Support HR 543 the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2013

Sept. 1, 2014 - PRLog -- Our hearts goes out to the families of these Veterans who have died due to delayed appointments at the VA. But then think of all the thousands of Vietnam Blue Water Navy Veterans excluded from the presumption of herbicide exposure (Agent Orange) who have died because the VA refuses to give them service related status. This does not seem to provoke the conscience of Congress or the public. Does the Vietnam stigma still haunt these men and women Veterans? It's like post war Germany when the citizens refused to admit the existence of the concentration camps and the atrocities committed there. So the next time you're shocked by an article about one or ten or hundreds of Veterans, will you think of those thousands in the Blue Water Navy?

For more information on exposure and the DVA read A Re-Analysis of Blue Water Navy Veterans and Agent Orange Exposure at www.bluewaternavy.org.

Perhaps the plight of the Vietnam Blue Water Navy Veterans who have died because of a DVA ruling on herbicide exposure should be considered wrongful deaths and be brought up on civil charges!

Exposure to Agent Orange has been linked to numerous health problems, including non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, prostate cancer, Type II Diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and other issues. In 1991, legislation was enacted that empowered the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to declare certain illnesses "presumptive" to exposure to Agent Orange and enabled Vietnam veterans to receive disability compensation for these related conditions. However, in 2002, the VA limited the authority of the Act to only those veterans who could provide orders for "boots on the ground" in Vietnam. As a result, veterans who served in the waters off the coast of Vietnam were forced to file individual claims with the VA to restore their benefits, which are then decided on a case-by-case basis. After 40 years the evidence needed for these Veterans to obtain benefits no longer exists. Please help correct this inequity.

I urge you, the public, to communicate to Representative Jeff Miller R-FL, the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, that HR 543, The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2013, now has 247 cosponsors. Call Phone: (202) 225-4136.

This is enough for a discharge petition to force it to the House floor. This would be an embarrassing situation to this committee. After 14 years of being disenfranchised by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Blue Water Navy deserves its day on the House floor for a vote.

The estimate is that 30,000 Veterans of the Blue Water Navy are being denied health care today. With the fiasco facing this nation with the deaths of Veterans in care of the DVA, let’s not add to the count. Please ask Representative Miller to bring forth this bill for a full vote of the House.

If you are a Veteran, a Veterans relative or simply a person interested in supporting Veterans causes, cut and paste this into your address bar http://form.jotform.us/form/40732840361146  and fill out a membership application to the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association.