Vietnam War Veterans Health Issues
- Diseases related to Agent Orange: The toxic chemical used to clear trees and plants can cause long-term health effects.
- Hepatitis C: This disease can harm your liver.
- Hearing problems caused by noise: Harmful sounds from guns, explosives, rockets, heavy weapons, jets and aircraft, and machinery can cause or add to hearing loss and ringing in the ears.
- Illnesses or injuries caused by job-related hazards: You may have come across chemicals, paints, radiation, and other hazards.
- Mental health conditions and PTSD: Veterans who served in Vietnam, Cambodia, or Laos during the Vietnam War have a higher prevalence of mental health issues, particularly PTSD, compared with both other Vietnam-era Veterans and non-Veterans.
What you can do now
Take these steps to make sure you’re taking care of your health:
- Get your toxic exposure screening. This makes your VA health care team aware of any potential exposures to toxins during your military service.
- Talk to your primary health care provider or your local VA environmental health coordinatorabout other health concerns related to your military service. Remember, you can use Secure Messaging (sign in required) to send a private note to your doctor if you have any questions or worries.
- Ask your local VA environmental health coordinator about getting a free Agent Orange Registry health exam.
- Find out if you can get benefits from any illness or injury caused, or made worse, by your active-duty service, such as illness-related to Agent Orangeor contact with hazardous materials.
Be sure your doctor knows if you have a history of Agent Orange exposure. Because of the possibility of increased cancer risk, your doctor may suggest cancer screening tests and to report any symptoms as soon as they appear.
Expanded eligibility and benefits through the PACT Act
The PACT Act expands eligibility for VA health care for Veterans with toxic exposures and Veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras. The PACT Act also added 2 new Agent Orange presumptive conditions, 5 new Agent Orange presumptive-exposure locations, and 3 new radiation presumptive-exposure locations for Vietnam Era Veterans. To see a complete list of the new presumptive conditions and locations, visit The PACT Act and your VA benefits.
With a My HealtheVet Premium account, you can send your health care team a Secure Message to discuss any possible toxic exposure in your service history.
New VA Identification Card
“How do I prove that I’m a Veteran?” It’s a question often asked by those who once served in the military. Many businesses offer discounts to Veterans for restaurants, hotels, stores, recreational activities and even home improvement, among other perks. Former service members will want to take advantage of those opportunities.
First, you’ll want to apply for VA’s Veteran ID Card (VIC), which is a digital photo ID you can use to get those discounts. Since September 2022, all new Veteran ID cards have been digital. A Veteran with a physical ID card can continue using it to get discounts. The VIC is separate from the VA health care ID, which a Veteran receives when enrolling in VA health care.
If you have any questions or need help, email VA’s VIC program at vetidcard@va.gov.
Click here to apply online and login using your existing Login.gov, ID.me, DS Logon or MyHealtheVet account. A Veteran without any of these accounts can create a free Login.gov or ID.me account. If you are unable to submit your VIC application through VA.gov, please use Access VA.
When applying, make sure to have your social security number; a digital copy of your DD214, DD256, DD257 or NGB22 that you can upload; and a copy of a current and valid government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license, passport or state-issued identification card.
You’ll also need a digital color photo of yourself from the shoulders up. The photo should follow all of these standards:
- Show a full, front view of your face and neck with no hat, head covering or headphones covering or casting shadows on your hairline or face.
- Be cropped from your shoulders up much like a passport photo.
- Show you with your eyes open and in a neutral expression.
- Be taken in clothing you’d wear for a driver’s license photo.
- Be a square size and have a white or plain-color background with no scenery or other people in the photo.
- Show what you look like now, meaning a photo that is no older than 10 years old; it should be uploaded as a .jpeg, .png, .bmp or .tiff file.
A Veteran must meet certain criteria to be eligible for a VIC, including both of these requirements:
- Service on active duty, in the Reserve or in the National Guard, including the Coast Guard.
- Receipt of an honorable or general discharge under honorable conditions.
If the Veteran received an other-than honorable, bad conduct or dishonorable character of discharge, that person is not eligible for a Veteran ID card. If a Veteran has an uncharacterized or unknown discharge status, VA must verify that person’s eligibility before approving an application. The Veteran must provide a copy of his/her discharge papers when applying for a VIC to prove their character of discharge.
After a Veteran applies for a VIC, VA will check that person’s eligibility and verify that the character of discharge meets eligibility requirements, the ID submitted is valid and the image chosen to appear on the card meets photo requirements.
VA will then send an email letting the Veteran know the status of the application. If the Veteran has an unknown or uncharacterized discharge status, the application will take more time to process. VA may need to request your records from the National Personnel Records Center, part of the National Archives and Records Administration.
If a Veteran receives an email from VA asking for additional information or evidence to process the application, that person must sign in to AccessVA and update the application.
VA will send an email with the digital card attached if a Veteran is eligible for a Veteran ID Card.
For more information, email VA at vetidcard@va.gov. Dated 04/05/23
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