I am the son of John "Jack" Shaffer who was an AE2 in Squadron VA-113 on the Kitty Hawk from 63-68. In speaking with my mom, she told us he often handled 55 gallon drums, even sitting on them to eat lunch. He passed away from cancer in 1988 at age 43. My sister and I have had multiple health problems. I have read a lot about Agent Orange on the internet and in the other posts on this site, but wanted to know if there is any more current information. Any help would be appreciated.

John,
Here is where you can get all the info on Agent Orange. WWW.VA.gov/AgentOrange.They list all of the illness that was proven to be caused by agent orange. If you believe that one of the 13 on the list pertains to your family, go to your local VA they have all the forms and will talk to you about it. Bring your Fathers DD214, Medical Records, Your familys Medical Records,etc, etc. Hope this is of some help.
Take care and God Bless, Bill

I was in VAH13 onboard USS KittyHawk from November 1962 thru August 1964, rate AQB2. In that timeframe I'm unsure as to seeing any Orange bands on the drums. What I did see, and also sat on to eat chow, were the green barrels with Purple bands. I'm convinced these were an
agent called Purple, which preceded Orange during the Kennedy years; remember he was onboard May 1963. The VA totally disavows this, and very few people have ever heard of Purple, which was definitely more potent than Orange, the next generation.

I too was aboard Kitty Hawk, as ships company, on cats 3 and 4. I remember the barrels with orange stripes as well as purple stripes. During all of those launches and recovers I recall fluids dripping from various areas of the craft, especially tanks. It wasn't until many years later that discussions brought up the fact that this liquid was the deadly chemicals. I now am going through vary mysterious symtoms and have filed claims with the VA hospital.
Bob Brannon V2 division USS Kitty Hawk 1962 1966

I was in VA85, a A6A Squadron and, do not know much detail about the operations of VA115. V115 was an A1D (Prop Driven) aircraft and was equiped to spray Agent Orange and believe it did so during the 65-66 Vietnam deployment. I think I rembember seeing the drums of Agent Orange (Orange Strip on Drum) on the Kitty Hawk. Let's here from members of VA115

I WAS ABOARD THE HAWK 1963TO1967 AND AGENT ORANGE WAS ABOARD THE KITTY HAWK.IT WAS STORED ON THE HANGAR DECK WHERE I WORKED FOR 31/2 YEARS!!!!!!

I remember working ammo work details and moving canisters around with orange stripes on them. The canisters were mounted on the prop plane.

I highly suspect that the referenced drums contained napalm, not agent orange...

Napalm was not shiped or stored in Drums aboard the Kitty Hawk. Napalm Bombs(MK47) were stored and handled like other ordanance. My Squadron (VA85), particpated in a few Napalm Missions during our deployments.

My Dad was on the USS Kitty Hawk during 1966-67. He was exposed to agent orange on the flight deck from a punctured canister. He also has photos of it, he also recalls DEFOLIANT written on this canister of agent orange. I would love to get in contact with anyone with the same concerns. His claims to the VA have been denied over the years. He was with marine detachment.

Sandy; I am 70 y/o. Spent over 4 years on Kitty Hawk due to extensions. I launched aircraft off catapult four during those 4 plus years while at sea. I saw a lot a good guys come and go and everyone of us had the same questions over that time, "...what the !@$#^ is that crappy smelly, rotten tasting liquid dripping out of those tanks on those planes". Over the past 15 to 20 years or more I have had more illnesses than I thought was ones fair share. Everything from deformed finger nails that I have had to have removed, heart hesitations, Parkinsons disease, melanomas, and others that probably aren't recognized as anything more than getting old. I have been working with the American Legion on this but like you, have not had much luck other than a form letter hinting that I should keep trying. As you know, aircraft carriers are by their nature big targets so staying away from shore was the norm. You should also know that water circulates in the ocean therby bringing toxins to cooling intakes, to dealinization systems, to drinking, to showering, to food, to us! I happened to have the added luxury of being captains driver which allowed me to be launched off the same catapult I normally worked on, inorder to fly with the captain on an old two prop supply plane. These trips were exiting to say the least, but if I only new then those jungle landing strips were the same ones that were being dropped on with AO I would probably have classified it differently. My Best to All of You.

Sandi; Having photo's is exactly what you need, it's gold. I mostly have 8mm film and 35mm slides. Remember, agent orange came in barrels with orange stripes on them, hence the name. Other barrels had other colored stripes used for who knows what. Protect those photo masters, donot give them to anyone, make digitized copies if somebody needs a copy; My name is Bob Brannon. I was in V-2 Div. Catapult #4.
Good Luck

Hi Everyone,

I also was on the Kitty Hawk, 1985-1986 and served with the Marine Detachment. I sent the Sandy a pretty good email about what assistance she can get. To all of you veterans who may be having problems, I'll let you know what I emailed her. That is, that the VA has now established a list of "Blue Water" ships that now qualify for claims involving Agent Orange. I guess VA has finally understood that Blue Water Navy crewman could be exposed also. I would also encourage all veterans who believe they have a medical condition that is service connected no matter what or when, to contact their nearest VA Clinic and ask to speak to the Veterans Service Officer. These are the veterans who work directly for organizations like American Legion, VFW and Disabled American Veterans, as well as a list of other congressionally recognized organizations that can legally represent a veteran before the VA.

The SO's are trained in all of the VA processes and know the paperwork inside and out as well as being being familiar with all the changes to VA medical issues and something that may not have been covered and a week later is, will be something the service officer's are trained to keep up on. VA is mandated to train them, so that's why they stay in the know on what VA is doing. Also the Service Officers don't work for VA they work for the service organization and they are YOUR ADVOCATE. All their services are free, and you will never be charged.

I work for a state agency in a state in the Northwest and work pretty closely with the Service Officers as I work with veterans with various medical issues who have filed or are going to file claims. The Veteran Service Officer can make things very understandable for you, and if you get a good enough Service Officer, they will stay on VA like their is no tomorrow.

Also for my fellow vets who can't find their DD214, you can now go to the website for National Archives and fill out a simple form online that will allow National Archives to send you your DD214 within about 3 weeks. In rare instances they may refer you directly to the service you were in but they now are the repository for all military records outside of your individual service. Very quick, you fill out the form online, print out a signature page and sign it and fax it to them, and that's it.

Each state has a main Service Officer Office with the various organizations, and if you can't get to an office that is far away, the SO's also travel around the state, visiting areas where veterans are known to live. Hope my fellow veterans and former shipmates out there get the help you need.

Semper Fi

I was on the Kitty Hawk from 68-70. I was in the Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD)that supplied all the plane part to the squadron's. I remember taking part to plane captains and commenting about a sticky film on those planes, At the time we thought they had to be flying through something. That sticky film was Agent Orange where planes were flying bombing runs through heavy concentrations of Agent Orange that was in the atmosphere. There were also barrel of Agent Orange on the ship.

I started having internal problem and it started on the ship and my ship medical records show that I was having abdominal problem before I left the ship in 1970. I have had these stomach and abdominal problem all my life and my girls have the same problems. W hen the problems got very suaver was the only time I went to the doctor. I have used the VA hospital but because I had good insurance I used private doctors.

I have applied for benefits through VA and was denied but the VA officer that has helped me seems very helpful. He has refiled and said it may take a number of years to get benefits. Other Vets that I have talk to said not to give up. Do you have other suggestions

John, Your father and I served in Va-113 at the same time and I remember something about those drums. What you want to do is go online and contact www.BlueWaterNavy.org. It is a website devoted primary but not exclusinvely to Agent Orange and the presumption given to inland water sailors but not blue water sailors. One more thing, do you know if your father registered with the V.A's Agent Orange program.
If you have any questions call me 330-720-1221. Ron Marks. EST zone

I'll try this again, my last attempt locked me out.
I worked the flight deck on KittyHawk from 62 thru 66, on cat #4. Worked around a lot of your planes and my crews and I kept questioning the leakage from the belly tanks, we thought it was fuel?. If you were around the day the chopper came apart on cat #4 and a piece of aluminum opened the belly tank spewing liquid all over me and my crew you'd wonder if it was fuel or AO., If it was fuel I would have thought the tank would have exploded, it didn't, therefore my crew and I suspected Ao.
Any thoughts? Personally have Parkinsons, heart disease, melanoma, and other stuff. This is the reason I suspect AO on my ship.
Best of luck
bob brannon

Immportant....AGent Orange........for Bob Brannon......

I was on the Kitty hawk from 1966-1970. There was one period where a Constellation was shot down and the ship was sent over to Korea....and we got an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for it.....I think it was 66 or68....it'll be on your dd214 and you got a copy of it. The ship just pull into Hong Kong, dropped anchor, pulled it back up and continued on to Korea. Maybe , this is the proof that you need, for being in Korea. It only shows on you your dd214.....no time....only Proof in Korea......the whole Kitty Hawk was there. Good luck to you. Until we meet again, Al Lorenger.plain capt 66-70 VF114

TO shaffer1972@earthlink.net

I was on the Kitty hawk from 1966-1970. There was one period where a Constellation was shot down and the ship was sent over to Korea....and we got an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for it.....I think it was 66 or68....it'll be on your dd214 and you got a copy of it. The ship just pull into Hong Kong, dropped anchor, pulled it back up and continued on to Korea. Maybe , this is the proof that you need, for being in Korea. It only shows on you your dd214.....no time....only Proof in Korea......the whole Kitty Hawk was there. Good luck to you. Until we meet again, Al Lorenger.plain capt 66-70 VF114

to: the family of John Shaffer1972@earthlink.net

I was on the Kitty hawk from 1966-1970. There was one period where a Constellation was shot down and the ship was sent over to Korea....and we got an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for it.....I think it was 66 or68....it'll be on your dd214 and you got a copy of it. The ship just pull into Hong Kong, dropped anchor, pulled it back up and continued on to Korea. Maybe , this is the proof that you need, for being in Korea. It only shows on you your dd214.....no time....only Proof in Korea......the whole Kitty Hawk was there. Good luck to you. Until we meet again, Al Lorenger.plain capt 66-70 VF114yjwa

John, you need to try to come up with info on how much, if any, "boots on ground" time your father may have had. Did the squadron base itself to some sector, was he launched into some port for maintenance or what not. I personally flew into nam with the capt of the Kitty Hawk when he wanted to get those **** flight skins. We flew in to drop off goods, mail, a few ground troops, etc. and not knowing i'd ever need to prove I was there, didn't bother to ask questions. Now both capt's are dead so there goes my proof of "boots on ground". Keep questioning this sight about old guys who maybe were on that squadron.
Luck to you.
bobBPJV

Good info and dead on about the "boots on ground." This is what VA is now really beginning to come around to acknowledge for Agent Orange exposure. For any vet who spent anytime in any MOS in Vietnam, do what you can to research evidence of the vets presence in Vietnam. DD-214's are a start for obvious stints in country, but many vets are seeing DD-214's that are not correct. Another direction I recommend is looking at supporting documentation. For instance, all military units maintain morning reports, flight logs, etc. If you can't find info on your DD-214, contact National Archives, DOD various services and ask how to get this type of info. I know from talking with a Service Officer from American Legion that this is one of many ways that people can use to pull together supporting documentation. Right now on VA form 1010EZ which is the Veterans Health Administration enrollement form, one of the boxes asks about exposure to agent orange, and later allows you to explain your medical conditions. As long as your current medical condition seems in line with what the VA continously seems to be finding as result of agent orange exposure, you should be okay. Right now they seem to be adding agent orange medical related conditions monthly, and in the last 6 months three new heart conditions have been added.

The biggest advice I can give is for all vets to work with a Service Officer. And make sure your organization is using a service officer that attends the VA training, has access to their computer systems, etc. Many service officers who are the authorized SO's and not just the person from a local post work at the statewide VA clinics and travel around their states to assist vets. I live in a state where four organizations have service officers working for them and they are constantly traveling around the state on a regular basis helping us. Service Officer organizations can be found on the back of the VA form 21-22 which is the Service Officer representation form, it has a list of all the service organizations that VA recognizes and all you have to do is find the service organization in your area. Use the service officers, they will keep the VA on task, the authorized service officers have some access to the VA computer system and can find out what the status of your application is and the VA knows that the service officers know the system. Another good reason to use the service officers is that when you report various medical issues to the VA you want addressed, as they begin to address your claim, if VA finds other issues that they feel you can claim, they are apparently prohibited by law from encouraging you to file the additional claim. The service officers can have access to the same info VA uses and they can tell you when and how to add the additional claims. As an example, if the VA is handling your claim for a back injury and they are about to make a disability rating which means your case is now in the hands of the rating board, they have to now pull your claim back and begin the process again. A service officer who can find out what the status of your claim is may give you good advice and say with your claim at the rating board, leave it there since this is a big claim, and the new smaller issue you have can always be brought to VA's attention after they rate your initial claim. This is the beauty of the service officers. The VA knows that the service officers will be your best advocate and can tell you the things the VA knows but can't take any particular action on due to the way the laws are written that govern how they process claims.

Something else I have learned is big, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs is made up of three seperate administrations. Vets Health or VHA, Vets Benefits of VBA and Morturary and Monuments Administration. They don't talk to each other. Yea I know shocker huh. So if you have a medical claim and are getting medical services, the benefits people have no idea of your medical issues, unless you file a claim to get compensation for the medical condition. So as an example if you are rated as having a bad heart as a result of agent orange exposure, you are dealing with VHA. If you want compensation such as money that is tied to your disability rating, you have to seperately apply to the Veterans Benefits Administration. I had never knew that, I just assumed they talked and for whatever reason they don't unless it is a very specific reason.

My best advice is get yourself a service officer who is recognized as an authorized service officer, and not just the person at your local post who checks ID's for alcohol. At the local level they may be the designated contact for your post, but if they are not authorized and have access to the VA system, then they are not the VA recognized/authorized rep for that organization. I guess that's the best I can encourage anyone to do. I now have a service officer. As a good example, I know of a vet who tried dealing with VA for years on his hearing and got nowhere. This vet was a WWII gunner on a B-25 and his hearing is shot. After finally getting a service officer who knew the VA process, the vet now has a 100 percent rating, and for those who don't know, 100% rating with VA is hard to get. Top rate for 100% disability is around $2600.00 a month, tax free, in addition to all of the related medical expenses VA will pick up, such as the cost of this vets hearing aids which run in the thousands. That was all because of the service officer he worked with from VFW. Also for my fellow Kitty Hawk shipmates, another big thing the VA is now more easily recognizing claims for is military jobs in which you were exposed to excessive noise. This includes work on ships and especially carriers. So make sure you document and let your service officer know you served on a ship and the noise hazards we dealt with everyday from the regular flight deck activities, like engines turning, take offs and landings, to working on the hanger deck and having to hear the siren sound when the deck elevators are being cycled up and down. I think the VA calls it Tinnitus, and they are now giving favorable claims to vets who are beginning to have hearing issues. Most folks just assume you are getting older and your hearing is getting worse, now VA is saying if you worked certain military occupations, we acknowledge that your military service could have began the hearing issues you had.

Another biggie I just learned regards to enrollments. Fill out the VHA Form 1010EZ, what can it hurt. If you don't get put into a priority group nothing gained or lost. If you are enrolled in VHA, for those of us veterans who live in rural states here is big news I didn't know until recently. If you have to be medi-vacked, like say from a rural location to a major hospital, if you are enrolled with VA, your entire cost of your medivack may be picked up by VA. They just have to be notified within 72 hours of your emergency transport via air ambulance. If you can give them advance notice, VA in the various states contracts with a medivack service to come and get you if there is time and just let VA do the transport. Folks that is huge. I live in a state where medivacks cost upwards of $40,000, and many people in this state have a seperate insurance policy where they pay yearly premiums to maintain air ambulance coverage. VA can provide this service for FREE, if you are enrolled.

Another thing I have learned, you just can't say you have a particular medical condition. You have to detail how you feel your medical condition was caused by your military service. So in the example of your hearing, be prepared to explain what your duties were, the proximity you were in to the noise and how often you heard it. So all you flight deck shooters, plan captains, safety folks, fuel folks, or even guys who worked as snipes down in the engine room, you were exposed to lots of noise on a daily basis, and I don't care what kind of hearing protection you were wearing, the noise was deafening. I had the added experience of not only being on ship and working up on the flight deck as a Marine, but also having been assigned to a Marine Infantry unit ashore, got to have everything from an M-16 to a tank shooting off next to me. Now I have ringing in my ears, periods of just silence, and after speaking to a VA claims person fully understand that a lot of other shipmates I have may be dealing with the same thing.

Something else a claims supervisor explained to me was if you had a minor incident in the military to like say hurt your knee and years later once out of the military, your knee gives out, the VA will look at the incident years ago and try to relate it to your current incident on the same knee.

Another thing veterans. Remember many of these VA claims people may have never served in the military and like wise people on the rating boards. So the more veterans who go work for the VA the easier it is for the claims people it is to understand what we went through. I've dealt with VA claims people who have no idea what a boatswains mate is, what an infantryman man is, or what your day to day duties entail and the hazards you deal with everyday. Hell I remember on one cruise on an LHA, the Belleau Wood, that during Wog Day, some poor guy got grease used on the ship for lubrication rubbed in his face and it got in his eyes. Poor guy spent forever at one of the eye wash stations in the hanger bay trying to clear out his eyes and then ending up in sickbay. so just from something as goofy as that, it can have an effect on you years later.

Some forms to keep in mind:

1010EZ is the health administration form for enrollment.

21-526 is the benefits and compensation administration form for enrollment.

21-22 is the benefits and compensation administration form which you sign to allow the service officer to act as your legal representative to VA. And if you don't like the SO you deal with you can revoke the agreement at any time and work with another organization. I've since learned you can't have two different organizations rep you since they don't want to overlap services.

Also read the forms. I think on the 1010EZ form if you don't check the box that says you release financial info or something like that to VA, they tell you right on the form that according to some law, they cannot process your application.

And for vets who need their records, you can go to the national archive and fill out the request online to get your DD-214 and they will send it to you within 2-3 weeks. You also can fill in a box on the request pages that allows you to ask for various parts or all of your service record book and they will make copies of everything you ask for and send it to you in one giant packet. I did it and now have a complete copy of my service record book. Don't know if it works on medical records, but doesn't hurt to ask. I did run into one weird incident where I helped another Navy vet friend of mine do the national archives request and he got a letter back saying they didn't have his records and the Navy may have them. So we called the Navy and sure enough they did, and they asked my friend what he wanted and told him they would put everything on a CD-DVD. they emailed him a password to open the CD-DVD and everything he wanted the Navy provided. My understanding is this was an exception in regards to his records not being with national archives.

Hope all this helps my fellow shipmates. Miss the times I spent on the Hawk.

Reply to David R.
David, very informative. What time frame were you aboard Kitty Hawk? My stint was July 62 thru Aug 66. During this period I served COD duty for two capt's, capt Butts and capt Carmody.
For all of us fighting the so called "Agent Orange" issue, remember agent orange is the name commonly used for the chemical defoliant and put into a 55 gal drun painted with a bright orange band. As far as I know there were upwards of 8 to 10 types of chemical used during Viet Nam and Korea, atleast. Each barrel was designated with a colored band. So, be sure your dealing with the correct stuff when you start your search.

Hi Bob, I was on the Kitty Hawk 85-86. Agree on the agent orange issue also, I just refer to that in the general since most people who talk about agent orange are more familiar with that term than the various blends and chemicals that made up the item. It's like a ran into a fellow vet who didn't know what ionizing radiation was and once I told him his eyes lit up.

Noise pollution: Hi David R; on your long synopsis on working with the VA and service officer's, through the American Legion and VFW org's. I appreciate your time writing your article. Having served on the Kitty Hawk back in 1966-1970 as a plane captain and jet mechanic and the noise from take offs and arrestings were deafening .Thank you for shedding some light on the situation .Until we meet again, Al Lorenger, Mi alorenger@yahoo.com

Hi Al,

You're welcome. I hope any of the info I put out here makes it to my fellow shipmates and other vets who may never normally hear about this. I'm in a good place where I work with a lot of vets in addition to being one myself so I'm lucky to be able to have the contact with VA that I do and the Service Officers. The vet I mentioned in an earlier post in regards to his hearing claims, will actually be focused in a national veterans magazine sometime this year. I'll make a note to pass on to this board the article when it comes out. I told someone today about the medevac benefit for enrolled vets in VHA and their jaw hit the floor. The word travels hopefully.

Hi Al,


I would encourage you to get ahold of a service officer in your state and file a claim if you have any hearing problems. You can own your own download the form called 1010EZ off of the VA website, and if you are seeking compensation based on the hearing loss then you need to fill out the VA form 21-526.

Hi David. I am the wife of an American Legion Service Officer, but my husband and I are both stumped at where to find information for one particular sailor who is now dying of pancreatic cancer. He served on the Kittyhawk August to November of 1966. He said that he used to move the barrels with the orange band, clean up leaks and maintain handling of the barrels. The VA says he is Blue Water Navy so without boots on the ground, he's out if luck. He and his wife have gone through all their savings, and with him now going through chemo they may well lose their house. He has an appeal in the system but needs statements from shipmates stating there was AO on board and what the men did with it. He can remember only one name from his team, a "Jasper C. Cantwell"...says there were more if course but he can't remember. He gave me some numbers, "Action VA.112" and "CVA 63," if those are any help.

I have searched high and low for any info on the Hawk. Can you point me to any direction of discussion for the storage and use of AO on the Hawk in 66? I'm not sure how much longer this gent has...he's young but he's fading fast. It's more for his wife, at this point.

I'm also the president of our local American Legion Auxiliary unit, and with more information I can help others sent our way. Any help is absolutely appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Cindy Woodman
President
American Legion Auxiliary Unit #4
Pocatello, Idaho

Hi Cindy,

Might have a good option for you, the first is the USS Kitty Hawk has a Facebook page that was set up by former shipmates. I'm a member of the group myself and I see ships personnel posting on the page from all years of service, so I would start there. The good thing is if a particular person knows someone else who was on the ship the same time as the veteran they will also put you in contact with them. I've seen guys posting from the Vietnam era quite regularly so it's a good chance you may find someone.

The next shot is the US Navy Historical unit and you can actually go to their page and you can first find the Hawk, and then by year they allow you to click on a given year and you can see the ships log of activities. Also if certain incidents occurred I seem to remember that the names were left so you could see everything. The logs are declassified and allow you to see everything up to and including Vietnam operations for all years the Hawk was on station off the coast.

Lastly my next direction would be National Archives. They are supposed to be a repository for all records now and you should be able to contact a historian there and find out how to get a copy of unit rosters for the time your vet was on the boat and then if you can get one use the names to start doing searches on the Internet to see if those names show up or as I said before using those names and using like the Kitty Hawk Facebook group and putting feelers out. That group is super helpful and they have good admins who run the page too.

That's all I can think of for now. Also keep checking the VA's AO website and specifically the list of ships, because my understanding was as long as their was proof of AO on a ship that was blue water the VA was supposed to add the ship. My understanding is they are even covering people who served at a couple bases in Thailand that were responsible for loading the stuff on aircraft for dispersant missions.

Hope that helps and let me know what you find out. I think also since the USS Kitty Hawk Facebook page is a closed group you should probably contact an admin on the group and let them know what you are doing, but maybe just try joining the group and see if they let you.

Dave

I cannot thank you enough! You've given me a lot of great leads! Thank you so much!! I know he and his wife will feel a sense of hope for the first time in many, many years. Thank you!

My dad-Art Bounds born in 1946-has been denied claims for many, many years. He just recently had a final appeal-he should know the outcome in a couple months.
He’s not sure what month the slide (picture) was taken & isn't aware of any other photos like this one. He is 2nd from left as looking at pic. The date on this only showed the year 1966. The guy to the left of him when you are looking at the picture is Charles Long (tall black man) who was from Detroit Michigan area, and on the Kitty Hawk 1965-1967. Art Bounds, my dad was on the ship 1965 until it docked in 1967 in San Diego, he thinks around early fall. The guy on his right as you look at the picture was Hershall Judd who was from Salt Lake City Utah area. My dad says these canisters were stored in magazines, where he had been in approximately 4-5 of them. In these magazines-where there were far more than this-stored defoliant, bombs, missiles. They were stored like in the picture with little cart like thing with a handle. These drums were white aluminum with a orange stripe on each end (depending on defoliant) which told what was inside these. On left side of these drums said "DEFOLIANT". In the center of the drum was a 5 sentence listing the nasty chemicals & the last two words were" Contains Dioxin". He says they were used on a fixed wing aircraft maybe a 115. The defoliant had two hooks, like the bombs did to attach to the planes. There would be no deck log regarding the incident with the forklift, he has checked. There were only operations listed. I have a picture of AO on Kittyhawk which I am happy to e-mail this to share with any other vets needing help. Obviously proof of just this picture is not enough for the VA to help someone who risked his life for his country. My dad lives in Arlington, WA. His health is not good-his quality of life is very poor.
If you want to see this photo-go to main page of this website-select photos-select photo album-select photo memories-select photo saying "Agent Orange On USS KittyHawk".

Sandy thanks for that info, it's actually really good info. A good friend of mine in Alaska who was one of the VFW SERVICE OFFICERS at the VA clinic once told me that any evidence can be considered and I remember the staffer in charge of the benefits unit at the Alaska VA also said her unit did everything they could to use supporting evidence. Hope this info is helpful to Cindy but I think photographic evidence is great.