Veterans deserve better health care

Thank you Mr. Young, for a well written piece informing the public of our plight. As a "Blue Water" Navy Veteran, we are finding it increasingly difficult to fight the DVA and educate the public and Congress to the fact that Agent Orange did not stop at the shoreline. Parkinsons, is just one of the many diseases that needs to be added to the list of Agent Orange Diseases. There is an effort to add cancers of the entire alimentary tract as well, As a member of the Veterans Association of Sailors of the Vietnam War [VASVW at http://www.vasvw.org ], I can tell you that the DVA is fighting HR 2254 with disinformation in Congress, overestimating the cost of the bill almost ten-fold.
The simple fact is, there are only about 200-400,000 Vietnam Veterans left out of the 3.4 million [including 512,000 "Blue Water" sailors] who received the Vietnam Service Medal, or the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service in Vietnam.
At the shockingly accellerated rate we Vietnam Veterans are dying, there will be none left in 10 years. We will be outlived by the WW II and Korean War Veterans. Many of these early deaths could be forestalled by better care and improved living conditions, both made possible by Veterans benefits...if only we could get these bills enacted. Sadly, tens of thousands of Vietnam Veterans went to early deaths in large part because of illegal actions by the DVA.
If your readers would contact their Congressional Representatives and Senators and call on them for quick and decisive action to fully support and fund HR 1428 and HR 2254, more early deaths can be avoided. But it will take more...your readers should also ask their extended family and friends to do the same. Because all mail is held in a lab for anthrax testing, letters should be avoided. Fax, email [most have a comment section on their websites] and phone calls are best, but personal contact while the Congressmen are home on recess is the absolute best way to gain their attention and support.
Finally, letters to the editors of all the major papers would also help.
We do not ask for donations of money, but only a few minutes of time will make a difference in the lives of thousands.
Thank you again for your article. Please keep them coming!
W. G. Davis
Founder, VASVW

Great!

Let us know if you have amyloidosis and were a veteran of the Viet Nam war.
Muriel Finkel
President
AMYLOIDOSIS SUPPORT GROUPS
ASG www.amyloidosissupport.com
Toll Free 866-404-7539
National Organization Member of NORD
www.rarediseases.org
www.popsrun.org
www.bobkingmemorial.com
www.amyloidosisonline.com - Over 630 have joined
"Don't Take Your Organs To Heaven, Heaven Knows We Need Them Here"

Every US citizen deserves better health care. Singling out vets is a divisive strategy.

human wrote:

Every US citizen deserves better health care. Singling out vets is a divisive strategy.

This is a failure to understand. Not as an ordinary citizen but as a Veteran you were supposed to receive medical care and benefits for the rest of your life, NOT A BATTLE WITH A BUREAUCRACY FOR THE REST OF YOUR MILITARILY SHORTENED LIFE>

US Vets deserve the best health care our government can offer
We made a commitment to these Vets we have to honor
The next step is health care for the rest of us and I'm willing pay my share.
Right now it's so expensive and it won't be long before the payments will be more than my mortgage

If the guy who wrote this can make a connection between the Parkinsons disease and military service fine. Treat it. If not, the VA isn't responsible to treat every veteran just because they served in the military 50 years ago.

Don't use the VA as an excuse to whine about paying for your own medical care.

Delay, deny until we die!
Most vets that I know believe this, and the Department of Veterans Affairs just keeps denying or delaying our claims. I don't want a silver spoon or a million bucks, just decent health care.

Phil Elliott wrote:

Delay, deny until we die!
Most vets that I know believe this, and the Department of Veterans Affairs just keeps denying or delaying our claims. I don't want a silver spoon or a million bucks, just decent health care.

Decent is relative to how much you can afford.

Your welcomed

W G Davis wrote:

Thank you Mr. Young, for a well written piece informing the public of our plight. As a "Blue Water" Navy Veteran, we are finding it increasingly difficult to fight the DVA and educate the public and Congress to the fact that Agent Orange did not stop at the shoreline. Parkinsons, is just one of the many diseases that needs to be added to the list of Agent Orange Diseases. There is an effort to add cancers of the entire alimentary tract as well, As a member of the Veterans Association of Sailors of the Vietnam War [VASVW at http://www.vasvw.org ], I can tell you that the DVA is fighting HR 2254 with disinformation in Congress, overestimating the cost of the bill almost ten-fold.
The simple fact is, there are only about 200-400,000 Vietnam Veterans left out of the 3.4 million [including 512,000 "Blue Water" sailors] who received the Vietnam Service Medal, or the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service in Vietnam.
At the shockingly accellerated rate we Vietnam Veterans are dying, there will be none left in 10 years. We will be outlived by the WW II and Korean War Veterans. Many of these early deaths could be forestalled by better care and improved living conditions, both made possible by Veterans benefits...if only we could get these bills enacted. Sadly, tens of thousands of Vietnam Veterans went to early deaths in large part because of illegal actions by the DVA.
If your readers would contact their Congressional Representatives and Senators and call on them for quick and decisive action to fully support and fund HR 1428 and HR 2254, more early deaths can be avoided. But it will take more...your readers should also ask their extended family and friends to do the same. Because all mail is held in a lab for anthrax testing, letters should be avoided. Fax, email [most have a comment section on their websites] and phone calls are best, but personal contact while the Congressmen are home on recess is the absolute best way to gain their attention and support.
Finally, letters to the editors of all the major papers would also help.
We do not ask for donations of money, but only a few minutes of time will make a difference in the lives of thousands.
Thank you again for your article. Please keep them coming!
W. G. Davis
Founder, VASVW

With the officials in office now the Vets won't get squat. Get rid of Wolk, Boxer an Pelosi then the Vets might get some help. They don't respond to any mail email or phone calls. Wolk what an idiot she was at the health fair in fairfield, what a contributor to global warming she is.

Yep wrote:

With the officials in office now the Vets won't get squat. Get rid of Wolk, Boxer an Pelosi then the Vets might get some help. They don't respond to any mail email or phone calls. Wolk what an idiot she was at the health fair in fairfield, what a contributor to global warming she is.

How is it that there aren't any republicans on your list?
Not very objective

The VA looks for ways to stop all care to vets.

GDP wrote:

<quoted text>
How is it that there aren't any republicans on your list?
Not very objective

Republicans are more understanding of vet. problems with VA health care. If you had served, you would know this.

Yep wrote:

With the officials in office now the Vets won't get squat. Get rid of Wolk, Boxer an Pelosi then the Vets might get some help. They don't respond to any mail email or phone calls. Wolk what an idiot she was at the health fair in fairfield, what a contributor to global warming she is.

I can relate. The dems. are so passive, they seem almost anti-military and anti-vet. You're right.

audacity of deceit wrote:

<quoted text>Republicans are more understanding of vet. problems with VA health care. If you had served, you would know this.

Walter Reed
heck of a job brown nose

Phil Elliott wrote:

Delay, deny until we die!
Most vets that I know believe this, and the Department of Veterans Affairs just keeps denying or delaying our claims. I don't want a silver spoon or a million bucks, just decent health care.

The VA is socialized medicine. Are you in favor of socialized medicine? Did you vote for a candidate who wants market medicine or socialized medicine?

The VA health care system is the pride and joy of the federal government. It is their poster child; and it is the intention of the Obama administration to see that every American receives the same "quality" health care as do our vets.

Thanks goes to all those who voted for "hope" and "change". You believed the rhetoric and now we are all going to pay for what you wanted.

America - you can't have it both ways. You can't be free to deside your own destiny when you elect a President and Congress who believe Capitalism is the root of all our problems.

We are facing an economic crisis like none our country has ever seen. Obama is making the same mistakes that Hoover and Roosevelt made, decisions that made the depression worse then and will make things worse now. Socialism never works, look at Europe, it didn't work there and it won't work here.

Big government is not the solution - it is the problem.

Socialism can only exist as long as there is someone to suck money out of. Socialism does not create wealth, it destroys it. Capitalism creates wealth and only Capitalism can solve our problems.

Obama needs to leave businesses and our health care system alone. The only people to gain from Obama's economic recovery plan will be the politicians.

ALS is NOT a presumptive disease when it comes to exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange as the author asserts. Rather, it is presumptive of having occurred in service regardless of exposure to AO.
As it stands, inmates in correctional facilities receive better medical care than our veterans.

Yep wrote:

With the officials in office now the Vets won't get squat. Get rid of Wolk, Boxer an Pelosi then the Vets might get some help. They don't respond to any mail email or phone calls. Wolk what an idiot she was at the health fair in fairfield, what a contributor to global warming she is.

Yesterday, Senator Patty Murray requested unanimous consent on the Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless Veterans with Children Act, a bill she has sponsored that would provide aid to those who have served there country but find themselves with no place to sleep at night.
The days are long gone when I was surprised that Republicans in Washington wouldn't stand up for Vets, but this is a whole new level. Senate Republicans actually objected to and stood as a road block for providing aid to our Nation's heroes that are living on the streets, even those with children:
Coburn's objection (by the way, what a coward that he couldn't even do his dirty work for himself) to the funding is a farce. During all the years of deficit spending on wars in the Bush Administration that created this new generation of combat Veterans, I never heard a word from Tom Coburn regarding the effect on the deficit. Now, suddenly that's a problem.
Coburn and McConnell should just say what they mean. They care about limiting spending about as much as they care about Veterans (nill). There real concern is continuing their obstructionist tactics in an attempt to ensure that Senate Democrats can't get any work done, for Veterans or anyone else. I never thought that the Party of No would use homeless Veterans and their children as a political football. Apparently, no matter what we owe to Veterans and their families, nothing is sacred to these disgusting Senate Republicans.