in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

“We cannot be silent about the effects of our battlefield exposures on our children in the face of overwhelming evidence connecting many diseases and birth defects to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam,” said Tom Hall, Agent Orange Committee Chair and coordinator of the VVA Agent Orange Town Hall meeting for Vietnam Veterans of America, Florida State Council.

“We encourage all Vietnam veterans with children and/or grandchildren suffering from illnesses, learning disabilities or physical disabilities to come share their stories.  We will explore issues surrounding Agent Orange exposure, including scientific information, health effects and methods for educating the public and elected representatives about the issues of Vietnam veterans, their children and their families,” said Hall.

The goal of the town hall meeting is to bring attention to the hidden cost of our service and to encourage the government to create and maintain a registry of these birth defects as well as assist our doctors in finding ways to diagnose and treat these birth defects.  Veterans of all wars are subjected to many contaminates and most were not aware of what was being used or what effects most would have on their health.  Said Hall, “Our children and grandchildren are innocent victims of our war and need the help of our government to cope with these problems.  We worry, who will be there to take care of them when we are gone?”

In keeping with VVA’s founding principle, “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”  Vietnam veterans throughout the State of Florida continue to fight for the welfare of our nation’s veterans from all wars.

Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation’s only congressionally chartered veteran’s service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families.  VVA’s founding principle is “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon anther.”