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From: Ron Edwards USS Vernon county LST 1161 1965-1967
Date: 15 Aug 2006
Time: 09:31:29
Remote Name: 71.136.55.156
I served aboard an LST in Nam for two years in the rivers and all over the inland delta and beached up and down the coast line from Da Nang in the north to Cam RON Bay in the south. I have type two diabetes with insulin dependency and neuropathies in both legs and feet plus congestive heart failure with stent implants and pulmonary hypertension requiring oxygen support from the heart disease. I applied for compensation and took the agent orange registry exam and the C&P exam. The VA doctors attribute my heart disease and subsequent pulmonary condition and the neuropathies to the diabetes but the VA denied my claim saying that I hadn't proved that I had ever set foot on Vietnam soil. I had sent them my records from St Louis showing my two year assignment to the Vernon county plus a complete printout of the ships history from a navy historical organization showing all the campaigns and combat actions were were in along with pictures of the ship beached in several places along the coast line and on the river banks and anchored in the rivers serving as a fire support base and maintenance/refueling station and barracks for the Mobile riverine units. I have the Navy Marine combat action ribbon, Vietnam campaign service medal with three bronze stars ,presidential unit citation, Vietnam presidential meritorious civic campaign medal with device, Vietnam presidential meritorious combat service medal with device plus the other medals that everybody gets when serving and they say I wasn't in country. I have filed an appeal and sent along buddy statements from several shipmates attesting to the fact that I was ashore constantly and that being the lead boat engineer anytime one of our LCVP's or the captains gig went ashore I was on it. I have sent to the National Archives for records of the ships deck logs covering the time I was aboard which was very expensive and I could ill afford but had no choice that will show exactly where the ship was and what it's activities were during that time and I told the VA I will be submitting them as soon as they come in. I filed the appeal through my congressman's office and they sent the package to the regional director of the VA office here and told them there going to stay on this until they make this right because it's ridiculous that I'm having to go through all of this. My E Mail address is boomer2480@sbcglobal.net if any one has any ideas or want to get anymore info.