Applying for Disability

Jim,

hi, i am a Vietnam veteran, i have a claim for ischemic heart disease, my claim dates back to 1996 i served aboard the uss Jamestown agtr3, basically a spy ship, i was able to get a hold of an updated list of navy ships that fall under agent orange it's dated may 4 2011 the were only a hand full of these ships operating around the world, they were classified as agtr's the uss oxford which was our sister ship is listed in the up date we have not been as of yet our mission was the same and one of us (our ship) was always on station up and down the vietnam coast, we took liberty in vung tau, an thoi ect. I am trying to find out how i get my ship added to the list . also i landed in Saigon at ton son nute aiport and stayed at the annapolis hotel while in transit four different times and i can't find any of my travel info from st.louis i served in vietnam from sept 1967 untill dec 1969 i extended once, if there is any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated

Reply:

You can begin the process by writing a letter to your VA Regional Office. You must make this letter very brief and to the point. This letter must be sent by certified mail with return receipt requested.

In your letter you should say "This is in support of my claim" and give any numbers (c-file, SSN) that will identify your claim. Go on to say "I have evidence that my ship (name the ship) was in these waters (name the waters) on or about these dates (name the dates). This ship should be added to the list of vessels that are approved for the presumption of exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. Further, I have evidence that many of us assigned to that ship set foot on land as we took our authorized leave in the areas of (name the regions you visited)."

Then make good copies of any evidence or documents you may have and enclose those with your letter. This will become a part of your claim and will also begin to have your statement and such forwarded to the appropriate people to have the ship added to any future updates.

If you haven't already, you may want to check my site at the Blue Water Navy page. I've recently posted another update to the approved ships list there at http://www.vawatchdogtoday.org/Blue_Water_Navy.html