Presumptive diseases may manifest themselves years after the veteran’s military service ended, but are presumed to be related to his or her service.

Of particular interest to our Vietnam veterans and certain veterans who served in Korea is Agent Orange exposure. If you served anywhere in Vietnam between August 5th, 1964 and May 7th, 1975 or with specific units in and around the DMZ in Korea in 1968 and 1969 you are presumed to have been exposed to the Agent Orange herbicide. Exposure itself is not service-connectable. Certain diseases resulting from exposure, however, are.

Presumptive diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure include Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, soft-tissue sarcoma, adult onset type II diabetes and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

If you are a Vietnam Navy veteran who served in the adjacent waters and went ashore for any reason and have incurred any of the above diseases, you too could well be entitled to compensation.

Also, if you are the surviving spouse of a veteran who served in one of these areas and who passed away from one of these diseases or an illness related to any of these diseases, you too may be compensated.

For more information on this topic or any other questions you might have, contact Jerry Seiner, your local Veterans Service Officer at 605-487-7691 or 605-481-1338 or stop at the courthouse. Office hours are Monday and Tuesday, 8:00 to 4:30 and Wednesday, 8:00 to noon.