VA and DOD continue to ignore suffering caused by Agent Orange in Okinawa
By Pat Elder
June 9, 2024
25,000 barrels of Agent Orange were stored at Machinato, Okinawa in 1971. The U.S. government still says it was never there.
The United States government says Agent Orange was never present or used in Okinawa. For two generations they have denied medical assistance to thousands of veterans suffering from Agent Orange exposure. Uncle Sam hasn’t paid reparations to the Okinawans who are still being poisoned by the dioxin in the environment.
Dr. Alvin Young, USAF Colonel, Retired
Dr. Alvin Young, Professor of Environmental Toxicology USAF Colonel, retired, speaks on behalf of the Department of Defense in response to numerous claims that Agent Orange was sprayed or released into the Okinawan environment.
“After an extensive search of all known and available records, there were no documents found that validated the allegations that Herbicide Orange was involved in any of these events, nor were there records to validate that Herbicide Orange was shipped to or through, unloaded, used or buried on Okinawa.” - Investigations into Allegations of Herbicide Orange on Okinawa, 2013
President John F. Kennedy is shown with his children at the White House when Agent Orange was first used in Okinawa by the US military.
The buck stops here, as President Harry Truman used to say. No money for sick vets or Okinawans due to Agent Orange contamination.
Actually, a few vets have been awarded compensation. If a few have been taken care of, shouldn’t everyone with the same diseases attributed to Agent Orange also be cared for? Agent Orange was first used in Okinawa in 1962. The deadly herbicide was used as a weed killer to control vegetation around military bases. It was sprayed throughout the island to clear roads, runways, and other areas of vegetation. It worked extremely well but the half-life of the dioxin may last 80-100 years in the environment, meaning people may still be exposed.
The government’s claim that Agent Orange was never used in Okinawa is easily refuted – by the U.S. government. Consider this report on the website of the Defense Technical Information Center:
“25,000 barrels of Herbicide Orange from Vietnam were sent to Okinawa prior to shipment to Johnston Island in 1971.” This statement appears in the 26-page 2003 government report “An Ecological Assessment of Johnston Atoll. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA571836.pdf
How could the DOD possibly respond to this, considering that resources cited in the piece include the Army and the EPA?
Dr. Young to the rescue:
“A close examination of the 26-page 2003 report “An Ecological Assessment of Johnston Atoll” noted that the principal authors of this report were with the Boston University Marine Program and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The authors of the report were not DoD employees, nor were they likely familiar with the issues surrounding Herbicide Orange or its actual history of transport to the Island. The report described the history of Johnston Atoll as a collection of events without specific references. Thus, the source of the comment noted in the article is not provided in the report.”
Boston University and the Smithsonian National Museum are thrown under the bus by Col. Young.
Here's more of Dr. Young’s wizardry in countering the undeniable and widespread statements of fact he calls “allegations” regarding the use of Agent Orange in heavily populated Okinawa.
Try to appreciate the sophistication and institutionalization of the evil semantics here. Young quotes government sources while under contract with the DOD.
“In order to assess the allegations, (regarding the storage or use of Agent Orange in Okinawa) an in-depth search of historical records and information was conducted. The extensive search included historical records in the various United States National Archives, Military Service Archives, Armed Forces Pest Management Board’s Literature Retrieval System, Naval History and Heritage Command, and US Army Public Health Command, as well as records maintained by the military units of the United States Forces Japan.”
Gosh, it sure sounds impressive.
Young continues. “The tactical herbicide, Herbicide Orange, was produced solely for the Department of Defense and was managed under the tight controls of the US Army Chemical Corps and the United States Air Force Logistics Command. The Army Chemical Corps and Air Force Logistics Command kept extensive records on all movement and shipment of tactical herbicides, and those records were in the archives that were searched under this investigation.”
Finally, Young adds this outrageous comment, “This investigation verified that the US veterans had remembered actual events that were recorded in the various historical records of that period. These events included a ship stranded on a reef, an observation that men were unloading large 55-gallon drums from a ship, and men seen spraying pesticides in jungle operations. Many of the veterans also recalled accurately the names of the ships that had visited the Port at Naha. However, after an extensive search of all known and available records, there were no documents found that validated the allegations that Herbicide Orange was involved in any of these events, nor were there records to validate that Herbicide Orange was shipped to or through, unloaded, used or buried on Okinawa.”
John the Apostle describes Young’s pathology this way, “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
The VA
In February, the Veterans Administration proposed a rule that for the first time would allow compensation for Agent Orange exposure at 17 U.S. bases in a dozen states where the herbicide was tested, used, or stored.
Veterans claim they were sickened by the deadly herbicide at a hundred other military bases in the United States, as well as installations around the world in places like Okinawa and Panama. Thousands of veterans, their dependents, and civilians have demanded justice for extensive suffering and death while the U.S. government, despite the evidence, denies the carcinogens were ever used at these locations.
Since 1970, the VA and the Pentagon have been relying on the pseudo-science of Dr. Alvin Young to deny compensation.
Dr. Linda Birnbaum is the former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. She captures the scoundrel Young’s essence here, “Most of the stuff he talks about is in no way accurate,” said Dr. Birnbaum, an expert on dioxin. “He’s been paid a hell of a lot of money by the VA over the years, and I think they don’t want to admit that maybe he isn’t the end all and be all.” Birnbaum questions how Young’s training in herbicide science qualifies him to draw some conclusions. “He is not an expert when it comes to the human health effects,” she said.
After announcing their proposed rule, the Veterans Administration solicited comments from the public in the Federal Register.
The VA included this confusing statement in the Federal Register about the use of Agent Orange in Okinawa and Panama:
“VA recognizes that locations like Panama and Okinawa, Japan, are not on DoD's current list of locations where certain herbicide agents were used, tested or stored, and therefore would not warrant a presumption at this time.
Ultimately, VA believes that linking its presumption with DoD's current herbicide agent list (which, as noted above, is a living document and therefore may evolve, upon the review of additional submitted evidence, to include locations like Panama and Okinawa) is the best course of action, but VA nevertheless welcomes all comments on this approach, or comments on Panama and Okinawa specifically, during the comment period for this rulemaking.”
These folks love long complicated sentences. The one above has 68 words. The VA has come under a lot of heat from a million sick and dying veterans and their dependents so they’re washing their hands of it. The VA is telling vets it’s the DOD that makes the decisions as far as compensation for harm is concerned and that, generally, veterans will have a tough time receiving benefits until their installation makes it on the list.
The VA says that linking its presumption with DoD's current herbicide agent list is the best course of action, but they really mean to say it is their only course of action. The DOD dictates what bases make it on the list, just like they dictate environmental policy in the United States where they see fit.
The coveted Agent Orange list of presumptive installations is a “living document,” one hell of a thing to tell people who are dying from installations left off of it.
We’ll look at some comments in the Federal Register from those poisoned in Okinawa.
Document VA-2024-VBA-0006-0001 / Comment
My husband was stationed in Machinato, (Camp Kinser) Okinawa in 1965-1967. He was in the quartermaster division. He suffered from 3 types of cancer during his lifetime. A blood cancer, prostate cancer, and acute myeloid leukenia. He did not survive the AML. Despite evidence and testimony to the contrary, he was unable to collect benefits as the government maintained there were no carcinogens in Okinawa. I could not file for DIC (Dependency and Indemnity Compensation) benefits for the same reason.
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Dear Sandra, We are sorry. The photo of 25,000 barrels of Agent Orange at Machinato, along with other photos and testimony are compelling, but Dr. Young says the carcinogens were never present in Okinawa. We share your pain and we join your struggle for justice for all survivors and their families.
A sickened and dying legion of victims of military poisoning cries out in the wilderness.
This is the greatest injustice that could ever be perpetrated against soldiers and their families. The United States government caused your husband’s suffering and death and they covered it up. Those who point to military and industrial chemicals as distinct causes of cancer are regarded as villains. That’s the world we live in. The devils are lying to us.
There are hundreds of pieces of evidence showing that Agent Orange or the dioxin-containing chemical known as 2,4,5-T were used and stored in Okinawa. There are hundreds of people who attest to it.
Allowing the public to post comments in the Federal Register on Agent Orange is one way for this cabal to allow frustrated and poisoned veterans to blow off a little steam. Several expressed their gratitude and optimism for allowing their comments to be published.
Kenneth M Miller described Agent Orange in barrels at the equipment shop on Camp Hauge in Okinawa. “It was in green barrels with an orange stripe we also had barrels with a white stripe and a blue stripe. I sprayed it around our equipment and around the barracks. I also have two buddy letters that done the same. Agent Orange was there and used. We asked our gunny if we needed gloves his exact words was that s--t kills weeds, it wont hurt you.”
Veterans have written in the Federal Register that Okinawan civilians sprayed chemicals along the perimeter and the grounds on various bases. How is their health? The U.S. government, through Agent Young says, “Only the US Army Chemical Corps and the USAF RANCH HAND Squadrons via the Air Force Logistics Command had the authority and the training to obtain and spray Herbicide Orange, and then only in a combat environment.”
The heart of the lie
Young and the Pentagon argue that “tactical herbicides” were distinct from “commercial herbicides.” They say tactical herbicides were developed specifically by the DOD to be used in “combat operations.” Young’s 2006 report identified 40 distinct locations within 32 sites outside of Vietnam where these supposedly distinct “tactical herbicides” where tested. Okinawa wasn’t included.
Young’s distinction between tactical vs. commercial herbicides is nonsense.
Agent Orange is a 50:50 mix of the herbicides 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T).
2,4,5-T was banned in 1979. 2,4-D is still widely used throughout the U.S. despite it’s harmful effects on human health. The product works well and is extraordinarily profitable to influential chemical companies. 2,4-D was banned in the European Union in 2007.
The 2,4,5-T in Agent Orange contains 2,3,7,8-Tetra-chloro-dibenzo-dioxin or 2,3,7,8-TCDD, known simply as dioxin, perhaps the deadliest substances known. The Army sprayed herbicides containing 2,4,5-T in Okinawa. Call them commercial or call them tactical, but call them deadly.
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Sue Callaway, an attorney and veteran exposed to Agent Orange, clearly summarizes the issue in her March 14, 2024 comment in the Federal Register:
“I challenge the VA to allow me to cross examine their expert about Agent Orange. The response from the VA in excerpts from the expert's reports to me and other veterans deny benefits by saying the herbicides we were exposed to were not tactical, but commercial.”
She continues. “See Report No. 1. This report focuses on Agent Orange. It admits 2,4,5-T was sent to Okinawa. Put Dr. Young under oath and on the witness stand and he'll admit that 2,4,5-T was on Okinawa and was a chemical that contained TCDD. The adjudicatory process the VA uses doesn't really afford a true venue to explore the depth of its position on this issue.”
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The claims submitted by sick and dying veterans who served in Okinawa have been summarily rejected. Typical rejection letters from veterans pleading for compensation include statements like this:
“The record does not reflect that the Veteran served in Vietnam. The most probative evidence of record fails to establish that the Veteran was exposed to toxic herbicides while serving in Okinawa.” In other words, “Dear Veteran, Despite the evidence you’ve presented, you couldn’t be suffering from Agent Orange exposure in Okinawa because it wasn’t there.”
Collecting the Navy’s carcinogenic foam on my beach in Maryland. I will be travelling to Ireland, UK, and Germany in July and to Japan in August to meet up with environmental activists to test surface waters draining from industrial and military sites for PFAS contamination. We’ve raised a lot of money, but we still need to raise $4,000. Please help. Please make a note that your contribution is for testing waters in Europe and Japan. -
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