Blount County Vietnam veteran to receive Purple Heart 47 years after turning it down

"It was one of those things. I put it in a drawer and I just, filed it away," said Morse, explaining he never even mentioned it to his children.

He also never talked about the injury to his eye and his exposure to Agent Orange while in Vietnam. 

"Since I got out of the service, I could have had them," he said. "I figured there were a lot more soldiers a lot worse than I was that needed the money. I was doing pretty good. You make your own way."

Continue Learning:  http://www.wate.com/story/24997811/blount-county-vietnam-veteran-to-receive-purple-heart-47-years-after-turning-it-down

Agent Orange Exposure Veterans Medal proposed

Many Vietnam veterans have died from illnesses related to Agent Orange. And their families have suffered greatly along with them. Many are still suffering. And many who still seem to be in good health are likely to fall victim in the years to come.

Some veterans (and their families) have received treatment and financial compensation for their Agent Orange-related illnesses, but the jury is still out on whether the VA is doing everything possible to help veterans with their illnesses.

Continue Learning:  http://rockrivertimes.com/news/2013/11/06/agent-orange-exposure-veterans-medal-proposed/

Vietnam veterans to receive Silver Rose medals

The Silver Rose is presented to Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange, a chemical defoliant used by American forces during the war in Vietnam. Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recognizes more than 40 cancers and illnesses, including Type 2 Diabetes, as being Agent Orange related. In addition, thousands of Vietnam War veterans have died from illnesses connected to Agent Orange exposure, yet these veterans are not recognized by the U.S. government for those illnesses, despite the war-related origin, said Ken Thorp, one of the ceremony’s organizers.

The Silver Rose is awarded to Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange dioxins in an effort to give them the honor and recognition they deserve, said Thorp. “While victims of other combat injuries receive the Purple Heart, the soldiers who were exposed to Agent Orange and have suffered the medical consequences of that exposure receive no recognition from the government. The Silver Rose will continue to be presented to all eligible Vietnam War veterans or their surviving family members until our government decides to honor these victims,” he added.

In addition to the award, one of the missions of the Legion of the Silver Rose is to inform surviving Vietnam veterans of the importance of yearly medical exams to determine the presence and early detection of potential Agent Orange-related illnesses.

 Those with questions about the ceremony can contact Thorp at (602) 622-1014. Continue Learning:

Silver Rose Monument to honor soldiers killed by Agent Orange

In Memory Day Ceremony

The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 623 will dedicate a monument, “The Order of the Silver Rose,” on July 30 at 11:30 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras.
The park is located at the end of 6th Street off Route 6/209.

It is meant to stand as a tribute to soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice because of exposure to “Agent Orange.”

The monument is a duplicate of the marble used for the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. One of the inscriptions reads “They gave their tomorrows for your todays.”

“The effects of this exposure have now been linked to spinal bifida in our children,” says Tom Ryan, 1st Air Calvary Division, member of the VVA Chapter 623. “It is our belief that more links have yet to be identified and it will continue with our grandchildren and who knows after that.”

'In Memory Plaque' (is on the ground) Washington D.C.

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