Dennis Hager: Dennis, The process of getting a ship onto the Inland Water Service list is a matter of providing the proper documentation. In the case of the JEROME COUNTY LST-848, this ship and all crew are already authorized for full presumption of exposure to herbicides for all time periods. You can find this under the listing of “Ships operating primarily or exclusively on Vietnam’s inland waterways”. Under that provision,...

Dennis Hager: A few personnel claimed to have experienced some strange effects during Operation Dominic (1962). According to a PN (Personnelman) who reported aboard after the Operation some of the crew who were on-board at the time said they were on deck and told to put their arms over their eyes.  Doing that, they could see the blood flow and the bones in their arms. This is similar to the report of an individual who was on Johnston Island...

O.J. Joyce: I keep forgetting to pass this along. If you have diabetes you are eligible for a 20% disability and approximately $300 per month. Apply at your local Veterans office, not the VA. You should inform then that you come under the Brown Navy, not the Blue Navy. If anyone requires more info, I would be glad to help. OJ

Michael Giberson: If anyone is looking for documentation that the Jerome County was in-country and attached to NavSupGr Danang, this diary entry of Col. Richard P. Clark, Jr., who describes his visit aboard as a dinner guest of Captain Fischer in Saigon on 30 September 1965, should help… Diary Entry 71: Saigon, Thursday Night, 30 September 1965 Came home from work early tonight as our electricity was off all day at the office and we had no...

Michael Giberson: Thanks, but I found a copy of the letter in some of the stuff I downloaded off your computer.  The question is moot, however, in light of the link provided by Dennis Hager to documentation that declares, as of January 6, 2011, all LSTs in Vietnam are presumptively in-country units, and the crews stationed on them during their Vietnam deployments are “eligible for presumption for agent orange herbicide exposure based on...