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Veteran gets attention with call to Heller’s office

John R. Stites’s “Help wanted” letter to the editor on Sept. 8 mirrors my experience with Congresswoman Jacky Rosen’s office.

In 1968, I served in Thailand as an Air Force construction engineer. One of our primary duties was to provide perimeter security.

A few years ago, through a friend whose husband got lung cancer from being exposed to Agent Orange, I learned of this problem and the VA compensation program for the first time. Most of the Agent Orange defoliant was sprayed around the perimeter of bases in Vietnam and Thailand, where our squadron did much of its work. This made me think that some of my health problems could be associated with exposure to Agent Orange.

Based on this information, I decided to get checked out at the local Veterans Hospital. After almost two years of getting test after test, I decided to contact the offices of Sen. Heller and Rep. Rosen for help. Rep. Rosen’s office never got back to me, but Sen. Heller’s assistant for veterans affairs contacted me in a few days. After taking all my information, my Agent Orange medical compensation was approved by the VA within 3 months.

Now, who would you say is more concerned about our veterans?

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