Reliving Agent Orange
ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot are exploring the effects of the chemical mixture Agent Orange on Vietnam veterans and their families, as well as their fight for benefits.
ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot are exploring the effects of the chemical mixture Agent Orange on Vietnam veterans and their families, as well as their fight for benefits.
A “Bittersweet” Moment: Court Says VA Was Wrong in Denying Vietnam Veterans Benefits
We wrote about the struggle of the “Blue Water” Navy veterans in 2015 and 2016, and after a court decision in their favor this week, we hear what this fight has meant to them.
VA Delays Key Agent Orange Decisions
Since March 2016, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been weighing whether to expand Agent Orange benefits to Vietnam vets with bladder cancer and hypothyroidism, as well as other ailments. It keeps missing its own deadlines to act.
McCain’s Brain Cancer Draws Renewed Attention to Possible Agent Orange Connection
For years, Vietnam vets and their widows have been pushing the VA to extend benefits to those exposed to the toxic herbicide and later stricken with glioblastoma. The VA has said no, but advocates hope the agency will now revisit the issue.
Veterans Affairs Official Downplays Agent Orange Risks, Questions Critics
At a meeting in March, a lead analyst in the VA’s compensation service was critical of the media, scientists and the VA’s own administrative tribunal for taking positions that differ from his. The VA said his comments “did not fully or accurately reflect VA's position” but also said his quotes were being taken out of context.
ProPublica Files Lawsuit Seeking VA Correspondence Related to Agent Orange
The suit filed by ProPublica and the Virginian-Pilot claims the VA has stonewalled in response to requests for documents, including those sent and received by David Shulkin, the president-elect’s pick to be VA secretary.
Rethinking The Cost of War
What if casualties don’t end on the battlefield, but extend to future generations? Our reporting this year suggests the government may not want to know the answer
The Agent Orange Widows Club
After their husbands died of an aggressive brain cancer, the widows of Vietnam veterans have found one another as they fight the VA for benefits.
Long List of Agent Orange Decisions Awaits VA in 2017
The Department of Veterans Affairs must decide whether to add new diseases to its list of conditions presumed to be linked to Agent Orange. It also faces calls to compensate naval veterans and those who served along the Korean demilitarized zone.
ProPublica Files Lawsuit Seeking Agent Orange Documents From the VA
The suit claims the VA failed to promptly process a FOIA request for correspondence with a consultant about the defoliant used during the Vietnam War.
Agent Orange Curse Hangs Over Families of Virginia Veterans
There's no proof Agent Orange can be passed from fathers to their children, but that's no solace to Vietnam vets who see their children struggle with life-long health problems — and sometimes die.
The Children of Agent Orange
For decades, Vietnam veterans have suspected that the defoliant harmed their children. But the VA hasn’t studied its own data for clues. A new ProPublica analysis has found that the odds of having a child born with birth defects were more than a third higher for veterans exposed to Agent Orange than for those who weren’t.
Vietnam Veterans And Their Families Share Stories of Exposure, Illness And Frustration
As part of our Reliving Agent Orange series, ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot have been recording the voices of those impacted by the herbicide, which contained the toxic chemical dioxin.
A Public Official’s Private Pain
A Washington legislator had two children after her husband returned from the Vietnam War. One lacks sight in an eye. The other died of cardiomyopathy at age 21. “We don’t have this in the family,” she said. “The veterans would all say, ‘You know it’s probably Agent Orange.’”
How We Obtained the Government’s Data on Agent Orange and Birth Defects
The Veterans Administration refused to release what it had learned about possible links between birth defects and exposure to Agent Orange. ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot found a novel way to obtain the information under procedures historically used for scientific research by academic scholars.
New Study Could Pressure VA to Expand Agent Orange Benefits
More than four decades after the end of the Vietnam War, research is still showing the effects of the herbicide Agent Orange. The latest findings: An association between exposure and high blood pressure.
Dr. Orange: The Secret Nemesis of Sick Vets
For decades, the military and the VA have repeatedly turned to one man to guide decisions on whether Agent Orange harmed vets in Vietnam and elsewhere. His reliable answer: No.
After Cancer Diagnosis, Vet Refutes Government’s Agent Orange Expert — And Wins
After the VA rejects his claim for benefits, an Air Force veteran challenges the findings of the government’s go-to Agent Orange consultant. Six years later he emerges the rare victor.
Eight Times Agent Orange’s Biggest Defender Has Been Wrong or Misleading
For decades, the government has relied on Alvin Young to advise it on herbicides. Here are some of his statements, and what others have said about them.
VA Officials Pledge New Studies Into Effects of Agent Orange
“These individuals deserve an answer,” a top VA official said at a forum hosted by ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot to address the possible multi-generational impacts of the herbicide.
A Father’s War, A Son’s Toxic Inheritance
Stephen Katz’s estranged father was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Now the Virginian-Pilot photographer wonders if that caused his own health problems.
