(Created: Thursday, November 12, 2009 2:35 PM CST)
Vietnam veterans might still be fighting the war today without knowing it, thanks to the lingering effects of an herbicide used in the war called Agent Orange.
Jen Bakken, of Delano, wants Vietnam veterans to know what might happen to them and their families. Getting checked by doctors at the Veterans Administration or by family doctors is the key. Early detection of diseases caused by Agent Orange could save the life of someone and help children suffering from health effects of a parent's Agent Orange exposure.
Information about Agent Orange and benefits for veterans is on the website at www.va.gov.
Steve Emery posed with his daughter Jen Bakken of Delano on his 60th birthday in September 2008. That day proved to be his last birthday. He died on July 23 from prostate cancer related to exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
Bakken's father, Steve Emery, of Dassel, found out about the effects of Agent Orange exposure too late. By the time he learned about his prostate cancer - related to Agent Orange exposure in Viet Nam - it had advanced to the point where it was untreatable.
Bakken and the rest of her family are haunted by memories of his painful death in July. She and her sister Jessica Sturgeon of Howard Lake, moved in with their parents to help care for Emery, who wanted to die at home. The two sisters alternated in giving him liquid morphine for the pain caused by the spread of the cancer to his bones.
During the weeks before his death, Emery was not always in his home mentally. He was reliving the horrors of his service in Viet Nam, Bakken said.
Delano area residents might remember Emery from his days as a youth hockey and baseball coach. Also, for seven years in the 1980s he and his wife Nancy owned Shady Beach Resort on Lake Sarah. The couple moved to Waverly in 1995.
Emery enlisted in the Army in 1967 at the age of 17. Rising to the rank of Specialist 4, he served at Phu Loi in Viet Nam in the headquarters company 520th transportation battalion.
Phu Loi was in the middle of the jungle in an area that the Army sprayed heavily with the herbicide Agent Orange. The American military thought it was protecting its troops by killing the foliage in which the enemy liked to hide. Also, the herbicide destroyed crops that fed the enemy.
Agent Orange was named for the orange stripe on the 55-gallon drums in which it was stored. Between 1961 and 1971, the U.S. military sprayed more than 19 million gallons of herbicides in South Viet Nam, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
The lasting legacy of Agent Orange has been numerous diseases that have been affecting American veterans, their families and people living in Viet Nam. The list includes prostate cancer, AL Amyloidosis, B cell leukemia, chloracne, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, type 2 diabetes, Hodgkin's Disease, ischemic heart disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, respiratory cancers and more.
Many children of veterans have health issues, including spinal bifida, related to exposure of parents to Agent Orange in Viet Nam, Bakken said. A variety of organizations are attempting to help these children by getting these Agent Orange related diseases recognized.
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| Veterans and their families brave windy and wet weather to honor fellow veterans who died from or currently have diseases related to exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange while serving in Viet Nam. The group gathered during an Agent Orange Awareness event held in October at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration. Photo by Ryan Fuchs |
Photos by Minneapolis photographer Petronella J. Ytsma show the effects of Agent Orange on people still living in Viet Nam. Eyes of malformed children - those who have eyes - stare at readers from photos in her book "Legacy of an Ecocide - Agent Orange Aftermath." Aliform Publishing published the book this year.
Meanwhile, many Vietnam veterans are at retirement age or nearing retirement. "Unfortunately, they won't be able to enjoy their retirement," Bakken said. "They are dying in staggering numbers. Within a certain number of years, there won't be any of them left."
Her father discovered the size of the problem while talking with a male nurse at the VA hospital. The nurse said that 3 million people were in Viet Nam during the course of the war. Of those, 960,000 are left.
Bakken is angry with the U. S. government for doing a poor job of notifying veterans about their potential exposure to Agent Orange. Early in the 1970's the government sent Emery a card asking him whether he had been exposed. He didn't know what Agent Orange was. Thinking it was an orange haze that descended upon people, Emery marked "no" on the card and returned it.
"If the government had done a better job of informing veterans, my Dad would be sitting here today," Bakken said.
Her father was like many veterans who thought the Veterans Administration should be saved for people "who really needed it," she said. When he started to have health issues, he discovered he was eligible for a number of benefits, including mileage reimbursement for travel to the Veterans Administration.
"They don't always tell you about the benefits that are available," Bakken said. "You have to fight for yourself. Ask questions. Be your own advocate." Patient representatives can help with the enormous amount of paperwork.
Bakken is suffering from posttraumatic stress syndrome and undergoing grief counseling to cope with the loss of her father. In October she organized an Agent Orange Awareness event held at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration. She used the event to alert veterans to the Agent Orange threat and to help in her healing process.
Despite rainy, windy weather, 30 to 40 people came to the outdoor event. Some of the more frail Vietnam veterans stayed inside. The turnout told Bakken that she was doing something important when organizing the event.
Many veterans told her they wanted to be part of an annual event and to make it bigger. And she has discovered people who are like family to her, because they are all dealing with the same huge challenges.
Meanwhile, Bakken either wears or carries her father's dog tags in her pocket so she can "feel like he is with me."
"My Dad was an amazing man," she said. "He was my best friend. He would do anything for anyone. He served his country. He was a wonderful father and a great grandfather. There are so many reasons why it's wrong that he died the way he did."
As he neared death, Steve Emery said to his grandson Bryer, a sixth grader who plays baseball, "Every time you hit that ball, it will be your grandfather helping you."
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