In , Vietnam, John Alberghini, like many of his brother veterans, was exposed to Agent Orange. Ed Mishard, his companion, was also exposed.
Mishard remarked,” We sprayed it out of our helicopter.”
Alberghini laughed and said,” Right on me.”
The signs of subjection to Agent Orange, a pesticides used by the U.S. war as a herbicide during the Vietnam War, are varied. There are more cancers at risk, including those linked to kidney and prostate cancer, as well as those linked to Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s condition, and hypertension. Many of those exposed practice numbness, tingling, and diabetes in their hands and feet.
Last year, Mishard and Alberghini were having a conversation with some companions who were all veterans of the war at a nearby fast food restaurant in Monroe. Some, if not all of those things, were present.
It persists, saying,” It doesn’t go away. It persists in your program. It might be dormant for many years, according to  . Pat Buzzeo, who is seated at the table.
One of my friends, I was with him there when he passed away from Agent Orange and developed body tumor. Some individuals comprehend it. Some individuals don’t, Alberghini said. Agent Orange is often called a rifle, I say that. You always know if you’re going to get your head blown off by it sitting up in there.
The group frequently joins as a member of the Hooks for Heroes organization. They go hunting and to other activities that benefit veterans, many of whom are handicapped or unemployed. On Friday, the majority of the talk around the table was centered on their concerns for the future and health care.
According to reports in Government Executive, a news website that covers government jobs issues, The , VA  may be on the verge of 83, 000 layoffs. However, Peter Kasperowicz, a spokesman for the company, stated by email that those cuts haven’t yet taken place.
The “VA , has established a framework to start the planning procedure for reforming the office, but has not yet made any officers changes,” he said. “VA , will go through a democratic process and look for ways to improve treatment and advantages for veterans without lowering attention and advantages for veterans.”
Last year, a so-called” dark hearing” was held by the United States ‘ Senator and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Up to 30 % of the agency’s staff are, according to some estimates, soldiers themselves.
The damage they individually will become painfully obvious today, according to Blumenthal,” These layoffs have disproportionately affected our, VA, and soldiers ‘ labor.” They have experienced doubt, financial stress, and emotional hardship in ways that I believe Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and other people need to understand.
Adjustments in health maintenance
Both Alberghini and Mishard claimed that soldiers ‘ health care was not very well organized when they returned home after the war. You would show up for your visit at the , VA , and waited. Finally, when , 4 p.m. , rolled around, they would be instructed to “go house, come back tomorrow.”
And I had a scheduled appointment, Mishard claimed. That’s how terrible it was in the early 1970s. However, it’s now much.
Ken Wielk, who was seated across the board from Alberghini, shared a related viewpoint.
I was tired when I returned home on leave. So my father said,” Why don’t you just go to the , VA, and see what they can do for it,” and he responded. I attended the VA because, in my opinion, I was the closest to a martial setup. I go there, and I spent the entire time there just to get an antibiotic.
The party agreed that it is different today.
” Tuesday, I had a regular session at neuroscience at the , VA. I put everything on my rear, did I make that up? Within five hours, Buzzeo, the president of Hooks for Heroes, called two specialists. He gave me a prescription and a blood test. Everything in an afternoon, and that is what you don’t get on the outside.
The party is concerned that they might go again to the , VA in the wake of a significant number of expected cuts, which was a hard time to get medical treatment there.
Yet, the organization itself stated that it won’t be reducing medical personnel.
We’re not talking about cutting down on medical staff or says processors; rather, we’re talking about cutting down on bureaucracy and problems that are preventing veterans ‘ comfort and support, Kasperowicz said.
However, that didn’t offer much of a comfort for Mishard, who claimed it wasn’t beneficial to lose any team.
He claimed that” they need more people.” They are currently understaffed, they say.
The party came to the conclusion that” there’s a lot of large when I go to hospitals,” which could be made more effectively. However, doctors also tend to spend more time with their clients than other physicians, usually for 30 days or more, according to VA and physicians. The soldiers at the tables were concerned about losing a certain amount of individual attention.
They will spend the first half-hour going through the entire process, and then they will get to their departmental manager. They will explain everything to them, including what they discovered in those information, Buzzeo said. You don’t need to visit another doctor around, they say. You don’t need to include two or three distinct viewpoints on what is happening. I wouldn’t give up on that, therefore.
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The New Haven Register was updated in 2025.
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