I  was just on the site looking to see if any crew member had posted information on the "Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veteran's Act". It is identified by either House
Rule 299 (HR299) or Senate Rule 422 (S422). It passed the House about a month ago, was sent over to the Senate who sent it to an advisory committee. If it passes the Senate, which I believe it is projected to do, then it goes to POTUS to sign into law.


This bill could directly affect all those Vietnam era crew members who served aboard while the Cochrane was in the territorial waters off Vietnam between, I believe, 64-75.

It involves the contamination of crew members of US ships operating in those waters that took aboard sea water for ships use that was contaminated by Agent Orange.
This water of course was our drinking water, coffee, bug juice, showers, etc., so we all drank it.

There is a specific list of diseases and conditions that this contamination could have caused years later. If crew members during that time have later sustained any of the
diseases, several cancers, glaucoma as an example, than they would be able to file a claim with the VA like the thousands of military personnel were allowed to do that
had feet on the ground, the Navy being left out for the last 40 plus years. About time.


What's the best way to get this information disseminated out to the entire crew via email.

Mike Hunter, RM2 74-75

  I saw the article about The Blue Water Navy in "Tin Can Sailors" and to my dismay, Cochrane was not on the list. West Pac '66 that many of us were a part of, served as an Army/Marine escort along Highway 1. We also replenished PBR's, which means "close up". I can't figure out why we are always left out!!!!!

The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veteran's Act passed the House by a wide margin. It was sent to the Senate around August 1, 2018 and immediately sent to a VA Committee for review.

How long it sits in this 'committee' is unknown, Washington isn't known for it's speed in getting things done.

The VA Director that was put in office earlier this year was in favor of this bill and supported it. He has left office and the new and current director of the VA is AGAINST this bill being passed, he apparently says there is no scientific proof.

I also read where earlier the trump administration was in favor of this bill is now against it. I don't know why or if that's true. But either way, it would seem to behoove Vietnam era members to contact their Senators and ask them directly why there is another delay in getting this bill passed. This has been going on for years.

The sad thing about it's delay is typical: Money.

There are 14 specific diseases/conditions related to the contamination by Agent Orange. In our case, we would have gotten this by drinking sea water that was taken aboard while off the coast of Vietnam and distilled into our drinking/bug juice/showers and food prep. One report I read stated that this process increases the strength of Agent Orange by four times.

If anyone of the Vietnam era crew is having medical problems, and those problems are listed as one of the
14 in the Agent Orange list, you should file a claim with the Veteran's Administration NOW!

It's easy to do, get your medical and military documentation in hand, load them into a computer, fill out the simple application online and your good to go. It will probably get denied, expect that. You want that date you filed on record because if every thing is approved, your disability payments will be retro active back to that date!

I got hit with prostate cancer. There is no history of any kind of cancer in my DNA at all, ever.

Good Luck.

September 27, 2018
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act

Here is the website that lists the 14 conditions/diseases that are associated with contamination from Agent Orange.

www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/conditions/

Vietnam Era vets (1964-May 1975) that were aboard Cochrane when she was in the coastal waters off Vietnam who have any of these conditions and can medically prove it, should file for compensation using VA Disability Compensation form  #21-526. This form can be completed and submitted online without ever having to visit a VA Center. You have nothing to lose. Crew members that fall into this category should also contact their US Senator and ask them to support the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act and get it moving into the Senate for approval.

The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 was signed into Public Law 116.23 on June
25th, 2019. If you served on a Navy/Coast Guard ship inside the 12 mile territorial waters of
Vietnam and you have one of the 14 medical conditions listed, then you can file a compensation
claim with the V.A. Don't Delay, it takes months to go through the huge VA system.

Don't trust magazine articles to list the correct ships and commands and where they served in
Vietnam. If you can file an Agent Orange compensation claim, on that form, and form 20-0995, you
can have the VA attempt to locate those specific ships logs for you. Those logs will show the position,
probably hour to hour, of where it was located and possibly long/lat. You are going to need specific
dates. It's going to take research on your part and hopefully the VA will assist you.

I've just now filed an appeal this week since my initial claim was denied last year. It's a lot of work to get it
approved but we deserve it.

Ships logs are located in the National Archives. Usually, veterans can write them and request copies of
their ships logs. However, due to the recent passage of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veteran's Act of 2019,
the VA is apparently expecting an increase in compensation applications and request for theses logs.

In response to the coming demand of ships logs to show lat/long positions, The National Archives has
shut down all inquires for ships logs until sometime in 2020, no date was given. They just started the
process of digitizing all the US Navy and Coast Guard ships logs from 1958-1978. Hopefully, the VA
will get access to these ships logs during this time period so they can complete compensation applications.