Veterans Corner by Jim Vines: Everyone knows Agent Orange is bad, and exposed veterans know that it causes certain cancers and other diseases after exposure. The Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes this, and for all of these cancers and diseases, disability compensation is practically automatic. These are called “presumptive” conditions that are presumed to be caused by the military purely because of time and date in service.
Veterans’ children have long been recognized to have birth defects and diseases resulting from their parents’ exposure to Agent Orange. Currently, the VA recognizes many such conditions in the children of women veterans, but the list for male veterans’ children is significantly shorter. It includes only spina bifida, with the exception of spina bifida occulta.
What a lot of veterans don’t know though, is that Agent Orange exposure has also caused numerous, serious birth defects in exposed male veterans’ children, besides spina bifida, according to Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance. The list includes Crohn’s disease, Lupus, thyroid disease, chronic kidney disease, missing limb parts, and webbed toes. According to COVVHA, the list is much larger than this. To read full article, click here: http://www.mineralwellsindex.com/news/veterans-corner-children-of-vets-exposed-to-agent-orange-other/article_2fa9e2cc-50b9-11e4-8172-db6005c0fe93.html