WHAT MATTERS MOST
- Two Marine veterans finally won their VA claims for illnesses caused by Agent Orange, even though they weren’t in Vietnam — they were exposed while handling drums of it in the Philippines.
- Their claims were denied at first because they couldn’t prove Agent Orange was actually stored there, and they weren’t in the location where exposure is normally assumed.
- They won by getting new evidence, including statements from fellow soldiers who backed up their story, showing that gathering strong evidence can help overturn a denied VA claim.
Two veterans of the Vietnam War, who served Honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps., have finally succeeded in obtaining service connection for the illnesses they suffer due to Agent Orange exposure in service. Both Marines were stationed in Subic Bay, Philippines, and participated in the removal and transport of 55 gallon drums of Agent Orange. At the time, they did not know it was Agent Orange. Their claims were denied as a matter of course because (1) they were not stationed in the Republic of Vietnam where exposure is presumed and (2) because they could not prove that drums of Agent Orange were stored as Subic Bay and thus, could not prove they had been exposed to Agent Orange in service. These Marines were able to re-open their claims and submitted new and material evidence in the form of buddy statements corroborating their accounts of exposure to Agent Orange as well as evidence demonstrating the drums were stored at Subic Bay. Read Article Here