1. GMOs are grown with toxic chemicals and resulting pesticide residues are known to be harmful to human health.

2. Research has shown that laboratory mammals fed GMOs suffer adverse effects that include damage to kidneys, liver, adrenal glands, spleen, and heart. Additionally, their immune systems were compromised and in some cases brain size was reduced.

Environmental harms.

3. GMO crops require huge amounts of chemicals that are harmful to soil, water, the atmosphere, and creatures. Although they are promoted as a technology to reduce pesticide usage, GM crops in the U.S. used greater than 26 percent more pesticides per acre in 2008 than non-GMO crops, based on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.

4. GMOs are actually increasing the need for stronger and more poisonous pesticides. For example, one agrochemical company is awaiting USDA approval of corn and soybeans resistant to 2, 4-D, a chemical related to Agent Orange.

5. GMOs are causing a growing epidemic of “superweeds.” These massive weeds have evolved a resistance to glyphosate, a chemical used on GM crops. Stronger toxic chemicals and soil-eroding tillage operations are required in order to eliminate superweeds.

6. GMOs contribute to global warming: GM crops require synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, which are responsible for approximately 60 percent of total emissions of nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas nearly 300 times more potent than CO2). GM crops use high amounts of fossil fuels through the production of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.

7. GMO practices contaminate our organic and local food systems. A report titled, Gone to Seed, found that 50 percent or more of non-GMO corn, canola, and soybean seed have been contaminated with GM genes.

8. Beneficial insects can be harmed. A Cornell University study showed that monarch butterflies suffered higher mortality rates when consuming milkweed leaves dusted with the Bt toxin associated with GM crops. And recently, pesticides called neonicotinoids have been blamed for the collapsing bee populations.

Harms to social and human rights.

9. GMOs are promoted as way to feed the world and mitigate hunger; however, numerous studies demonstrate that the GM crops do not produce higher yields as claimed. As one example, a USDA publication reports that “GM crops do not increase the yield potential.”

10. GMOs lead to corporate control over seed and food: Today only one company controls about 95 percent of GM seeds. This limits access to seeds, which are the center of food and life.

11. These large agri-corporations do not let farmers save seeds, a basic practice that has continued for centuries to ensure food security.

12. GMO agriculture is an extension of current industrial-farming practices that have resulted in the loss of family farms and farmer livelihoods around the globe.

Read Full Article by guest blogger Alberto Gonzalez, founder and CEO of GustOrganics

The giant U.S. agribusiness Monsanto was found guilty on Monday Feb. 13, after being sued by a small farmer from Charente who had been poisoned by a herbicide. This event is a first in France. On the scale of the history of the one-hundred-year-old multinational, this sentence constitutes just one more episode in an already long record of court procedures.

PCBs, Agent Orange, dioxin, GMO, Aspartame, growth hormones, herbicides (Lasso and Roundup) … a number of products that have made the fortune of Monsanto, have been marred by health scandals and trials sometimes leading to their prohibition. But nothing has so far hindered the irresistible rise of this former chemical giant who converted back to biogenetics and has mastered the art of lobbying. Portrait of a multinational multi-recidivist.

A chemical giant …explosive

Since its creation in 1901 in St. Louis, the small producer of saccharin that became one of the leading seed producers on the planet, has continued to make headlines. After the Second World War, the accidental explosion of a Monsanto plastics factory caused by a French freighter loaded with nitrate, which caused 500 deaths in Texas City in 1947, has remained in history as one of the first disasters of the chemical industry.

PCBs: the trial of shame

In 2001, 3,600 inhabitants of the city of Anniston, Alabama, attacked Monsanto for PCB contamination. According to a report, declassified by the U.S. Agency of Environmental Protection (EPA), Monsanto for almost forty years dumped thousands of tons of contaminated waste in a stream and an open garbage dump in the heart of a black neighborhood in the city.

Agent Orange: convinced of “poisoning”

During these same years, between 1961 and 1971, Monsanto produced Agent Orange, made up from the herbicide 2,4,5-T, whose dangerousness has been widely known ever since the explosion of the Nitro plant. This defoliant was massively dumped by U.S. aircraft over Vietnamese forests during the war. The consequences are still felt today, with many cancers and birth defects occurring in Vietnam, as well as various effects felt by many U.S. veterans.

In the 1970s, the Vietnam veterans opened a class action against the manufacturers of Agent Orange. Monsanto, alongside six other companies, was found to be the major guilty party in a lawsuit concerning damages for poisoning. In 1987, the seven manufacturers of Agent Orange were sentenced to pay $ 180 million to a compensation fund to U.S. soldiers.

During the trial, Monsanto presented scientific studies showing no link between exposure to dioxin and the cancers suffered by many veterans, in order to dismiss their action. It was demonstrated in the early 1990s that the studies based on the consequences of the explosion at the Nitro plant in 1949 were biased.

This scientific fraud is confirmed by the National Research Council, which found that Monsanto’s studies “suffer from misclassification between those exposed and not exposed to dioxin, and that this scientific fraud is confirmed by the National Research Council, and that they were biased in order to obtain the desired effect. “The case will be brought up again in 1990 by Greenpeace and the researcher Joe Thornton in a report entitled Science for Sale.

Read The Entire Article for more on  Is Roundup herbicide toxic?, Herbicide Lasso : off sale, Growth Hormones: scandal on Fox News, GMO: Law suits galore, Aspartame health scandal, 

http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Monsanto-a-half-century-o-by-Soren-Seelow-Le-M-120325-363.html

Kelly L. Derricks will be speaking at The Philadelphia PA March Against Monsanto Location

This Saturday May 25, 2013

Heather A. Bowser will be speaking at The Akron OH March Against Monsanto Location

This Saturday May 25, 2013

Event Links Have Been Attached Below For More Details

Akron Ohio Link

Philadelphia Pennsylvania Link

March Against Monsanto Resources and Information Links

Please Use The Following Link To Print Agent Orange Awareness Flyers

http://covvha.net/agent-orange-covvha-flyer-for-march-against-monsanto-events-public-posting

Please Use The Following Link To View Truth Teller’s Millions Against Monsanto Video 

http://covvha.net/gmo-agent-orange-speech-given-by-truth-teller-at-millions-against-monsanto-nyc

Please Use The Following Link To View Monsanto’s Corporate Connection Map

http://covvha.net/monsantos-top-corporate-secrets-exposed/

Please Use The Following Link To Print A Single Page GMO Do Not Buy List

http://covvha.net/monsanto-gmo-brands-and-foods-printable-shopping-list

Please Use The Following Link For More GMO Resources 

http://covvha.net/category/gm-food/

Please Use The Following Link To Find Your Local March Location

Locations Are Added Every 5 Minutes

http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/p/blog-page.html

Apple Products Must Have Flash Players.

Browser Recommendation – Google Chrome.

I have been sitting on this information for several weeks now. Un-sure of how to present it to thousands of people, I have spent many hours becoming familiar with the project. It is an amazing piece of work that I have been navigating like a video game of sorts. I am offering this to all of you now so that everyone has an idea of what is going on in our World, Nation, States, Cities, and Towns behind closed doors.

I have started everyone with Monsanto’s Map. Each line draws a connection to another company. Each chair is yet another connection. Everything is “clickable” as well as allowing you to move the screen…Yes that’s correct, tap your mouse of the screen and drag it left right down up, and you will see the map expand.
After you become familiar with the idea of what you are navigating, Take your attention to the left hand side of the page. There you will find a world of links that you can learn to use individually. As an example, If you click on “companies” Box A and Box B will appear. You can then scroll on a list of companies to choose to see if they are connected to each other.

Please be patient when the program loads, after you watch the introduction, you will without a doubt know what you are seeing in front of your own eyes.

Enjoy.
I encourage everyone to SHARE… PLEASE DO NOT SEPARATE THE LINKS!!!! I worked very hard on this post so that everyone understood what they were looking at.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN

© TRUTH TELLER 

2013 All Rights Reserved 

New research shows that if your grandmother or even your great-grandmother came in contact with some very common environmental chemicals, you could be suffering the consequences today in the form of male infertility, ovarian disease and the early or late onset of puberty.

It’s freaky when you think about it. It means that generations ago, for example, a pregnant woman was exposed to, say, DEET, the most common insect repellant in the whole world. Her baby grew up to have his own children and passed along mutations that occurred during mom’s exposure. Those children went on to also pass along those changes when they had their own kids, and there’s no telling how many future generations might be affected.

Michael Skinner and his colleagues at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, published data supporting this phenomenon today in Public Libray of Sciences. In addition to DEET, they looked at several other common chemicals including those found in soft plastics, pesticides, and jet fuel. They also looked at dioxin, the contaminant in Agent Orange.

Skinner and his colleagues have published several other studies looking at a chemical called vinclozolin, a common fungicide used on crops. They found it impaired fertility, and that the effect was carried down through generations. Now, the scientists are adding BPA, phthalates, pesticides, DEET, permethrin, dioxin, jet fuel, hydrocarbons, and JP8 to the list of chemicals with a similar effect.

“We didn’t expect them all to have transgenerational effects, but all of them did,” Skinner told me. “I thought hydrocarbon would be negative but it was positive too. This tells us that it’s not simply a unique aspect for a unique compound but that many environmental compounds have the ability to do this.”

The reasons behind choosing which chemicals to study partly came from the Department of Defense, which initiated the study. Why jet fuel? Because military bases spray it on roads to control dust. That’s also why they looked at three plastic compounds found in disposable water bottles: troops stationed overseas almost always drink bottled water.

 Please use the PDF DOWNLOAD link at the bottom left, save and print.  

This File is verified safe by COVVHA when downloaded from the link given on this article.

Download (PDF, Unknown)

(Reuters Health) – Men who were exposed to Agent Orange chemicals used during the Vietnam War are at higher risk for life-threatening prostate cancer than unexposed veterans, researchers have found.

By Genevra Pittman
NEW YORK | Mon May 13, 2013 12:23 am EDT

“This is a very, very strong predictor of lethal cancer,” said urologist Dr. Mark Garzotto, who worked on the study at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Oregon.

“If you’re a person who’s otherwise healthy and you’ve been exposed to Agent Orange, that has important implications for whether you should be screened or not screened,” he told Reuters Health.

But one researcher not involved in the new study said it’s hard to take much away from it, given the imprecise way it measured exposure.

Agent Orange – named after the giant orange drums in which the chemicals were stored – was used by the U.S. military to destroy foliage, mainly in southern Vietnam. The herbicide was often contaminated with a type of dioxin, a potently carcinogenic chemical.

The Vietnam Red Cross Society has estimated that up to one million Vietnamese suffered disabilities or health problems as a result of Agent Orange, including children born with birth defects years after their parents were exposed.

Past research has also suggested that U.S. veterans who served where Agent Orange was used are at an increased risk of lymphoma and certain other cancers, including prostate cancer.

For the new study, researchers wanted to see whether exposure was more closely linked to slow-growing prostate cancers or aggressive tumors.

They analyzed medical records belonging to 2,720 veterans who were referred to the Portland VA for a prostate biopsy. About one in 13 of those men had been exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, according to their VA intake interviews.

One third of all men in the study were diagnosed with prostate cancer, about half of which were high-grade cancers – the more aggressive and fast-growing type.

When the researchers took men’s age, race, weight and family history of cancer into account, they found those with Agent Orange exposure were 52 percent more likely than unexposed men to have any form of prostate cancer.

Separating out different types of tumors showed the herbicide was not linked to an increased risk of slower-growing, low-grade cancer. But it was tied to a 75 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, the study team reported Monday in the journal Cancer.

“The increase in the rate of cancers was almost exclusively driven by the potentially lethal cancers,” said Garzotto, also from Oregon Health & Science University.

More research is needed to figure out exactly why that is, he said. In the meantime, Garzotto said veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange should discuss that with their doctors.

But Dr. Arnold Schecter, from the University of Texas School of Public Health’s Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Program in Dallas, said there’s a “big problem” with just asking veterans if they were exposed to Agent Orange or served in an area where it was sprayed.

“Of those most heavily exposed in the military as best we know, only a relatively small percentage of them had elevated dioxin from Agent Orange in their blood when tested by (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” he told Reuters Health.

Schecter said that in Vietnam, people who have high levels of that type of dioxin in their blood live in places where the chemical has become integrated into the food supply – or were sprayed directly with Agent Orange.

Another researcher who has studied the effects of Agent Orange agreed that not having blood dioxin levels is a drawback, but said the findings are consistent with past research and general thinking about the chemical.

“Almost all studies have implicated that men with Agent Orange (exposure) either have higher-grade prostate cancer or a more aggressive clinical course,” said Dr. Gregory Merrick, head of Wheeling Hospital’s Schiffler Cancer Center in West Virginia, who also wasn’t involved in the new research.

But, he added, as long as men are getting into the VA system and getting regular evaluations and treatment for cancer, Agent Orange exposure “is not a death sentence by any means.”

SOURCE: bit.ly/gzHzeL Cancer, online May 13, 2013.

REUTERS - http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/13/us-agent-orange-cancer-idUSBRE94C03U20130513

]]> http://covvha.net/agent-orange-linked-to-deadliest-forms-of-prostate-cancer-new-study/feed/ 0 http://covvha.net/children-of-vietnam-veterans-health-alliance-testifies-to-the-institute-of-medicine/ http://covvha.net/children-of-vietnam-veterans-health-alliance-testifies-to-the-institute-of-medicine/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 12:00:24 +0000 Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance http://covvha.net/?p=7077 There is a renewed push for the Institute of Medicine to take seriously the claims made by the Children of Vietnam Veterans and their families about the birth defects and illnesses they are suffering from. The adverse affects of the dioxin laden herbicide sprayed [...]]]> AGENT ORANGE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE OFFICIAL COVVHA TESTIMONY
There is a renewed push for the Institute of Medicine to take seriously the claims made by the Children of Vietnam Veterans and their families about the birth defects and illnesses they are suffering from. The adverse affects of the dioxin laden herbicide sprayed over the jungles of Vietnam, AKA Agent Orange, have been well known since the government first admitted in 1991 to cause illnesses in Vietnam Veterans. For years, the veterans and their families have been saying birth defects and rare illnesses have affected their children’s health. These anomalies and illnesses are not only happening in the children of Vietnam Veterans (2nd generation), but now are showing up in alarming numbers in the grandchildren (3rd Generation) of Vietnam Veterans as well.

January 16, 2013, Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance (COVVHA) participated, in the public hearings for the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Committee to Review on the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans Exposure to Herbicides (Ninth Biennial Update) in Irvine, California. Tanya Mack, COVVHA Core Chairperson, and California resident, gave testimony on behalf of COVVHA to the committee. Tanya Mack is the Daughter of a recently, deceased Vietnam Veteran who succumbed service connected Agent Orange illnesses. She was born with severe hip dysplasia and has developed several rare aggressive cancers in her thirties which she is currently still fighting.

“The Institute of Medicine is an independent, nonprofit organization that works outside of government to provide unbiased and authoritative advice to decision makers and the public (From the IOM website).” They have been commissioned to review biannually, the most current data available about herbicides and the health effects on our Veterans. In the past, the IOM have been responsible for getting new illnesses added to the presumptive list for our ailing Vietnam Veterans. Like On October 13, 2009, when, the Veterans Affairs added three new medical conditions for Vietnam Veterans presumptively associated with exposure to herbicides; hairy cell and other B-cell leukemia’s, Parkinson’s disease, and ischemic heart disease, to the list of covered illnesses.

Included in COVVHA’s report to the committee, were the number and types of illnesses and congenital anomalies found in the second and third generation members of COVVHA. This includes the ailments that mirror the Vietnam Veterans and the congenital anomalies found on the list of birth defects covered in the children of women Vietnam Veterans. Tanya Mack, shared several studies from the early eighties including Ranch Hand studies and a current epigenetic study from Washington State that show a correlation to trans-generational exposures to dioxin, with the committee for them to consider. Several recommendations were made as to the next actions to help the children of Vietnam Veterans in the most practical ways.

Three of COVVHA recommendations included approving the currently covered eighteen plus, birth defects for children of female Vietnam Veterans for the children of male Vietnam Veterans. The second recommendation included the request for free DNA and Epigenetic testing for the biological children of Vietnam Veterans as needed, and an official Agent Orange Registry for Children of Vietnam Veterans. COVVHA made several other recommendations that were included in their submitted testimony.

Highlights of other participant’s testimony:
Ken Holybee, Director at Large, of Vietnam Veterans of America. Ken pointed out in the Veterans and Agent Orange 2008 Update, the IOM Committee concluded that it was plausible exposure to herbicides that could cause paternally mediated effects in offspring as a result of epigenetic changes, and that such changes would most likely be attributable to the TCDD contaminants in Agent Orange. He urged the committee to follow up on their 2008 recommendations. Due to the continued suffering the VVA sees in the families who attend their Agent Orange Town Hall Meetings.

Debra Kraus, widow of a Vietnam Veteran, Activist and Artist, shared a slideshow presentation of her art that is based on her experience through her husband’s dealings with the V.A. and health issues.

Elayne Mackey, National Health Committee co-chair for the Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America (AVVA). AVVA recommends the creation of Centers of Excellence to provide for research, treatment, and social services for the offspring of veterans of all eras who have been exposed to toxins while in service to our country.

Wesley T. Carter, Chair of the C-123 Veterans Association, asked for two possibilities, the Department of Defense designates the contaminated -123 aircraft, by specific tail number, as Agent Orange exposure sites. The other for the VA to accept claims from veterans able to provide evidence of service aboard the aircraft known to have been contaminated.

Andy Olshan, PhD, Chair of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina and Kim Boekelheide, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Science, Brown University phoned into the meeting. The Doctors gave their opinion on the likelihood of Paternal Transmission of Dioxin through Sperm. The Doctors stated that paternal transmission is relatively small because the male system is made to minimize the transmission of issues and that there is not enough evidence to support the theory that Dioxin is transmitted through sperm.

COVVHA is committed to serving as a voice for the children of Vietnam Veterans including second and third generation victims of Agent Orange and Dioxin Exposures worldwide. We believe in empowering each other to hold the companies and governments responsible for causing so much devastation and suffering to our generations. We fight for justice globally. We hope the IOM will make the responsible recommendations to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Please, see the full testimony submitted to the Institute of Medicine attached which also includes Tanya Mack’s personal health struggle with Agent Orange related birth defects and cancers.

COVVHA members and supporters who have joined our email subscription will also receive the Video of Tanya’s testimony. If you would like to receive the video and other information from COVVHA you can subscribe in the box below

Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides (Ninth Biennial Update… by View Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance’s profile on Scribd” href=”http://www.scribd.com/COVVHA1″>Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

On March 15, 2013 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released its “Chapter A: Summary and Findings” water modeling report for the Hadnot Point and Holcomb Boulevard Water Treatment Plants and Vicinities for Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/hadnotpoint.html). Enclosed you will find a copy of the ATSDR fact sheet about this report and other information from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Hadnot Point-Holcomb Boulevard Reports http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/hadnotpoint.html

During 2007–2009, ATSDR published historical reconstruction results for Tarawa Terrace and vicinity. Results for Hadnot Point, Holcomb Boulevard, and vicinity—based on information gathering, data interpretations, and water-modeling analyses—are now presented as another series of ATSDR reports supporting current health studies.

Supplements

• Supplement 1: Descriptions and Characterizations of Data Pertinent to Water-Supply Well Capacities, Histories, and Operations [PDF, 2.06 MB]
• Supplement 2: Development and Application of a Methodology to Characterize Present-Day and Historical Water-Supply Well Operations [PDF, 20.13 MB]
• Supplement 3: Descriptions and Characterizations of Water-Level Data and Groundwater Flow for the Brewster Boulevard and Castle Hayne Aquifer Systems and the Tarawa Terrace Aquifer [PDF, 4.85 MB]
• Supplement 4: Simulation of Three-Dimensional Groundwater Flow [PDF, 9.31 MB]
• Supplement 5: Theory, Development, and Application of Linear Control Model Methodology to Reconstruct Historical Contaminant Concentrations at Selected Water-Supply Wells [PDF, 5.39 MB]
• Supplement 6: Source Characterization and Simulation of Fate and Transport of Selected Volatile Organic Compounds in the Vicinities of the Hadnot Point Industrial Area and Landfill
• Supplement 7: Source Characterization and Simulation of the Migration of Light Nonaqueous Phase Liquids (LNAPLs) in the Vicinity of the Hadnot Point Industrial Area [PDF, 4.01 MB]
• Supplement 8: Field Tests, Data Analyses, and Simulation of the Distribution of Drinking Water with Emphasis on Intermittent Transfers of Drinking Water Between the Hadnot Point and Holcomb Boulevard Water-Distribution System.
•  
• READ MORE: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/hadnotpoint.html#Chapter_A

Information (evidence) that the Veterans Administration (VA) requires from vets for filing a claim for Agent Orange Presumptive Exposure can be mind consuming. This likewise may also apply for the widow of a veteran when applying for Dependence Indemnity Compensation (DIC). In some cases, children of a Vietnam veteran who are disabled due to Agent Orange by way of conception if qualified might also apply for compensation. Children infected with Dioxin are known as second generation. There is now third generation children showing up with illness’s from Agent Orange Dioxin.

Steps to take in filing a VA claim:

Contact the nearest VA office by phone, letter or E-mail for VA claim forms. Most forms can be downloaded on the VA website atwww.va.gov. Follow all instructions. Mail the form/s to the nearest regional VA office with a copy of your DD-214. (address/s can be found on their website). Once submitted, the VA will send you other forms to file with them. A letter of instruction will also be enclosed with the additional forms.

Note:

Be sure to include Social Security Number, you are identified by your SS#. It is also advised, all mailings to the VA be sent registered mail with return receipt. This insures they did in fact receive the forms.

Evidence:

The VA will require evidence of service. DD-214, Lists of service medals; especially the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM). The VA will supply you with a form for your personal statement. They will want to know if you feel your illness exposure to Agent Orange is combat related. Did you have boots on ground or at sea or in the air. If at sea, were you in the territorial waters of Vietnam. If in the air, did you fly over land Vietnam. When it comes to Navy, Coast Guard, Fleet Marines, there are two values, (1) Blue Water (2) Brown Water. Blue Water meaning at sea in the territorial waters of Vietnam combat zones. Brown Water meaning the inland water ways and or harbors of Vietnam. Nearly all US Army and Marine Corp and some Air Force were in country Vietnam, This is boots on ground. Some US Navy were also boots on ground. You determine which and must prove it.

Important:

Every item of evidence you send to the VA in support of your claim, put your SS# on each page. Accompany evidence with a letter.

Additional Evidence (Medical):

Doctor/s reports for your medical condition. Only medical conditions listed by the VA are accepted that are related to Agent Orange exposure. The VA with normally request medical reports from your doctor/s. You sign a release form for them to do this. However, it is your responsibility to insure that your doctor/s comply. A list of medical conditions that the VA accepts can be found on their website at www.va.gov .

Additional Evidence (Military):

Transfer orders to Ship, Unit or Command. Award of the Vietnam Service Medal, Personnel files that show your service onboard ship or on land. If you do not have these records, they can be gotten.

Army: US Army Reserve Personnel Center, 9700 Page Blvd, St, Louis, Mo. 63132-5100

Air Force: Air Force Reference Branch, Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Blvd St. Louis, Mo. 63132-5100

Marine Corp

Coast Guard

Navy Navy Personnel Command. Room 5409, 9700 Page Blvd,

St. Louis, Mo. 63131-5100

General: National Personnel Records Center

1 Archives Drive

St. Louis, Mo. 63138-1002

In writing, you must be specific what you want in the way of files. I.E. Duty Station/s, Unit, Command, Medals, DD-214

Additional Evidence (Military Other):

Deck Logs, Navy, Fleet Marine, Coast Guard: Onboard ship, deck logs are important. They record the operations of the day, to include ship’s location at sea; Heading, and longitude and latitude. These sailing details can be mapped out. Some deck logs can be found on line. It is best to contact the Archives first:

Archives 2 Reference Section, Textual Archives Service Division

National Archives

8601 Adelphi Road

College Park, Md. 20740-6001

Ph# (301) 837-3510 Fax#(301) 837-1752

E-mail:

archives2reference@nara.gov

It is best to call first and ask if your ship is listed on line and what is the link.

You will need to give some detail information, Name and type of ship, Dates you think you were in the territorial waters of Vietnam (combat zone). Dates you think you were on inland water ways. Use a plus factor of approx. 8 to 10 days on both ends of the estimated dates; unless you do know the exact dates and time. The archives will do a records search, This could take up to 8 weeks to receive an response. There could be a small charge for the deck logs per page. There is the possibility that some deck logs are still classified, if so, the archive will have no record. Classified documents are nearly impossible to get. Not even your Congressman or Senator has clearance to get them. There were 714 Naval ships involved in the Vietnam war. The archives is a busy place. Let the archives know if your ship was designated Blue Water , Brown Water or both.

US Army Information:

There is a contact for Army info.

All request to the Army must be submitted on Standard Form 180

This form can be gotten by calling 1-888-276-9472

Or E-mail:

askhrc.army@us.army.mil

Or: access

https://www.hre.army.mil

Then click on ASK HRC

Note: This is a free service.

Other reliable sources for information and help:

www.bluewaternavy.orgwww.vnvets.com

Vietnam Veterans of America ph#1-800-vva1316

American Legion ph#1-202-861-2700

AmVets ph# 1-877-736-8387

Disabled American Veterans ph# 1-877-426-2838

Veterans of Foreign Wars ph# 1-816-756-3390

These veterans organizations can assign a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) to help with your case. Also contact your District member of US Congress and both of your States US Senators. It is their job to help you.

NOTE: When you do get approval from the VA and are rated for disability compensation, and are retired military, check the following website:

www.dafs.mil/retiredmilitary/disability/crpd.html

This website is only for those who retired from military service with 20 years active service or more, it is not for those who were disabled retired. To contact the author,please email John Bury at Jbury@Covvha.net

© John Bury 2013 (COVVHA) Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance INC.  All rights reserved.

BECOME A MEMBER OF CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS HEALTH ALLIANCE

YOU WILL RECEIVE A ONCE DAILY EMAIL OF ANY BREAKING AGENT ORANGE NEWS AND RELATED TOPICS IN ADDITION TO ANY COVVHA UPDATES

PLEASE ENTER YOUR EMAIL IN THE BOX BELOW,  A CONFIRMATION LINK WILL BE SENT TO YOUR EMAIL.  YOU MUST OPEN THE EMAIL AND CLICK THE CONFIRMATION LINK TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS.

March Against Monsanto 2013 season is here! Please read the following for important information.

Truth Teller 2013

On October 16, 2011, Kelly L. Derricks, also known as TRUTH TELLER traveled to New York City where she gave a public speech about Agent Orange after being invited by Millions Against Monsanto to participate in the rally event for World Food Day. Since then, the illness list she referenced reported by Children of Vietnam Veterans has grown to nearly 800 which are listed on the website of the Non-profit she Co-Founded, (COVVHA) Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance INC., with Heather A. Bowser.

Kelly has battled severe health issues since she was born that continue today. Some of her illnesses, presumed to be associated with the inter-generational effects of Agent Orange, include but are not limited to the following:

• Chronic kidney disease
• Crohn’s disease
• Addison’s disease
• Congenital adrenal hyperplaysia
• Intersticial cystitis.

*Her complete list of illnesses staggers to 35 different things.

Kelly will be speaking at the Philadelphia Location (Independence Mall) March Against Monsanto Event on Saturday May 25, 2013

Please Read Kelly’s Full Bio

http://covvha.net/children-of-vietnam-veterans-health-alliance-surviving-agent-orange-and-dioxin-exposures/

Please Watch the video below

http://www.youtube.com/user/teppnme

Kelly L. Derricks

© 2013 (COVVHA) Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance INC.  All rights reserved.

BECOME A MEMBER OF CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS HEALTH ALLIANCE

YOU WILL RECEIVE A ONCE DAILY EMAIL OF ANY BREAKING AGENT ORANGE NEWS AND RELATED TOPICS IN ADDITION TO ANY COVVHA UPDATES

PLEASE ENTER YOUR EMAIL IN THE BOX BELOW,  A CONFIRMATION LINK WILL BE SENT TO YOUR EMAIL.  YOU MUST OPEN THE EMAIL AND CLICK THE CONFIRMATION LINK TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS.

(C) James J. Alonzo

With all the illnesses, malformed babies, and suffering from Agent Orange, one could wonder who the person that ordered it to be used was. It was Elmo Zumwalt Jr., who as commander of U.S. naval forces in Southeast Asia that ordered the chemical defoliant sprayed over the South Vietnamese countryside to deprive communist troops of cover.

Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr. (November 29, 1920 – January 2, 2000) was an American naval officer and the youngest man to serve as Chief of navel Operations. As an admiral and later the 19th Chief of navel Operations, Zumwalt played a major role in U.S. military history, especially during the Viet Nam War.

After his selection for the rank of Rear Admiral, Zumwalt assumed command in July 1965 of Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Seven. In September 1968, he became Commander Naval Forces, Viet Nam, and Chief of the Naval Advisory Group, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.

Zumwalt’s command was not a blue water unit, like the Seventh Fleet; it was a brown water unit: he commanded the flotilla of Swift boats that patrolled the coasts, harbors, and rivers of Vietnam. Among the swift-boat commanders were his son, Elmo Russell Zumwalt III, and later future Senator John Kerry. During this time, the elder Zumwalt had an opportunity to safeguard the men who served under his command from the Viet Cong who hid in the jungle and ambushed American and ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) patrols at will.

A new group of herbicides, Agent Orange, White, and other assorted color names, could be sprayed on the foliage to remove the cover that the Viet Cong used so effectively. It was claimed at that time that the side effects on humans of long-term exposure to Agent Orange were not yet known, and the manufacturers, Dow and Monsanto, were eager to reassure potential users about its safety.

Admiral Zumwalt acted to protect not only his own son, but also his many comrades from a “clear and present danger,” but in so doing, he exposed them to chemicals now known to cause cancer. As all commanders must do, Admiral Zumwalt acted quickly and decisively on the available information; in this case, he relied on sources that were biased and unreliable, as later developments made clear.

In the end, he paid personally for his decision. Zumwalt’s son, Elmo Zumwalt III, died in 1988, aged 42;

Zumwalt’s grandson (born 1977) suffers from a congenital dysfunction that confuses his physical senses. Zumwalt’s son, prior to his own death, said in 1986 that

“‘I am a lawyer and I don’t think I could prove in court, by the weight of the existing scientific evidence, that Agent Orange is the cause of all the medical problems – nervous disorders, cancer and skin problems – reported by Vietnam veterans, or of their children’s severe birth defects. But I am convinced that it is.” He also said he never blamed his father for his disease.

Admiral Zumwalt said he felt his son’s cancer was most definitely due to Agent Orange. He also mentioned that his grandson Russell suffered from very severe learning disabilities that could possibly be traced to it as well. However, Zumwalt said he did not regret ordering the use of Agent Orange, because it reduced casualties by making it difficult for the enemy to hide and find food.

Admiral Zumwalt, along with his son, authored a book called My Father, My Son, published by MacMillan in September 1986, where they discussed the family tragedy of his son’s battle with cancer.

After treatment in a number of hospitals, Elmo Zumwalt III went to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center inSeattle, where he received a bone marrow from his sister Mouzetta, whose tissues fortunately matched his well enough for this treatment to be feasible. Results were promising but in the end, he died in 1988.

Sadly the Zumwalt family also suffered from Agent Orange. Was it all a case of “What goes around, comes around” or for those of the eastern thought, Karma”?