9 Investigates: Agent Orange care expansion

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Lake County Marine Corps veteran Brian Moyer proudly wears a Marine Corps baseball cap and a black T-shirt that reads, “Agent Orange: We Came Home, Death Came With Us.”

For veterans such as Moyer, the issue of Agent Orange is one of life and death.

The powerful herbicide was used widely in Vietnam during the war.

The military said it was not used on the island of Guam, however, which is where he was stationed.

"As far as I'm concerned, I view it as a ticking time bomb," said Moyer.
"Give us the recognition. Don't let us fall through the cracks."

Moyer and other veterans said that Agent Orange was used on Guam during the war to clear vegetation, and they have proof.

Veterans have firsthand stories of spraying Agent Orange on the island during the war.
In addition, veterans point to a 2004 letter from Dow Chemical, which read, "Soldiers stationed on Guam who have handled Agent Orange have become ill and symptoms of TCDD (dioxin) poisoning are apparent in the general population of the island as well."

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military sprayed more than 20 million gallons of Agent Orange to clear the jungle.
The power herbicide kills plants, but has since also been linked to birth defects, heart problems and cancer.

“What makes Agent Orange less lethal on Guam than it does on Vietnam?” said Moyer.

For the most part, the Department of Veterans Affairs has denied claims for medical issues attributed to Agent Orange that have been made by service members who did not set foot in Vietnam during the war.

“I am dying as slowly as possible from stage 4 prostate cancer,” said retired U.S. Navy doctor Walter Miner. “It’s been incurable ever since it was diagnosed.”

Miner served both in Vietnam and on Guam during his time in the Navy.
He uses his private medical insurance but he is concerned about the men under his command and might not have his same financial resources.

“I’m not happy with the care of the sailors that worked with me and for me,” says Miner.

In 2016, lawmakers from both parties in the U.S. House and Senate proposed a bill that would have expanded the diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure and also included many that were not in Vietnam. But the bill died when lawmakers balked at the cost.

It is estimated it would cost at least $1 billion over the next decade to expand Agent Orange care.

This week, Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, sent letters to the chairman of the House Veteran Affairs Committee and the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, asking for an investigation into the use of Agent Orange and the denial of benefits.

There is also a push this year to pass the bill expanding care, although it is unclear under current rules how members would fund the care.

Cox Media Group