Veterans Exposed To Toxic Chemicals Accuse VA Of Foot-Dragging

Retired Senior Master Sgt. Leslie Howe has battled two cancers -- non-Hodgkin lymphoma and prostate cancer, both of which have been linked with exposure to Agent Orange, the herbicide used by the U.S. military to destroy enemy cover and crops during the Vietnam War. Howe, 71, was never actually in Vietnam during the conflict, but in the 1980s he served aboard Air Force planes that contained trace amounts of the defoliant. Still, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs twice denied Howe's benefits claim, telling him in a letter that it "could not find a link" between his medical conditions and his military service. "I flew in good conscience on that aircraft, not knowing the danger," said Howe, who recalled a distinct "aroma" at times while he worked in the aircraft as an air medical evacuation technician. "I did it because I wanted to serve my country." C-123 veterans reunited in early 2014: Senior Master Sgt. Leslie Howe (back left), Master Sgt. Richard Matte (front center), Lt. Col. Mary Griffin-Bales (back center) and Senior Master Sgt. Steve Caraker (back right). (Matte family) Similarly, retired Master Sgt. Casimir Cerniauskas, a World War II refugee from Lithuania, never hesitated in his decision to serve his adoptive country. He spent 37 years in the U.S. Air Force, including years loading and unloading cargo from contaminated C-123 airplanes -- the craft used to deploy Agent Orange in Vietnam -- in the U.S. after the Vietnam War had ended. Today, he's undergoing c...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news