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From: Bob - bobman48@aol.com
Date: 19 Mar 2004
Time: 13:54:20
Remote Name: 152.163.252.7
I was on the USS John Paul Jones DDG-32 from 67-69 in the Gulf of Tonkin. I have been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and have many other agent orange symptoms including a rash that covers 80 percent of my body. I filed a claim in April 2003 for compensation and was denied by the VA last week because they don't think my ship was in a spray zone. I will be filing an appeal, but the VA said I have to prove that the wind carried the spray over my ship. The VA provides no help other than giving you the form and telling you where to fill in the blanks and what address to mail it to. I'm not sure how they expect me to find out all of this information. What I don't understand is I filed my claim in April 2003 and in October 2003 they sent me to the VA doctors for a full evaluation to see if I had any of the symptoms of Agent Orange contamination. The doctor indicated, off the record of course, that I was ate up with Agent Orange. Then last week I get a letter from the panel telling me I was never in a spray zone. If I wasn't in a spray zone, why did they waste all that money sending me for that evaluation. It seems like they should have looked that info up somewhere between April and October and realized they could deny me on the spot. I think the government is just stonewalling and hoping we'll go away. I'm definately going to file an appeal, but I am trying to contact shipmates of the DDG-32 and other ships in my battle group.