Update!
The Agent Orange Registry
In the spring of 2014 I received correspondence from the VA encouraging me to participate in the National Agent Orange Registry. The letter appeared to be a general message to those who served during the Vietnam era, and while I understood that I qualified, I wasn’t very interested in re-hashing old news. But after a presentation at the First Cavalry Division reunion in Chicago in June I knew that I needed to step up to the plate. The Cleveland interviews morphed into a general physical, including x-rays and detailed questions about my specific in-country area of operations. I was asked to identify specific maps of field support bases and forward LZs (landing zones).
My experiences with the First Cavalry put me in every defined category. I served in a line company in the field as well as on support bases, both forward and in the rear (although never very far from incoming enemy rockets). I flew on many combat missions as well as walking flank for the engineers doing mine-sweep missions on the village roads. My most dangerous assignment was on LZ Grant, almost on the Cambodian Border, although by bad luck, I also served briefly at Phuoc Vinh, the Headquarters of the First Cav. Why was that so unlucky? The greatest number of gallons of Agent Orange herbicide dumped anywhere in-country were sprayed around this base. I have always enjoyed taking pictures of my experiences, so my pictures are proof of the barren landscape.
Phouc Vinh base perimeter defoliated by Agent Orange
These duty assignments earned the award of the “Air Medal” for participation in more than 30 flights involving combat assault missions. Those missions, along with many nights on front-line guard duty in the defoliated perimeters of our LZs qualifies me for the Veterans Administration’s classification of “boots on the ground.”
I don’t want to proceed before I compliment the Cleveland VA on their quality of service. For all sorts of reasons, especially the renown Cleveland medical community, the Cleveland VA is at the top. I think Northeast Ohio is fortunate to have such good service.
As a “Christmas present” in December 2016, the VA recommended additional tests, this time focusing on my prostate. These exams resulted in a diagnosis of Gleason level-8 prostate cancer.
In June, 2017 I began an 8-week “radiation therapy” program. Since the VA is directly across the street from my employer, The Cleveland Botanical Garden, I simply walked over to arrive for the very first appointment. I was back at the Garden before most of the staff arrived for work.
The effect of radiation on our organs is cumulative. In the first weeks, Mark Hoover, the Garden’s grounds director, would exchange pleasant greetings as I walked through his service yard on the way to the VA. In the fourth week, as I returned from the VA, Mark would insist on eye contact to assess my condition. In the last few weeks he became the best colleague one could hope for – he would walk with me until he was convinced that I was stable on my own. (I didn’t put in a lot of work hours in those final weeks).
It took at least a month to shake the effects of the radiation. My colleagues politely tolerated my disposition. But truth be told, at a National Airedale hunting/working event in September, almost two months after the end of the radiation treatment, I scored my worst performance points ever for handling my dogs in competition. Could the radiation still be affecting my demeanor? Absolutely!
As of this writing I am still within the 6-month window for evaluation. I am pleased to report that my preliminary test results are favorable.
2/18/18 JML
