Another Case Confirms Agent Orange on Guam

Another case confirms AO on Guam

http://guam.mvarietynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6726:another-case-confirms-ao-on-guam&catid=1:guam-local-news&Itemid=2

Tuesday, 26 May 2009 00:14 by Mar-Vic Cagurangan |Variety News Staff

ANOTHER veteran who was stationed at Andersen Air Force Base from 1962 to 1965 won his claim for disability benefits based on medical findings which showed that his illness was the result of his exposure to Agent Orange.

The decision issued by the Department of Veterans on April 16 was the fourth case won by veterans who were deployed to Guam in the 1960s. All four cases confirmed dioxin contamination at AAFB.

The Air Force veteran, who requested anonymity, has been suffering from diabetes mellitus type 2, which the Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed to be service-related.

“Service connection for diabetes mellitus type 2 is granted because the evidence shows a medical opinion that this current condition is related to in-service events or circumstances with residuals evident as shown in treatment records,” states the DVA decision.

“The statement of case issued on this matter found that the veteran was exposed to dioxin while stationed t Anderson Air Force base,” it added.

The decision was based on the medical opinion submitted by a doctor who stated that “the exposure to Agent Orange is etiologically related to the veteran’s current diabetes.”

During the Vietnam war era, Guam was used as storage facility for agent orange, a kind of chemical herbicide used to thin jungles in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. A CBS News report on June 12, 2005, said Agent Orange was sprayed on Guam from 1955 to 1960s, and in the Panama Canal Zone from 1960s to 1970s.

The first confirmation of Agent Orange presence on Guam was found in U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans’ ruling in 2005, which concluded that a veteran contracted a disease as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange while stationed on Guam in the late 1960s.

21 Replies to “Another Case Confirms Agent Orange on Guam”

  1. I was in guam in 1957 1958 infood ser on tdy from march air force base i was expose from spaying each mo they sprayed that is agent orange plese respond 423 542 2556 elizabethton ten 37643

  2. I am trying to get my disabilty at the va on agent orange that was spray in anderson air force base in 1956 and 1957 my nickname in service was the worm,if anyone can help confirm please email me or call,my # and name is recorded.

  3. I was stationed on Guam from late 1966 until 1967. I was in the Air Force Muntions Squadron as a supply specialist. I worked in the jungle next to the air field (Anderson) where the muntions were stored. The area was huge and was spray on a regul;ar basis with a chemical to kill the growth.

    I spent twelve hours aday in the location and assigned the area for the Marines to off load the muntions (bombs). I ate one meal a day in the field and drank the local water.

    I have been type two diabetic almost 40 years. I know AO was stored on Guam whilw enroute to SEA and I know that it was used on Guam.

    I am looking for anyone who might have been on Guam during 1966-1967.

    Thanks

    Fred Brittain

  4. ph#423-542-2556 I was in Quam in 1957 do you know anyone that was in Quam in 1957 if so call me or email me my name is frank williams or maybe you can tell me more about AO

  5. I was in the Navy onboard the WEXFORD COUNTY LST 1168. We were sent to Guam”A highlight of these years was a deployment to Guam, for which she departed San Diego on 2 January 1962. After steaming 5,480 miles, she arrived on 23 January. The ship conducted operations for reconnaissance and installation of weather stations in the eastern Caroline Islands. The ship returned to San Diego on 1 September 1962.” this info is on a website about our LST 1168. I have DIABETES and ALL that comes along with it…HEART, KIDNEYS, Neuropathy, etc.
    IF anyone else was there in the same time frame I would like to chat with you, maybe we can confirm things together. Is there any other websites to find valuable information or talk with others?
    JACK OWENS
    Jack Owens

  6. I was on Guam in 66-67-68 and 69 3 TDY tours from Westover AFB, Mass.
    My 1st tour was in 66 I was in the 3rd MMS and worked in the bomb dumps in the jungles, my 2nd tour I was in the 3960th Transportation SQ. hauling around flight crews and my 3rd tour was again with the 3rd MMS working this time with the Navy moving bomb trailers so our bomb crews could unload them in the revetments. I remember the burnt grass and I still remember drinking the water that smelled and had a film on it, to this day I can’t stand to drink water. I’ve been lucky so far with my health the only thing I have is headaches everyday of my life since about 1971, 1 year after I got out of the service and also was checked for prostrate cancer, but all I have so far is an enlarged prostrate so I have to go back every year to get it checked. I also have anxiety and other problems when dealing with people. I talked to my CSVO and he says no way that I have anything related to being stationed on Guam. So I just live my live now day by day.

    Tom Konieczko

  7. i launched b-52 bombers out of anderson afb in guam in 1972. worked in the same airfields where a.o. was sprayed. drank water out of the same areas on occasion when the support truck couldn’t get to us due to the stepped bombing during the tet offensive in 1972. discovered i acquired diabetes type2 in the early 80’s. i have been treated at the va hospital in loma linda,ca. for years. i believe i have a valid claim, but reading some of the exisitng claims, seems like a travel upstream with a paddle full holes. the gov’t claims its been cleaned up, but from all indications, i think they’re full of caca. claim still pending.

  8. I too was stationed on the rock from late 69-70. I am also trying to convince the VA that my PD is a direct cause,and it is, of the toxic waste dump that remains on Guam today I was PCS..but so many others were TDY(Westover AFB) and ended up spending well over the 18 months I was there….where are they now…theVA can’t seem to grasp that any thing that went to nam had to go to Guam first. I was in AGE ground equipment and worked on the “backside” where they loaded the bombs…i often wondered why the grass was always brown….now I know I have gathered alot of info and am seeking more

  9. To Fred L Brittain: My husband, Stephen H. Consilio, was at Andersen AFB Oct. 1966- April 1967. He was with the 4133rd Bomb Wing (Black Eagles). He died in 2001 from multiple myeloma. I do not know what his duties were in Guam, but thought he worked with bombs? He was an A3 class 21 year old. Anyone remember him? He received a severe sunburn while there and missed some days of duty.

  10. i too was on the rock in 71 and 72.i have had medical problems ever since i was there.severe headaches,and diabetes,i also suffer with severe nerve damage in my feet and hands.i have started my claim with the va,like the man said i think im in for a long protracted battle.i was with the 99th oms westover afb.i clearly remember the off taste of the local water and the way my skin felt after a shower.

  11. To Rusty Brown and Bonnie Consilio:
    I am the daughter of Dennis Cameron who was in Guam from Sept 68 to Feb 71, he was with the 305th FMS. He is currently battling what we know to be a terminal case of Multiple Myeloma and I too am seeking any information that can assist with a claim. If you would like to compare resources I can be reached at jmcameron001@hotmail.com. Thank You
    ~Jill

  12. I was a civilian kid living in Northwest Fields, adjacent to Andersen AFB in 1964. This area was not separated at the time from AAFB. While boonie stomping with some other teenage friends one day we found about 30 55 gallon drums that were placed in the jungle. They were leaking and being kids we tried to open one to see what was inside. We ended getting the stuff all over our hands. To this day I have a rash on my wrists and between my fingers. The drums were green in color with white or yellow stenciled words on them. I am curious as to where AO was stored at AAFB Guam in those days. This was the area where they eventually put ammo dumps and silos in.

  13. I was station at Guam during operation linebacker 2 in 1972 and supported the flightline B-52 Bombing missions over Vietnam. I worked many long hours as an AGE maintenance mechanic on all the flightlines. I have many of the symtoms from agent Orange. I am presently considering filing am appeal regarding agent Orange as well.

    I am presently 70% PTSD service connected and am trying to get 100% regarding IU. Maybe this will qualify me for the 30% needed for 100%.

  14. My husband was in the Navy on Guam from 1963 to 1966. He had 19 different motorcycles and belonged to the motorcycle cub. He was all over the island. He remembered the drums and the sites they used it on around Guam. My husband had 3 small heart attacks then a massey heart attacked in 1984, then a med. size, then another massey one. He had to have a tripple by-pass. After that his heart just got worst, they found a spot on his lung so had to take part of his lung out. He had to have a L-vad put in to keep him alive, until he received a Heart Transplant in 1996. Four days after the transplant, he had another massey heart attack. He became a type 11 diabetic. He lasted 12 years before he came down with lung cancer. They took out part of his lung, said they got eveything. 6 months later he got it back and died almost 2 years ago. No one, can tell me this is not related to Guam. I do not know if there is anyone out there that can help me. The government has not helped. conniepaxton@msn.com
    Thank’s
    Connie

  15. I was stationed at anderson aft from 1979 to 1980,saw the agent orange on belly of KC-135 aircraft!nobody cleaned or washed the planes,it was a orange,brownish color and tacky to the touch,I have DAV doing my BVA claim in washington dc

  16. I served with the US Navy at the Naval Magazine in Guam from Sept 1967 to March 1969. I have ischemic heart disease and Parkinson’s disease. An article in the July 2010 Agent Orange Review (Dept of Veterans Affairs) noted that “The Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA) will add two new conditions to the list of ‘presumptive illnesses’ related to Agent Orange exposure. These are Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease.” I have been corresponding with the VA for years and getting no where.

  17. I was pcs on guam 3rd mms. 1967-69 if anyone has questions about anything I will try to help.

  18. I was on Guam, AAFB in 1972 and 1973 assigned to the 43rd Transportation Squadron. At times I was tasked to transport AO drums to and from the Navy Base. I would also be assigned to transport leaking AO drums from the storage area near the fuel tank farm by the main gate to the Northwest Field’s 2 Urunao dump sites where we pushed the drums off my truck and over a small cliff. That stuff got all over me due to the leaks and drums bursting at the bottom of the small cliff. I fought Hodgkin’s Disease, a cancer, in 2007 and almost died. I have been fighting with the VA since then, more than 5.5 years now.

  19. I’m a sick veteran from 1968 on Guam. The 99th Bomb was sent TDY to Anderson, AFB. The Government knew then that it was sending us to a contaminated area.We were subject to Agent Orange every time we went to work or showered, drank the water and washed our clothes. Only our Government would deny having these toxic chemicals on Guam and Okinawa. Both are toxic superlatives for cleanup. I just can’t believe it. To top it off we have these career politicians who are supposed to help its citizens not giving two shirts for veteran’s. Most of them were never in the service or had a family member serve, not there kids. Hopefully with the 2016 elections coming up we can wake up and vote these progressive, liberals eastwards out of our political system !!! If I knew then how sick I would be, I think I would have gone to Canada !!

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