African American Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Association

WASHINGTON (Oct. 13, 2009) - Relying on an independent study by the Institute of Medicne (IOM), Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki decided to establish a service-connection for Vietnam Veterans with three specific illnesses based on the latest evidence of an association with the herbicides referred to Agent Orange.

The illnesses affected by the recent decision are B cell leukemia's, such as hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson's disease; and ischemic heart disease.

Used in Vietnam to defoliate trees and rmove concealment for the enemy, Agent Orange left a legacy of suffering and disability that continues to the present. Between January 1965 and April 1970, an estimated 2.6 million military personnel who served in Vietnam were potentially exposed to sprayed Agent Orange.

In practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a "presumed" illness don't have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This "presumtion" simplifies and speedsup the application process for benefits.

Other illnesses previously recognized under VA's "presumtion" rule as being casued by exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam Ware are:

Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
AL Amyloidosis
Chloracne
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
Hodgkin's Disease
Multiple Myeloma
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
Prostate Cancer
Respiratory Cancers
Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)

Additional information about Agent Orange and VA's services and programs for Veterans exposed to the chemical are available here.

Who is Eligible for Military Funeral Honors?

Who is eligible for military funeral honors?

Former military members who served on active duty and departed under conditions other than dishonorable.
Military members on active duty or in the Select Reserve.
Former military members who completed at least one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated service in the Selected Reserve and departed under conditions other than dishonorable.
Former military members discharged from the Selected Reserve due to a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.

VA Adds Maps to Online Gravesite Locator

The grave locations of more than three million veterans and dependents buried in national cemeteries can be found more easily now because the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has added maps of burial sections online that can be printed from home computers and at national cemetery kiosks.

The latest improvement builds upon a service begun two years ago, in which a VA online feature permits family members to find the cemetery in which their loved one is buried. (Note: Access this feature at http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov ).

Veterans with a discharge other than dishonorable, their spouses, and eligible dependent children may be buried in a national cemetery. Other burial benefits include a burial flag, Presidential Memorial Certificate, and a government head stone or marker � even if they are not buried in a national cemetery. For more information, go to http://www.cem.va.gov .

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