October 2014 is Agent Orange Awareness Month: [posted on: 10-25-2014]

From: Stephen Brady (Secretary - VVA Texas State Council)
Sent: October 23, 2014
Subject: Flash Update 10-14-2014
Contact Email: Send email to Stephen Brady

The information residing on this page is for distribution to all Texas VVA Chapter members and all other Texas Vietnam Veterans, regardless if whether they are members of the VVA or not. The following links and information was sent to our TSC Secretary from VVA National regarding Agent Orange Awareness Month for October 2014. Please Note: Every veteran in our Chapter that was in Vietnam, was exposed to Agent Orange! For those of you who do have any of the known diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure, please see Dwight Winkler, our local Veteran Service Officer (VSO), and have him help you to turn in a VA Agent Orange claim - TODAY!

From VVA National - October 2914 is Agent Orange Awareness Month:

The following topics can be found at the link below: We need YOUR help! Here’s how. Forward this e-mail to others you know. Share this page with others on Facebook and Twitter. Contact your Representatives in Washington, D.C. and ask them to support the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014. You can send an e-mail to your Senators and Representatives by clicking here. You can use the one we have pre-drafted here, or create your own. Call your Senator and Representatives and ask them to vote “YES” on Senate Bill 2738 and House Bill H.R. 5484. If you don’t know the number, call the Capitol Operator at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senator or Representative. Download the poster (shown at left). Support the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014. CLICK HERE for More Information at the VVA Web Weekly Website

The Agent Orange Blog Zone:

The Agent Orange Zone is a blog site for Agent Orange victims and their families. Please share your Agent Orange stories with us or read the stories of other Veteran Agent Orange victims. CLICK HERE to view the "Agent Orange Zone" Blog Site

Upcoming Agent Orange Town Hall Meeting - October 2014:

The Faces of Agent Orange - A Facebook Page:

The Agent Orange Facebook page is all about the "Faces of Agent Orange", a non-profit orangization, which is part of the Agent Orange Education Campaign, which is a project of the VVA - Vietnam Veterans of America. There's tons of information on this site that's related to those Vietnam Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange (which in fact are all U.S. soldiers who were in the Vietnam War!).

Agent Orange History - During Vietnam War: (from the "Faces of Agent Orange" site)

In Vietnam, herbicides were sprayed from fixed wing and rotary aircraft, trucks, and backpack sprayers to clear vegetation around fire bases, landing zones, and along river banks. The herbicides were named for the color-coded bands on the 55-gallon drums in which they were shipped; examples included Agent Blue, Agent White, and the most extensively used herbicide, Agent Orange.

Agent Orange is a combination of two compound, 2, 4-D and 2, 4, 5-T, technically known as chlorinated phenoxy acids in ester form. The most dangerous element of Agent Orange is a contaminant present in the manufacture of 2, 4, 5-T; this impurity is known chemically as 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-paradioxin, or more commonly, dioxin. Levels of dioxin in Agent Orange ranged from less than 0.05 parts per million to almost 50 parts per million.

Some three million veterans served in Southeast Asia, and no one knows for sure how many of these veterans were exposed to Agent Orange. Some of these personnel were deployed in areas during and immediately after spraying operations, while others actually handled Agent Orange and did the spraying. Veterans exposed to Agent Orange and its dioxin contaminants have reported a variety of serious health problems and symptoms; these include chloracne, skin lesions, liver damage, loss of sex drive, changes in skin pigmentation, and sensitivity to light, numbing or tingling in the extremities, sore joints, cancers, and birth defects in their children.

Many Vietnam veterans have serious illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure. Now, their children and grandchildren have birth defects related to it. Learn more about the struggle to identify the effects of Agent Orange and find treatment for those who served, their children and their grandchildren.

Significant numbers of Vietnam veterans have children and grandchildren with birth defects related to exposure to Agent Orange. To alert legislators and the media to this ongoing legacy of the war, we are seeking real stories about real people. If you wish to share your family’s health struggles that you believe are due to Agent Orange/dioxin, send an email to mporter@vva.org or call 301-585-4000, Ext. 146.

The National VVA Calendar Marks Agent Orange Awareness Dates:

The Monsanto and Vietnam University of Agriculture Collaborate:

Monsanto has announced a pledge of VND 1.5 billion scholarship for outstanding students studying agricultural biotechnology. This scholarship aims to nurture and encourage the engagement of young talents in the development of agricultural biotechnology and products thereof to support farmers.

The Monsanto Blogspot for Monsanto and Vietnam University of Agriculture Collaborate:

Biotechnology is a promising branch of science in the 21st century, offering great possibilities in improving human lives in various ways. In agriculture, biotechnology has been proved to improve lives of over 18 million farmers around the world. The Government of Vietnam is determined in bringing and developing this technology in Vietnam, and has focused on developing physical and human capacity in the biotechnology sector. Yet, biotechnology research and development in Vietnam are mainly financed and undertaken by the public sectors. We are glad to see the participation of the private sector in this process and highly appreciate Monsanto for their commitment in developing talents in agricultural biotechnology." Said Dr. Tran Duc Vien, Rector, Vietnam University of Agriculture.

The Children of Veterans Should Also File Agent Orange Claims:

Everyone knows Agent Orange is bad, and exposed veterans know that it causes certain cancers and other diseases after exposure. The Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes this, and for all of these cancers and diseases, disability compensation is practically automatic. These are called "presumptive" conditions that are presumed to be caused by the military purely because of time and date in service. Veterans' children have long been recognized to have birth defects and diseases resulting from their parents' exposure to Agent Orange. Currently, the VA recognizes many such conditions in the children of women veterans, but the list for male veterans' children is significantly shorter. It includes only spina bifida, with the exception of spina bifida occulta. What a lot of veterans don't know though, is that Agent Orange exposure has also caused numerous, serious birth defects in exposed male veterans' children, besides spina bifida, according to Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance. The list includes Crohn's disease, Lupus, thyroid disease, chronic kidney disease, missing limb parts, and webbed toes. According to COVVHA, the list is much larger than this

The U.S. EPA Ignores Members of Congress Warnings About Deadly new "Agent Orange Like" Herbicide:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ignoring more than 60 members of Congress and a half a million citizens, late yesterday approved a deadly new herbicide, Dow's Enlist Duo, made from a combination of Monsanto's Roundup and Dow's "Agent Orange" 2,4-D. The new herbicide will be used on Dow's newly approved corn and soy crops, engineered to withstand massive doses of the new "Deadly Duo" herbicide. Where will the vast percentage of these new crops go? To feed animals on factory farms

You Can Take Action on Farm Pledge:

Better yet? Pledge to boycott factory farms forever! With yesterday's approval of Dow's Enlist crops and Deadly Duo herbicide, the EPA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which also signed off on the crops, have signaled that they have no intention of ending the rampant escalation of the use of increasingly toxic poisons by industrial agriculture. The only way we will stop them is by shutting down demand for GMO crops. That will take millions of consumers switching to organic, non-GMO food at the supermarket-and that means boycotting meat, eggs and dairy from factory farms.

Please Support the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014 (S.2738, H.R. 5484)

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