Vietnam Veterans can get help for medical conditions
Welcome Home!
The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 was signed into law by 45th U.S. President Donald J. Trump, designating every March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day. “The Vietnam War is a story of service members of different backgrounds, colors, and creeds who came together to complete a daunting mission,” the proclamation states. “It is a story of Americans from every corner of our nation who left the warmth of family to serve the country they loved. It is a story of patriots who braved the line of fire, who cast themselves into harm’s way to save a friend, who fought hour after hour, day after day to preserve the liberties we hold dear.”
More than 58,000 Americans were killed and many thousands more were wounded and injured or determined to be missing.
The proclamation also states: “In one of the war’s most profound tragedies, many of these men and women came home to be shunned or neglected — to face treatment unbefitting their courage and a welcome unworthy of their example. We must never let this happen again.”
Vietnam Veterans fought a long, brutal, and, over time, increasingly unpopular war. It was also politically unsuccessful. So, when the veterans returned home, they were met by an ungrateful nation that seemed to blame the warriors for a war Americans didn’t like. Coming home from war, even in triumph, is hard enough. But returning to a hostile home front inflicts more pain than many can bear.
That special pain has shaped our Vietnam Veterans. It has made them who they are today. And who they are is something extraordinary.
Vietnam Veterans are dedicated to serving others who have served. Vietnam Veterans are the ones who go to nursing homes and sit with aging World War II veterans. They were the ones waiting at airports at all hours to welcome service members home from Iraq and Afghanistan. They are the ones who welcomed Korean War veterans—another neglected group—into their fold. They are our local Honor Guards and Color Guards. Vietnam Veterans are the backbone of our veteran community.
That’s why Vietnam Veterans are honored with their own special day. March 29 is a good choice for Vietnam Veterans Day. It focuses attention on homecoming, the distinct experience that defines the Vietnam War generation of veterans. It gives us a chance to say “Welcome Home” to a group of veterans who never got the reception they deserved when they returned to the United States. Dark days followed on March 29, 1973, both in Vietnam and here in the US. But commemorations like Vietnam Veterans Day have healing power, even these many years later. And that should be our focus this day.
Thank you for your service and WELCOME HOME! We recommend that you annually review your VA Benefits due to ongoing changes in benefits. Please call us today: at 715-748-1488.
For Vietnam Veterans the presumptive conditions/ cancers the VA recognizes are as follows:
High blood pressure (also called hypertension)
Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)
AL amyloidosis
Chloracne (or other types of acneiform disease like it) Note: Under the rating regulations, this condition must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of herbicide exposure.
Diabetes mellitus type 2
Hypothyroidism
Ischemic heart disease
Parkinsonism
Parkinson’s disease
Peripheral neuropathy, early onset Note: Under our rating regulations, this condition must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of herbicide exposure.
Porphyria cutanea tarda Note: Under the rating regulations, this condition must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of herbicide exposure.
Bladder cancer
Chronic B-cell leukemia
Hodgkin’s disease
Multiple myeloma
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Prostate cancer
Respiratory cancers (including lung cancer)
Some soft tissue sarcomas Note: Doesn’t include osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma on our list of presumptive conditions.
