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| Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance | Agent Orange Survivors |
“If we fail to realize that March Against Monsanto is not about GMOs alone, then we have already lost the battle.”
Kelly L. Derricks
Agent Orange, the chemical weapon herbicide used most predominantly during the Vietnam War to clear the vast jungles of Southeast Asia, was thought of as the advantage that the United States held over the “enemy.” Agent orange was a 50/50 mixture of 2,4, D & Dioxin tainted 2,4.5,T. The herbicide was manufactured by 7 companies. Monsanto was so greedy to take the market share of the D.O.D.’s money, that Monsanto’s Agent Orange was at 1,000 times greater the potency than any of the other 6 companies. Due to trying to rush the manufacturing process, dioxin became an industrial byproduct in Agent Orange.
Dioxin is second only to radioactive waste in its ability to destroy. Many people are familiar with the devastation left in Vietnam from Agent Orange, from the scorched earth to the horrifying pictures of children with unspeakable birth defects. What most people are not familiar with are the millions of United States Veterans that were exposed to Agent Orange who ultimately returned home from the war with a death sentence.
The US Government, and Chemical companies hid as veterans voiced concerns of their ailing health after the war. That same death sentence was then passed on to possibly hundreds of thousands of American children that were conceived when their parents came home from war and started families. A generational serial killer, Agent Orange stores itself in the fatty tissue of the primary person exposed and then is thought to mutate the DNA of the conceived child causing many of the same birth defects, diseases, illnesses and ultimately deaths, as are seen in generations of Vietnamese.
Hundreds of thousands globally have died including members of Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance and will continue to die drastically before the average human lifespan. After COVVHA was founded, just over two years ago, they felt it imperative to begin a database of illnesses and birth defects that we, the second generation, have been living with. To date, the list has grown to over 800 illnesses that many of the members are suffering from. Most have no prior family history. Additionally, COVVHA has a database tracking the illnesses for the grandchildren (third generation) as well. Yes, it seems Monsanto has poisoned the grandkids of Vietnam vets too. Neither the U.S. Government, or chemical companies will acknowledge the early death sentence they have given us.
COVVHA was founded by children of Vietnam Veterans who have been born, and live with, the debilitating birth defects that Agent Orange/Dioxin are presumed to cause. We want justice, answers and support for the generational victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin. You can imagine how horrified we are as, half of Agent Orange’s chemical compound, 2, 4,-D, and other pesticides like roundup, are the chemicals being sprayed on GMO crops, resulting in triple the danger of food that is not organic. Imagine what happens to a body already exposed to Agent Orange that consumes these GMO pesticides and foods. In a nutshell, Agent Orange was, in essence, the chicken before the GMO egg.
March Against Monsanto works diligently to make sure the public knows that the movement is not just about food. It’s about standing up to cronyism. Shortly after the first worldwide MAM event that was held one year ago today, COVVHA teamed up with MAM to build an Agent Orange Education program that now serves as a model example of awareness being spread across huge spans of different generations. For the last 50 years, Monsanto has gotten away with this crime. If there is no unity between organizations fighting for Agent Orange justice and those fighting for the labeling & banning of GMO’s, how many more years do you think it will take before you see a change? The answer, can simply be only one…. TOO MANY.
We want the world to know that the company trying to dominate the global food supply, and telling you that GMOs are safe to eat, are nothing more than murderers who should be tried and convicted. Monsanto, will tell you that they were contracted by the United States Government and therefore should have no accountability for the travesties created by Agent Orange. In fact, as the largest producer of Agent Orange, Monsanto themselves knew that the chemical was deadly. Besides, even in the worst case scenario, It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that there might be serious danger to humans if they are coming into contact with a chemical that turned lush green jungles into barren wastelands in a matter of hours. We are all fighting together to change that. We have rights, we have a voice, and we will be heard!
GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) foods are being produced in laboratories by the same chemical companies that mass produced Agent Orange. As contractors for the United States Government, Monsanto was the largest and most deadly producer of Agent Orange. Their chemical potency was one thousand (1,000) times greater in deadliness as compared to the other chemical companies producing Agent Orange during the Vietnam War era.
Today, half of Agent Orange’s chemical compound, 2, 4,-D, and other pesticides like roundup, are the chemicals being sprayed on GMO (genetically modified organism) crops, resulting in triple the danger of food that is not organic. Imagine what happens to a body already exposed to Agent Orange, like the countless Vietnam Veterans and their children, when consuming these GMO pesticides and foods. In a nutshell, Agent Orange was, in essence, the chicken before the GMO egg.
(COVVHA) Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance INC., was founded by Kelly L. Derricks and Heather A. Bowser. Both disabled daughters of deceased Vietnam Veterans, they are committed to serving as a voice for the children of Vietnam Veterans including second and third generation victims of Agent Orange and Dioxin Exposures worldwide. They believe in empowering each other to hold the companies (such as Monsanto) and governments responsible for causing so much devastation and suffering to generations.
COVVHA has teamed up with March Against Monsanto to build an Agent Orange Awareness program that will prove to be a long lasting and far reaching campaign within both organizations.
Many of our speakers videos can now be found on COVVHA's Youtube channel
Agent Orange Awareness
Today, fifty two years after the beginning of spraying in Vietnam the effects of the chemical are still being felt here in the United States, Australia, and in Vietnam. Children of Vietnam Veterans feel it’s their responsibility to speak out against Genetically Modified Foods manufactured and grown by a chemical company that has killed and sickened their fathers, and created havoc in their own lives. Almost as soon as Vietnam Veterans came home and started their family, reports began to surface about multiple miscarriages and birth defects in their children. Their plea has mostly been ignored. Currently, the only acknowledged birth defect in the children of male Vietnam Veterans is Spina Bifida (not Occulta). However, thousands of Vietnam Veteran’s children believe their father’s exposure is to blame for their birth defects and chronic illnesses and their children’s birth defects and illnesses. Yes, the grand children of Vietnam Veterans suffer in high numbers as well. Children of Vietnam Veterans do not want the horrible legacy they must carry to be repeated in the lives of another innocent population.
Tami Canal, of Salt Lake City, Utah, Founder of March Against Monsanto, invited Kelly L. Derricks, of Philadelphia, PA, Co Founder of Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance to consult with MAM, as the head Agent Orange Educator for the MAM organization. Connecting past history, which is still devastating those Agent Orange has touched, with current concerns over rights to know what is in the food the country is digesting, is a way to build perspective on the dangers of mixing Agrichemical companies and government regulation or lack of regulation.
COVVHA was started for the purpose of Agent Orange Education and empowerment. One of their primary goals is to empower children of Vietnam Veterans to be their own voice in a world that has moved on and forgotten them. The group was started by two children of Vietnam Veterans who have both lost their fathers from Agent Orange illnesses, and themselves suffer from birth defects and illnesses. Matching COVVHA members to local MAM rallies was a natural step encouraging collaboration and information sharing.
COVVHA members went through a short process requiring them to write their own Agent Orange story, become knowledgeable about the history of the chemical herbicide Agent Orange , and current benefits available to children of female Vietnam Veterans (18 + birth defects recognized) and children of Male Vietnam Veterans (one, Spina Bifida, not occulta). They used the information to write a 15 minute speech. Many will be speaking publicly for the first time about their experiences as an Agent Orange survivor. When the COVVHA member completed the necessary requirements, they became COVVHA Certified Speakers. This event is starting the groundwork for a nationwide speaker’s bureau where organizations interested in having an Agent Orange speaker at their event or meeting will be able to find someone locally. Several COVVHA members wrote speeches, but are too ill to travel. Their speeches were sent to MAM local events that requested a speaker, but did not have a local COVVHA member.
Some of the illnesses children of Vietnam Veterans are suffering from in large numbers include, auto immune diseases, spinal problems, endocrine disorders, cancers, muscle skeletal problems, fertility issues and mental illness. COVVHA has a large private support community made up of only children of Vietnam Veterans to connect members with each other so they can finally know they are not alone. Agent Orange has left many families grieving through the five decades since the beginning of chemical spraying in Vietnam in 1961. Currently, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes 14 different illnesses and cancers as presumptive and compensated illnesses for Vietnam Veterans. Any Vietnam Veteran who was in Vietnam anytime between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975, including brief visits, or service aboard a ship that operated on the inland waterways has been presumed as exposed to Agent Orange. A veteran may also be eligible if they served along the Korean DMZ between April 1, 1968 and August 31, 1971. Some of the presumed illnesses Veterans can file for, include Type II Diabetes, Hodgkin’s Disease, Prostate Cancer, Ischemic Heart Disease and others. Please contact a local service officer to file a claim for disability, and or survivor benefits. A veteran or family member may reach out to the Vietnam Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans, The American Legion, or a county service officer to file a claim.
So when your thoughts return to summer and the color orange, remember the children and grandchildren of Vietnam Veterans who continue to fight a war they weren’t drafted for or signed up for. The innocent ones who have been maimed and forgotten, who as adults must now stand up and speak out or continue to be denied until they die like many of their fathers before them. October is Agent Orange Awareness Month; please support those trying to make a difference in their own lives.
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