UPDATE: As of January 2020, Blue Water claims are being processed.
The VA has overplayed its hand on Bluewater Navy claims.
This year the Court of Appeals of Veterans Claims threw out the VA’s reasoning as to why Da Nang harbor and other harbors and bays are not inland waterways in Vietnam. VA had maintained that harbors and bays in Vietnam are not inland waterways and, therefore, not subject to the presumption of exposure to Agent Orange. The sailors aboard these vessels have been unfairly excluded from the presumption for years juxtaposed to the soldiers that, at times, were within a football field of them. The Veterans Court struck down this policy as arbitrary and irrational. Now the VA must rewrite its policy in a way that is consistent with its policy to grant the presumption of exposure to those likely to have been exposed.
History of Agent Orange and VA
For nearly two decades after the Vietnam War, VA ignored the toxic effect that being exposed to Agent Orange had on veterans. Finally, after a decade-long law suit and law passed by Congress, VA started awarding compensation to Vietnam veterans for disabilities due to exposure of Agent Orange. The VA granted the presumption of exposure to Agent Orange to those who had ‘service in Vietnam.’ The definition of this service was not clear. The VA initially interpreted this law to include both a veteran with boots on the ground or a veteran awarded the Vietnam Service Medal.
VA set a uniform policy finding that anyone on land or an inland waterway was presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange. An appellate court found that drawing a line down the coast was not arbitrary because it was based on where the spraying of Agent Orange was and, as a consequence, where the exposure to Agent Orange was. Anyone offshore—in bluewater— was not granted the presumption of exposure. VA’s definition of bluewater extended to all the major bays and harbors of Vietnam. VA summarily concluded that these bodies of water were deep water because they were open to the sea.
The Veterans Court found that bays and harbors cannot be lumped into the bluewater group based on geographic features of the land and depth of water. The Court dictated that VA rewrite its policy and base the new policy on the likelihood of exposure in those bays and harbors.
Three-Front War
The court case was just one of several pressure points on VA to change this policy. There are bills in the Senate and the House of Representatives and a media campaign to push the VA. The House bill, HR 969, has 269 co-sponsors and the Senate bill, S 681, has over 20 co-sponsors. There have been bills before Congress before but never with this much support, from both sides of the aisle.
It is evident from the C-123 policy change, VA wants nothing to do with bad press. To show that it is moving in the right direction, VA has reached out to Commander John Wells to help develop the new policy for the presumption of exposure of Agent Orange in the harbors and bays. Commander Wells has a unique understanding of this question with intimate knowledge of naval ships and oceanography and coastal topography through his twenty years in the Navy combined with being at the legal forefront of this ‘Bluewater Navy’ issue for over ten years.
There are over 80,000 sailors that are categorized as Bluewater Sailors, some 90% of those went into Da Nang Harbor or Cam Ranh Bay. From those, it is likely that around 23,000 veterans and veterans’ survivors will apply for benefits. Considering that the C-123 crewmen had 4,000 people and had a national story the bluewater struggle is bound to be much larger story.
Just this week, a major media outlet has brought the plight of the Blue water veterans to light. This long investigative article lays out the history of the bluewater veterans and how they have been treated differently than Vietnam veterans with service on the ground in Vietnam.
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD
ProPublica and the Virginian-Pilot has an ongoing investigation of Agent Orange. In addition to exposing VA’s disparate treatment between Vietnam veterans with boots on the ground and those who were aboard ships, the publications are collecting stories of veterans. They want to know what those who were there went through and how the fallout of their exposure to Agent Orange as affected them. This is your chance to tell them. There are over 80,000 blue water veterans. Let the VA and Congress hear your voices.
UPDATE: As of January 2020, Blue Water claims are being processed.
