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 At age 19, Dan Wilson packed his bags and left St. Louis for the U.S. Army, and life as a soldier in Vietnam. It was a decision that would change his life.Vietnam is a land known for jungles, but during his last eight months there, Wilson lived where there was nothing green at all.
"There was no grass," he said. "There were several thousand acres of dust when it didn't rain and mud when it did."
Neither he nor his fellow soldiers knew they were living, eating and drinking in a toxic wasteland.
The area had been sprayed with Agent Orange, a weed killer used by U.S. forces in Vietnam to destroy the jungle that provided cover for enemies. It contained dioxin, a toxic agent that can cause reproduction problems, birth defects, cancer and other diseases.
Now 60, Wilson suffers from illnesses linked to his exposure to Agent Orange more than 40 years ago.
He lives with Type 2 diabetes and peripheral neuropathy, a painful condition that affects the nerve-endings.
"It starts with pain, then it's a burning, then you lose all sensation," he said.
He also lives with Agent Orange-related mental illness that often leaves him depressed and unable to work or drive.
Like Wilson, more than 400,000 U.S. veterans say they suffer from Agent Orange-related illnesses, and what's worse to many is they don't think they are getting the help they deserve.
According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, approximately 20 million gallons of Agent Orange and other equally or more harmful substances dubbed with the rainbow of names Agent White, Agent Purple, Agent Blue and Agent Pink were used in Vietnam over nine years. Out of the 3 million soldiers who served in Vietnam, nearly half were there during the heaviest spraying. Between 2 million and 4 million American soldiers and Vietnamese residents were sprayed with Agent Orange and other defoliants.
The diseases linked to herbicide exposure include prostate cancer, respiratory cancer, Type 2 diabetes, soft tissue sarcomas, peripheral neuropathy and more.
The Fund to Support Agent Orange Victims now has 62 chapters in 64 cities and provinces across the country, the Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) reported.
VRC President Tran Ngoc Tang told a conference in Hanoi Wednesday that in the past 10 years the fund has raised over VND350 billion (US$21 million), benefiting hundreds of thousands of victims
Bob Haynes, 59, of McHenry, Ill., was exposed to Agent Orange during Army service in South Korea.
He retired from his job as an engineering manager at a large corporation in October 2006 because of health complications, including post traumatic stress syndrome.
"I have Type 2 diabetes, peripheral neuropathy and PTSD," he said.
He is approved for benefits through the VA and helps other veterans get their claims through the department, but he said the process is daunting
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