FREDERICK — More than five decades after returning home from Vietnam, Marine Corps veteran Clark Beall says the effects of Agent Orange are still shaping his life.
Vietnam Veteran Warns of Agent Orange’s Lasting Impact
Monday is Agent Orange Awareness Day, a time to recognize veterans and families still living with the lasting health effects of exposure.
Beall served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966 to 1968 and spent more than a year in Vietnam. His responsibilities included moving supplies, combat operations and medevac missions using amphibious vehicles.
Among the supplies he remembers handling was Agent Orange.
“We used to haul it, haul, bring it in off the ships and stuff,” Beall said.
He also remembers the herbicide being sprayed in areas where troops worked and traveled.
“You walk through it all the time,” Beall said, describing moving through rice paddies and areas near airports where he said the chemical had been sprayed.
For decades after leaving the military, Beall said he worked and lived his life without giving much thought to what he had encountered in Vietnam.
Then his health began to change.
Beall said he had prostate cancer in 2005, and by 2008 he began experiencing additional serious health problems. He said he has dealt with kidney failure, COPD and thyroid problems.
“It was 40 years before I really started really feeling the effects of it, so it takes that long to do it, get to you sometimes,” Beall said.
In 2011, Beall said he spent nearly six months in the hospital.
Today, his health problems have taken away much of the independence he once had.
“Well, it's, it's, it's really tough because you know I, I have to have somebody help me get dressed,” Beall said. “I don't have mobile anymore. I'm not mobile.”
He now relies on a scooter to get around and said he can no longer do many of the things that once kept him active.
One of the hardest losses has been stepping away from his role as a volunteer firefighter.
Beall said he has been involved with the fire company for more than five decades. He still attends meetings, but his physical limitations prevent him from climbing onto the trucks and serving the way he once did.
“That, that hurts me too. That hurts me too,” Beall said. “You know I can't jump up on fire trucks anymore to drive or and that really hurts me because I still, I still would love to do it, you know. Cause I always enjoy helping people, you know.”
Michael Olds works with the Department of Veterans Affairs conducting Military Environmental Exposure Assessments, which document a veteran’s military service, potential toxic exposures and health concerns.
Olds said one of the challenges with Agent Orange is that medical problems may not become apparent immediately after exposure.
“The half-life, uh, in the human body can be anywhere from 7 to 20 years. So, uh, sub, uh, specific conditions may not develop right away,” Olds said.
He said there are veterans who may not realize health problems developing today could potentially be connected to something they encountered while serving decades ago.
That is why Olds encourages veterans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange or other toxic substances to complete a Military Environmental Exposure Assessment, even if they participated in an Agent Orange registry or another evaluation years ago.
The assessment asks veterans about where they served, their military duties and possible environmental exposures. Olds said the information collected is then documented in the veteran’s VA medical record.
“I don't care if you've, uh, uh, unless you've recently participated in it, but if you've participated in something 10, 15, 20 years, no, this is the time to do it,” Olds said.
Olds said the PACT Act has helped expand efforts to collect information about veterans and toxic exposures.
“That's what Congress set up the PACT Act for, so that this data could be collected and it could be used to make sure that veterans are taken care of in regards to these toxic substances,” he said.
For Beall, Agent Orange Awareness Day is about making sure other veterans do not ignore changes in their health simply because decades have passed since their military service.
He encourages veterans to seek help through the VA or veterans organizations if something does not feel right.
“If you get any, any, you know, anything wrong, you know, if you have pains or aches or anything, please, please get help,” Beall said.
“Don't be afraid to help yourself,” he added.
Veterans who want to complete a Military Environmental Exposure Assessment can contact the VA’s Veterans Exposure Team-Health Outcomes Military Exposures, or VET-HOME, at 833-633-8846 or visit https://vethome.va.gov/.
Veterans who prefer an in-person evaluation can contact their local VA facility to connect with an environmental health coordinator.
