Posted on Sep 8, 2015
Has anyone been asked to prove their exposure to chemical warfare to get a Purple Heart?
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Recently was email this information concerning the Purple Heart award, any additional information.
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 17
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If that be the case, what about all of us who were exposed to that freaking Agent Orange while we served in Vietnam? I mean, WTF-Over!
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Sgt David G Duchesneau
Thanks brother John and I hope that you get what is rightfully coming to you for being exposed to such deadly shit in the first place.
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GySgt William Hardy
If you served in Vietnam, then you need to get registered. My VA doctor told me to go to my county VA rep at the Court House and he could get me registered. You no longer have to prove anything. If you were in-country, you have been exposed.
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SSG Rob Kumpf
Here's the thing about agent orange and the PH... You don't qualify because as the regs stand now the PH is only for when you're exposed to a chemical agent dispersed by the enemy... Until they change that piece of the regs (and no, it's not legally the same as friendly fire while engaging the enemy PHs) the Vietnam guys are still not getting the PH for agent orange. You can, however, finally get treated and compensated by the VA for it.
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Was there is 2003, gas alarm we had were going off. Also heard that there was trace amounts chemicals where are tents had been set up???
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PO1 Aaron Baltosser
Not until after any effected are already dead. They still love practicing their 'agent orange' protocol.
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Being that the Purple Heart is issued for injuries or death due to an enemy attack, this is hogwash. We don't get a PH for accidents, illness, or exposures unless the enemy caused them. The bombing of a chemical munitions plant or storage area with our troops downwind of the chemical release is more like friendly fire than injuries incurred due to enemy action.
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On the FB page Camp Taji Society, it was said that it applied to everyone who was at Camp Taji. Seems KBR was disposing of waste products there including Iraqi chemical weapons. I am going to pursue this with my VA doctor. I have been treated for skin conditions ever since I returned from Taji in 2007. It started with my ear canals. Now I have a Rosacea type condition across my forehead and on my forearms. I recently developed some psoriasis type sores about 6 inches above my ankles. This letter might explain why I have those skin problems and the proper treatment. Check out the FB page and see what they have to say.
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CPT Mike Sims
Gunny, I just got back from being checked out and confirmed at Walter Reed yesterday 01APR16, as to having been exposed Sarin nerve agent. I have some of the same issues for a long time - ears, arms, torso, legs - all broke out and no creams or shots help... other issues affecting nervous and respiratory system too. I was contacted by the Pentagon this past December (2015), and prior to that I received a letter in July (2014) alerting me to the fact that I was likely exposed to Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA). This past January (2016) - I received a call from U.S. Army MEDCOM confirming that I was exposed, and needed to report to Walter Reed in April. It's now over (or just beginning - depending on how you look at it) - and now my files will be updated by DoD at the Pentagon and with the Army. I was informed that I may continue with treatments at Palo Alto, California - and that Walter Reed will have me return every 3-5 years for the rest of my life, in order to track status - and likely the success rate of treatments (or failure), and likely to determine what new medicines may or may not work. As for Purple Heart - not sure, at this point, I guess the Army will do what it needs to do when it wants to do it, just hoping that perhaps I may now qualify for medical retirement. Good luck and thank you for service! By the way, if you're interested, I can put you in touch with Dr. Deanna Harkins of U.S. Army MEDCOM who handles all CWA exposures and referrals to Walter Reed.
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GySgt William Hardy
Appreciate it, but I want to wait. I see my VA Doc this month and have a visit to Hospital in Memphis also. I am going to show them the rashes again. The ointment they gave me did not slow down the rash at all. If I do not get satisfaction, I may contact you later. Thanks you for the help.
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That would be a very high burden to the award to prove. Some of the 600 plus EOD personnel weren't treated correctly from the word go by my fellow Corpsmen and Medical Officers. It was just so shocking that was the primary cause of the injury we were completely caught off guard. The shells during the operations to blow them in place had the markings removed, or altered to hide what they were so even pictures there wouldn't help. Positive test from a certified laboratory might help, but where would you get the material to test? Any clothing worn was most likely never have survived the first treatment site because it had to be removed during decontamination.
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Sgt David G Duchesneau
What about all of us that were exposed to that freaking Agent Orange in Vietnam?
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PO1 Aaron Baltosser
The. VA has stood in the way of treatin those Veterans as an institutional policy. That was and is wrong. The Purple Heart is awarded as a result of enemy action, though, not "friendly fire" which we all kmow isn't friendly. There should be recognition offered to those that suffered greatly under the Agent Orange attacks.
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Letter is legit. She does work in M&RA. Question is who they sent it to and who they deemed eligible. Was there in 03 and we had alarms going off all the time as well, but haven't received any letter. Again, not sure how they determined who would recieve the letter.
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SGT Patrick Lynch
How can we find out were? Just had an dray of my chest and the doctor said there was a dark spot in my lung. Don't know if it was the chemicals, or the burn pits.
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I got the something on Facebook from a one of my Airborne brothers. I don't know if it is real. That web address is smudged. So I could not verify the info.
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SGT John W Lugo
Yeah took notice to that as well. I hear some say yes,other's are questionable because it involves the Purple heart award.
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I believe that most of the chemical agents contacts in Iraq are by EOD or engineering personnel as chemical rounds were frequently found mixed in with conventional munitions such as Iraqi 155mm rounds. If you do a search for New York Times, Iraq and chemical agents you should be able to find an excellent article on chemical agent exposures.. The only chemical attacks in Iraq likely used chlorine as the agent in makeshift munitions. I don't know about how PH's are awarded except as a result of direct enemy attack.
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SSG L Peterson
There were chemicals in IED attacks, at the water treatment plant outside of Taji, and all over Najaf and Fallujah. I was there in 04&05
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SSG L Peterson
There were chemicals in IED attacks, at the water treatment plant outside of Taji, and all over Najaf and Fallujah. I was there in 04&05
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CAPT Hiram Patterson
I was in Fallujah for a short while in early 2006. Isn't Taji where the troops were exposed to potassium dichromate? I was on the weapons of mass destruction committee while at MNC-I in 2008 when a 5000 gallon tank was found partially buried in Anbar; may have been around Fallujah. Testing found residues of mustard agent, but no liquid agent. Iraqi yellowcake uranium was removed from their Tuwaitha facility during my time there. Even partially degraded agent can still cause casualties. In France they are still discovering shells with mustard agent.
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GySgt William Hardy
I was at Camp Taji in 2006-2007. Chemical weapons were destroyed there during my time. Since returning, I have been seeing a dermatologist at the VA, but nobody wants to say that my skin conditions, which I did not have before going to Taji, is service connected. I don't care about a PH, but I would like to have my condition service connect in case it become worse. How does one get the VA to test for the chemicals to prove one has been exposed?
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This is almost like filing an insurance claim. You have certain entitlements and benefits with your insurance policy when filing a claim - but don't expect your insurance company or insurance agent to call you and tell you all that you qualify for. In this case, the Army - the Department of Defense - and the Pentagon have known for quite some time what kind of exposures many of us encountered in Iraq and Kuwait (both Gulf Wars) - which certain exposures automatically qualify not only for a Purple Heart, but could also qualify many thousands of troops and Veterans for retirement, retro-active retirement, back-payments, lifetime healthcare for Veterans and family members, and other benefits. Care to guess how much this would cost the DoD? As if that weren't bad enough, what kind of embarrassment do you think this would cause the administration and current / former senior officers of the military who have a duty and a responsibility to protect troops - and care for them upon being injured, or in this case exposed to chemical agents! Is this the first time the Army - DoD - the Pentagon have failed to admit to exposures by troops? Absolutely not! WWII - mustard gas and nuclear testing; Vietnam - Agent Orange; Desert Storm - nerve and blister agents; OIF / New Dawn - nerve and blister agents.
As for further embarrassing facts... guess who supplied Saddam Hussein with these chemical weapons? You guess it... the United States did back in the 1980's when the United States supported Iraq and Saddam Hussein's Army against Iran during the eight year conflict between Iraq and Iran. This is the other reason why our senior officials (elected and appointed) know about the exposures most of us have endured in Iraq and Kuwait... the weapons were supplied by us!
I'll close with this - if any of you notice that after your time there that your breathing is different (especially after exercise), you have skin irritations now, you are susceptible to pneumonia or bronchitis now, you have constant headaches, your joints ache a lot, you have consistent sinus issues or eye irritations... then in most cases you have encountered chemical weapons or remnants of chemical weapons exposure (like in the dust particles) while in Iraq and Kuwait. What about old Iraqi equipment from the first Gulf War that some us encountered during OIF... care to know how long the Depleted Uranium lasts that we used to destroy their equipment? Let's just say that stuff will be here long after we are gone. What are the life long and harmful side effects of this exposure? How long does it take before symptoms begin to manifest? It could be quite a while after you leave the military! Is the Army - DoD and the Pentagon still responsible? You better believe it and they definitely owe many of us and our families more than a Purple Heart Medal. Wait until you receive a letter stating that your offspring may be effected by certain exposures you may have encountered! Good luck brothers and sisters... don't let any of your earned benefits slip away - hold the Army - DoD and the Pentagon accountable, because you better believe that if you ever did something wrong or neglectful while on active duty that you would have been held accountable in accordance with the UCMJ!
As for further embarrassing facts... guess who supplied Saddam Hussein with these chemical weapons? You guess it... the United States did back in the 1980's when the United States supported Iraq and Saddam Hussein's Army against Iran during the eight year conflict between Iraq and Iran. This is the other reason why our senior officials (elected and appointed) know about the exposures most of us have endured in Iraq and Kuwait... the weapons were supplied by us!
I'll close with this - if any of you notice that after your time there that your breathing is different (especially after exercise), you have skin irritations now, you are susceptible to pneumonia or bronchitis now, you have constant headaches, your joints ache a lot, you have consistent sinus issues or eye irritations... then in most cases you have encountered chemical weapons or remnants of chemical weapons exposure (like in the dust particles) while in Iraq and Kuwait. What about old Iraqi equipment from the first Gulf War that some us encountered during OIF... care to know how long the Depleted Uranium lasts that we used to destroy their equipment? Let's just say that stuff will be here long after we are gone. What are the life long and harmful side effects of this exposure? How long does it take before symptoms begin to manifest? It could be quite a while after you leave the military! Is the Army - DoD and the Pentagon still responsible? You better believe it and they definitely owe many of us and our families more than a Purple Heart Medal. Wait until you receive a letter stating that your offspring may be effected by certain exposures you may have encountered! Good luck brothers and sisters... don't let any of your earned benefits slip away - hold the Army - DoD and the Pentagon accountable, because you better believe that if you ever did something wrong or neglectful while on active duty that you would have been held accountable in accordance with the UCMJ!
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SGT John W Lugo
Very good point, Sir
I've been in the process for the 4th time attempting for benefits for overseas deployments that have been denied 3 times, yet they claim that they couldn't find my medical records.
I've been in the process for the 4th time attempting for benefits for overseas deployments that have been denied 3 times, yet they claim that they couldn't find my medical records.
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