The Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledges that direct exposure to Agent Orange and other defoliants may lead to negative health consequences for veterans. Some veterans’ service organizations, including the Vietnam Veterans of America, have expressed concern that exposure has also led to health issues in the children of veterans.
Are you a veteran of the Vietnam War era?We’re interested in talking to all veterans who served in Vietnam and the wider Western Pacific area during that time, including those stationed in Korea. You can help us learn more about this issue by completing the short survey below, which includes questions about your service, family and health. Please answer as completely as you can. Your personal information will not be shared with others without your permission, but reporters plan to aggregate statistical information and publish an overview about the results of the survey, without identifying specific individuals.
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by Joanne Kimberlin, The Virginian-Pilot Dec. 16, 2:38 p.m.
There's no proof Agent Orange can be passed from fathers to their children, but that's no solace to Vietnam vets who see their children struggle with life-long health problems — and sometimes die.
by Charles Ornstein and Hannah Fresques, ProPublica, and Mike Hixenbaugh for The Virginian-Pilot Dec. 16, 7 a.m.
For decades, Vietnam veterans have suspected that the defoliant harmed their children. But the VA hasn’t studied its own data for clues. A new ProPublica analysis has found that the odds of having a child born with birth defects were more than a third higher for veterans exposed to Agent Orange than
As part of our Reliving Agent Orange series, ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot have been recording the voices of those impacted by the herbicide, which contained the toxic chemical dioxin.
A Washington legislator had two children after her husband returned from the Vietnam War. One lacks sight in an eye. The other died of cardiomyopathy at age 21. “We don’t have this in the family,” she said. “The veterans would all say, ‘You know it’s probably Agent Orange.’”
