b'HEALTHAgent Orange"AgentOrange"WhatYouShould Know About This WeaponThese things I have spoken unto you that ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33By Byron E. Conner, MDIabout "agent orange" many learned years after my exposure to it while serving as a medic in the US Army in South Vietnam.I was with a group ofcombatsoldiers,onpatrolinthe countryside.Weheardagroupof planes crossing the sky, but they were USplanes.Theplaneswerenotfar from where we were located, and flew low in the air. The planes started to spray the ter- Dr. Connerritory below them from nozzles in the back of the wings. It was a thick whitetoAgent Orange exposure.spray they seemed to be applying toTheplanwastousethisagentto thegroundbeneaththem.Soonthepoison crops so that the enemy could planesflewoffandweresoongone.be deprived of various crops for food. We had no idea what they were spray- HoweverThesubstancesusedhave ing at the time. alsobeenfoundtoeffectthehealth Afterthis,wewereonpatrolandof those who handled them. Including we had to climb a hill nearby. I triedpeoplewhoservedonships,planes, topullmyselfupthehill.Thereaswellasgroundtroopsinand were some bushes which were aboutaround areas of Agent Orange deploy-shoulder high, and I reached for somement.Theperiodoftimenotedwas branches and leaves to help myself up1/9/62 to 5/7/75. the hill. I noticed immediately that theThereisdisabilitycompensa-leaves on the bushes were coated withtion available for those who need it. athickoilysubstanceandIalmostContacttheVeteransAssociationif loss my grip on the bushes.you think you need assistance. Suddenly, Ihad an acute burning sensation on the palm of my left hand and my forearm. I immediately usedYou may qualify if:some water from the canteens I was Youservedactivedutyinthe carrying to wash off my arm and mymilitary, at least one day between hand but it took awhile for the burn- 1/9/62 to May 7/1975ing sensation to stop. We came to the conclusion that the YouservedinKoreabetween oilysubstancewaswhattheplanes4/1/1968andAugust31/1971 werespraying.Westartedworryingin or near the Korean DMZ in an that we also may have inhaled somearea where herbicides were usedamountofthefumesfromwhatever You served at certain air bases in this substance was as the planes hadThailand,andhadaparticular beenspraying.Butitwastoolateoccupational specialtyto do anything about what had hap-You served with the US Navy or US pened,andwedidnothavefurtherCoast Guard between January 9, immediate symptoms. 1962 and May 7, 1975Many years later on we learned that wehadbeenexposedtosomething that was far from benign. We had like- Diseases recognized by the VA as linked to lyinhaleditandcertainlyhadlocalherbicide exposure:skin contact with it. Many in the ser-AcuteandSubacutePeripheral vice had various forms of exposures toNeuropathythis substance and it was to be called Amyloidosis"agent orange".NowIhavelearnedwhatagent Chloracneorangeis.Itisinfactatoxicsub-Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemiastancethathascausedillnessand Porphyria Cutanea Tardaevendeathimpactingasmanyas3 millionpeople.Dioxinisthechemi-Ischemic Heart Diseasecal most often mentioned as the main Hodgkin\'s Diseasecause of illness, and diseases relatedMultiple Myeloma Non Hodgkin\'s Lymphoma Parkinson\'s DiseaseThere is disability Prostate Cancer (lung,bron- RespiratoryCancer compensationchus, trachea, larynx) Soft Tissue Sarcomaavailable for those B cell Leukemiawho need it! Itisespeciallyimportanttoseea physicianwhocangiveadiagnosis consistent with VA criteriaBODY OF CHRIST NEWS JUNE 2021 11'