BRISTOL TOWNSHIP Balloon release in Bristol Township to honor Agent Orange victims
Cub scouts release orange balloons outside
the Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans building in Bristol Township in
remembrance of agent orange.
Posted: Sunday, November 9, 2014 4:15 pm
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Updated: 2:43 pm, Mon Nov 10, 2014.
For many veterans of foreign wars, the struggles don’t end with the culmination of battle.
To honor those
still suffering, the Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans will host its
seventh annual Veterans Day Agent Orange Balloon Release at 7 p.m.
Tuesday outside its headquarters, 800 Coates Ave., Bristol Township.
“Participants will release orange balloons to
recognize, remember and honor all veterans affected by Agent Orange,”
organizers said.
Like past years, the DV3 is hoping for about 50 to 75 participates including local officials. The group started the event nearly a decade ago with its move to the building near Radcliffe Street after helping out the Bristol Borough color guard celebrate Veterans Day for years, DV3 member Ferdie Tellado said.
“Hopefully we’ll have more (people this year),” he said.
Agent Orange, which was named after the orange identifying stripe used on the 55-gallon drums in which the specific mix of phenoxy herbicides was stored. Agent Orange was among 19 million gallons of herbicides sprayed on trees and vegetation by the U.S. during the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1971, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The U.S. Department of Defense developed the tactical herbicide specifically for “combat operations” near forests at the junction of the borders of Cambodia, Laos and South Vietnam as well as mangroves on the southernmost peninsula of Vietnam and along shipping channels southeast of Saigon, according to the VA.
Agent Orange, a human carcinogen that contains dioxin TCDD, was found decades later to have caused more then 2 dozen ailments, including diabetes, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, heart disease and numerous cancers, according to www.publichealth.va.gov. The VA presumes that the chemicals also led to birth defects in children of Vietnam and Korea war veterans.
Eligible veterans can register at the VA for Agent Orange health exams related to long-term health problems by visiting www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/.
Anthony DiMattia: 215-949-4205;
Like past years, the DV3 is hoping for about 50 to 75 participates including local officials. The group started the event nearly a decade ago with its move to the building near Radcliffe Street after helping out the Bristol Borough color guard celebrate Veterans Day for years, DV3 member Ferdie Tellado said.
“Hopefully we’ll have more (people this year),” he said.
Agent Orange, which was named after the orange identifying stripe used on the 55-gallon drums in which the specific mix of phenoxy herbicides was stored. Agent Orange was among 19 million gallons of herbicides sprayed on trees and vegetation by the U.S. during the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1971, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The U.S. Department of Defense developed the tactical herbicide specifically for “combat operations” near forests at the junction of the borders of Cambodia, Laos and South Vietnam as well as mangroves on the southernmost peninsula of Vietnam and along shipping channels southeast of Saigon, according to the VA.
Agent Orange, a human carcinogen that contains dioxin TCDD, was found decades later to have caused more then 2 dozen ailments, including diabetes, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, heart disease and numerous cancers, according to www.publichealth.va.gov. The VA presumes that the chemicals also led to birth defects in children of Vietnam and Korea war veterans.
Eligible veterans can register at the VA for Agent Orange health exams related to long-term health problems by visiting www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/.
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