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On January 29, in a 9-2 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit ruled in favor of the veteran in Alfred Procopio, Jr.,
v. Robert Wilkie, finding the intent of Congress in the Agent Orange Act
of 1991 was to extend benefits to all veterans who served within the
territorial waters of Vietnam, 12 nautical miles from shore. The VA has
90 days from the Court’s ruling to appeal this decision to the Supreme
Court; and VA Secretary Wilkie has yet to announce how it plans to
respond. In the meantime, VVA recommends those veterans who think they
may have served on a vessel in Vietnam’s territorial waters reach out to
their local Veterans Service Officer to file VA Form 21-0966, Intent to
File a Claim. If VVA is your representative, go to Service Officer
Locator on www.vva.org to find your local representative, or a Service
Officer of any other accredited national veterans organization or a
County Service Officer. If you do not wish to work with a service
officer, you may fill out the VA Form 21-0966 form and submit it to the
VA.(not recommended- ed.)
VVA recommends Blue Water Navy veterans
submit the VA Form 21-0966 if they have never filed an Agent Orange
claim or if they have been denied an Agent Orange claim. If you are a
spouse of a Blue Water Navy veteran who died from an Agent
Orange-related illness, they recommend you also file a VA Form 21-0966.
By submitting VA Form 21-0966, you preserve your effective date. You
have one year from the day you submitted your VA Form 21-0966 to submit
your claim for benefits. By submitting this form, you will be putting
yourself in the best possible position while waiting to see how the VA
responds to the Court’s decision.
To help your claim’s success,
it is recommended you start gathering evidence such as deck logs,
service records, or anything else that could help prove the location of
your vessel. VVA will keep you updated on suggested next steps as they
continue to learn more information.
Source: VVA Press Release No. 19-4 | Mokie Porter | February 6,
2019
(with annotation and additions by the undersigned)
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