Jim,
Do you know anything about the ships that were off shore of Viet Nam in 1962 and their connection with the Agent Orange controversy? My husband was on the Kitty Hawk at that time. I saw the Kitty Hawk on the list of the 700 and some ships that served off shore. We had filed a claim a long time ago but they said he was not eligible because he didn't have "boots on the ground" but has the Viet Nam service medal.
Reply:
He is “Blue Water” Navy. He is only eligible for agent orange presumption for non Hodgkins lymphoma. The VA decided long ago that they had to draw a line somewhere and that line was drawn to exclude Blue Water Navy. Brown Water (inland) Navy and anyone who had boots on the ground fall into the presumptive category for AO benefits.