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As you read through the latest happenings & opinions on the Agent Orange issues please take time to print out & share the flyer I have attached concerning HR 2254 The Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009! And Please Call or Write your Congressman and Senator Today and Request They Support HR 2254 The Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009! http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2254 VVA National President calls for a declassification of all DOD info on Agent Orange Exposure VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 2, 2009 No. 09-13 Contact: Mokie Porter 301-996-0901 Vietnam Veterans of America: Crying Need to Deal with Agent Orange Problems Here in America (WASHINGTON, D.C.) - "Vietnam Veterans of America applauds the conclusions and recommendations of a Ford Foundation-funded report issued today by the National Organization on Disabilities on the effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam," said John Rowan, VVA National President. "While VVA feels compassion for the many adults and children injured and made ill by exposure to Agent Orange and the many other toxins used in Vietnam during the war there, it is now time to fully deal with the same effects on Americans who served in Vietnam and other areas that were also contaminated. The effects of these toxins on the children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren must similarly be addressed." The U.S. government currently is not studying the possible intergenerational effects of exposure to Agent Orange, nor are they doing any morbidity studies at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or anywhere else. Rowan called for "the immediate de-classification of all Department of Defense information that pertains to exposure of U.S. military servicemembers to any toxin at any time, to include the Vietnam Era" and to take immediate steps to begin epidemiological studies, birth defects registries, and outreach necessary to scientifically document the problems suffered by our veterans and their offspring. "Dow Chemical is not going to fund these studies," Rowan said. "Only the U.S. government can reasonably be expected to fund this vital research, and they have not been doing their job. In fact, it would appear that for the last decade that our government has been doing everything possible to prevent such studies from being done. "That the Administration is adding another $3 million to the $3 million already pledged from the Ford Foundation for work to help those suffering in Vietnam is fine and good," Rowan said. "However, there needs to be at least a commensurate commitment by the U.S. government and the Ford Foundation to American veterans and their families. Under a new President, now is the time for a dramatic change of direction for our country. Similarly, now is the time for a new direction from the Ford Foundation." AVVA National President applauds Agent Orange report

ASSOCIATES OF VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA RELEASE June 2, 2009 No. 09-1 Press Release Agent Orange, We Live It Every Day (Washington, D.C.) - The Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc., (AVVA) applauds the National Organization of Disabilities and Ford Foundation for the release today of U.S. Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange: Understanding the Impact 40 Years Later. Said Elaine Simmons, National President of AVVA, "As the families, friends, and supporters of our nation's Vietnam veterans, we know, only too well, the long-lasting, debilitating effects of Agent Orange/dioxin, because we face them in our daily lives, as we attend to our sick and disabled." "We find it ironic, however, that this brutally honest assessment--which concludes that, forty years after the war, "It is still not too late to correct lapses in the nation's treatment of veterans who were exposed to dioxin during the Vietnam War"--is the byproduct of the U.S.-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin, a group whose primary missions are to raise awareness and mobilize resources .for the Dioxin damage to Vietnam, the country, and its people. "Unfortunately, it is 'way too late' for so many our veterans--we remember them at the In Memory Plaque, when we visit The Wall, in Washington D.C. As families, we stand together, way too often, at the funerals of our beloved veterans, who are dying at a rate, from Agent Orange related diseases, that breaks our hearts on a daily basis. "Lovingly, we scrutinize our new grandbabies, praying that we won't see evidence of birth defects, learning disabilities, and cancers, which seem to strike us at a rate that is so much higher than our non-veteran families-Agent Orange, we say." And if Agent Orange rears its ugly head, we pray we can help our children learn to live with these disabilities and diseases. "We will continue to hope. If it takes addressing the effects of Agent Orange/dioxin in Vietnam to focus on addressing the lapses in care in America, then we will demand that our nation, when providing aid to our former enemy will, finally, address the needs of our veterans and their families at home. The Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America is a national, nonprofit membership and service organization dedicated to advancing the full range of issues affecting all veterans, their families, and their communities. Our more than 6,000 members are families, friends, and supporters of Vietnam veterans, as well as Vietnam veterans and veterans of other eras. AGENT ORANGE...AND CONGRESS DID NOTHING! New AO update at: Some possible good news but only possible. http://www.2ndbattalion94thartillery.com/Chas/AOupdatec.htm Kelley Agent Orange Update Finally; at last a non-government association that receives no money or grants from our government is speaking out and maybe it just might be some good news on our Herbicide Issues. I say maybe; because the long arm of our cover-up the mistakes no matter how many Veterans/Widows/Offspring it may have damaged government still might get to them. As they have in the past with others that tried to report the real facts. I will let you read for yourselves the report being presented to Congress. Now as in the past will they do nothing except enable the cover-ups by DoD and VA? My guess is yes they will do NOTHING! Except say we need better communications as they have in the past when even government scientists brought forth issues. And Veterans elect the same folks time after time????? That link is located at: http://www.2ndbattalion94thartillery.com/Chas/impactAO.htm U.S. Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange: National Organization on Disability With funding from the Ford Foundation Special Initiative on Agent Orange/Dioxin June 1, 2009 Already some of the Veterans Groups you pay your dues to so they can supposedly represent you have all of sudden after seeing this report are jumping on the bandwagon. I would point out that these same groups have remained silent for at least 40 years when they should have been demanding and not just whispering the issues. Especially since our congress has somehow deemed they alone speak for the entire Veterans Community. All so assuming at least on face value that the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs has no influence in your “so called” representation with your real representation. I am sure these VSO’s will now all of sudden come out of the woodwork with demands; all be it a façade or not after 40 years of silence will be up to you to decide. Also in this report you will find issues and facts that will never be reported on the broadcast media or in the print media. ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN would never bring these issues to the forefront of the public in their lack of concern for what our own government has done to its Veterans and the civilian population in general. Yes, as Dr. Birnbaum concluded in her presentation “Are We All At Risk” from these toxic chemicals regardless of source and the byproduct of dioxins; the answer was yes. While diminished some since the mandates were tightened in the 80’s and 90’s for control and banning of some of these products and the environment improvements of residuals from that time of infancy of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when the chemical companies and their representatives with millions in lobby money practically ran the fledgling EPA. Birth Defects: From: Betty Mekdeci Executive Director Birth Defect Research for Children http://www.birthdefects.org/ 800 Celebration Ave., Suite 225 Celebration FL 34747 407-566-8304 Fax 407-566-8341 Int J Epidemiol. 2006 Oct;35(5):1220-30. Epub 2006 Mar 16. Comment in: Int J Epidemiol. 2006 Oct;35(5):1230-2. Association between Agent Orange and birth defects: systematic review and meta-analysis. Ngo AD, Taylor R, Roberts CL, Nguyen TV. School of Public Health, University o