USA Department of Veterans Affairs conveniently lost hundreds of claims for children, grandchildren of contaminated veterans

TIERRA VERDE, Fla. (WFLA) – The lack of accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs seems to reaching a level of absurdity.

Thousands of claims filed on behalf of the children and grandchildren of veterans who were exposed to toxins are unaccounted for.

The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) says the VA can’t and won’t say what happened to the claims.

Whether its from depleted uranium ammunition used in Iraq or a toxic herbicide called Agent Orange that was sprayed in Vietnam during war, members of America’s military are learning they not only put their lives on the line, but possibly the lives of their children and grandchildren.

“If you’re going to send them there, make sure you take care of them when they come home. That means take care of them and their offspring,” said Marc McCabe, Vietnam Veterans of America Bureau Chief.

McCabe is a battle hardened Marine who fought in Vietnam.

Now in his position as Vietnam Veterans of America Bureau Chief in Florida, he fights with the VA.

The military exposed veterans like Lonnie Kilpatrick and Leroy Foster to Agent Orange. The weed killer wrecked Kilpatrick’s heart.

Foster suffers from terminal cancer.

Kilpatrick’s children and grandchildren were born with multiple health problems.

Foster’s granddaughter was born with 24 fingers and toes.

McCabe filed hundreds of claims with the VA on behalf of children and grandchildren of veterans exposed to toxins.

“And they got lost. The VA cannot account for them. They can’t tell us where they collected it, where they stored it, what they did with it,” explained McCabe.

In fact, according to a letter the VVA received, the VA refuses to disclose information about how it keeps track of such claims.

Rick Weidman, Executive Director for Policy for Vietnam Veterans of America, compared the VA’s refusal to disclose how it handled the claims to a line from the comedy “Animal House.”

“This is the most ridiculous damned thing we’ve heard from the VA since Dean Wormer’s double secret probation,” said Weidman. “If you file a claim and the VA rejects it, they still have to preserve it electronically.”

Weidman believes that until February of this year, the VA rejected the claims and threw them out.

“Once again, the VA is doing everything it can to not do the research, which will show one way or the other if children and grandchildren are affected,” added Weidman. “Their overall strategy is delay, deny, until they all die.”

McCabe points out that the VVA will assist veterans along with their children and grandchildren through the maze of the VA’s claims filing process.

“Collect all your medical records on your children and your grandchildren,” said McCabe. “But most importantly, we tell them, ‘get your military records. Get your military personnel records. Give them to your children. Put them in a safe place because you’ll need that to produce evidence that your dad was in the service.'”

If you need assistance filing a claim for yourself, your child or grandchild, contact Vietnam Veterans of America at 301-585-4000.

The St. Petersburg office number is 727-319-5921.

If you know of something that should be investigated, contact our Target 8 Helpline at 1-800-338-0808.
Contact Steve Andrews at sandrews@wfla.com.