Some of these conditions include Parkinson’s disease, certain cancers and specific heart diseases. To be eligible for those disability compensation benefits, veterans must have one or more of the conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure listed on the flyer. These veterans could be eligible for “service connection for conditions related to that exposure,” according to the flyer. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange. The law states veterans aboard a vessel fewer than 12 nautical miles seaward from the demarcation line of the waters of Vietnam and Cambodia, between Jan. Garcia and other Vietnam veterans shared their experience with Agent Orange and why assistance is necessary. In the Zoom meeting, the congressman discussed the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act implementation since January 2020. “He fights for us tooth and nail,” he said. Garcia said he has to commend Luján’s office for helping veterans like him. That was my first experience in a congressional meeting like that, especially by Zoom, because I had no idea what Zoom was, so I had to learn quick. He spoke to Congress about the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019. Through Zoom in a Congressional briefing, Garcia addressed the U.S. Garcia advocates for other veterans who have been affected by the herbicide, he said. He had a blood clot in the back of his knee where he sustained an injury when the helicopter he was serving on was shot down. Garcia has had two heart attacks and peripheral artery bypass surgery. My daughter developed epileptic seizures at age 8,” he said.Īgent Orange is known to cause birth defects such as spina bifida and congenital heart disease. “In due time, when we came back from Vietnam, it took an impact on us medically. Garcia, along with his daughter, would later reap the effects of exposure, he said. Over 20 million gallons of various herbicides were sprayed over Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos from 1961 to 1971, according to the History Channel’s website. military to kill the forest cover and crops. While serving as a door gunner, Garcia would kick canisters of Agent Orange out of a helicopter, exposing him to the toxic chemical, he said. So due to the shortage of pilots, co-pilots, door gunners and crew chiefs, they solicited volunteer door gunners,” he said. “I was getting this rage building up in me from the loss. He later volunteered to become a door gunner after heavy losses of men, he said. He was in Vietnam from 1970-71, originally as an avionics specialist. He said the Bronze Star is his proudest achievement. Vietnam veteran Ernest Garcia was awarded the Bronze Star after volunteering to be a door gunner. “My question was, and my forethought was, it is not just all about me it was about all the other New Mexico Vietnam veterans that also did not receive compensation.” “I never saw a nickel of it myself,” he said. He applied once in December 1984 and then again in July 2011. Garcia is among the veterans never to receive assistance from the fund. 27, 1997, after distributing its funds, according to the VA website. Between 19, it distributed $74 million to 83 social-services organizations throughout the United States, assisting over 239,000 Vietnam veterans and their families.Ī court ordered the fund closed Sept. The program was intended to function as a foundation, according to the VA website. Within the settlement fund was also the Class Assistance Program. Approximately 52,000 Vietnam veterans or their families received cash payments averaging out to about $3,800 each, according to the VA website. During its time, the program received 105,000 claims. The payment program operated for six years. About $197 million would be distributed to Vietnam veterans and their families through the payment program from the settlement fund, according to the U.S. In 1984, after a lawsuit against major manufacturers of the herbicide, the Agent Orange Settlement Fund was created. Congress in a Zoom meeting for more resources for those affected by the herbicide. Local Vietnam veteran Ernest Garcia was affected by the use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War, resulting in health issues.

Do all 15t mos become door gunners