
Korean Cold War veterans were exposed to Agent Orange (AO) during the same period (1962 to 1975) as Vietnam veterans. Yet Korean vets are DENIED service-connected disability benefits for exposure to AO unless they were there from April 1968 to August 1971, AND were in specific (and very few) units. Despite growing evidence of military use of AO in Korea back to 1962, DOD denies its use and therefore Korean vets suffering from the same cancers/conditions as Vietnam vets are denied benefits.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Ceremony recognizing 60-year anniversary of Korean War armistice in D.C.
The Department of Defense has announced a ceremony to take place on Saturday, July 27, 2013 at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. to recognize the 60th anniversary of the armistice with North Korea. Below is an aerial view of this magnificent memorial to the veterans who fought in some of the fiercest battles under some of the coldest conditions ever encountered.
This "armistice" is NOT a Peace Treaty - one was never signed. However, the July 27, 1953 document put an end to ongoing direct conflict between North Korea and South Korea. During the next two decades the Vietnam conflict took front-page coverage and hostilities in Korea were largely ignored. During the period 1967 to 1971 over 100 American soldiers were killed in Korea in what is unofficially designated as the "Second Korean War". Veterans of the period 1962 to 1975 are referred to as Korean Cold War veterans
On November 11, 2006, a Korean Cold War veterans reunion was held in Washington, D.C. and a plaque was placed at the memorial honoring the Korean Cold War veterans. While efforts have been made to obtain official congressional recognition for these veterans and officially incorporate the plaque in the memorial, these efforts have not yet been successful. Below is a photograph of the plaque.
This is the first entry of what I expect to be an extensive blog providing information and resources to veterans and their families seeking legitimate disability ratings from the VA. I look forward to comments from many veterans sharing their stories and questions and answers related to exposure to Agent Orange (AO) while they were in Korea during the Korean Cold War period.

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