Months after his death, the Department of Defense is keeping the lid on a Navy document that shows a Pasco veteran was exposed to toxic herbicides on Guam.
It is a document that could help thousands of other veterans who claim they were also exposed to Agent Orange on the island.
“That document is, that’s our Rosetta Stone,” said Brian Moyer of Agent Orange Survivors of Guam.
“We’ve got everything except for that one document that says, ‘this is what was sprayed there, he was at this location,’ that would verify and validate everything we’ve been saying, everything!”
Despite EPA testing that shows traces of dioxin in Navy wells, the government denies it used Agent Orange on Guam. Dioxin is a deadly by-product of the acids 2,4,D and 2,4,5,T which are combined to make Agent Orange.
The powerful defoliant is linked to several diseases including cancers, Parkinsons and heart disease.
Lonnie Kilpatrick remembered living near a jungle on Guam that was sprayed one night and turned dead brown by the next morning.
Kilpatrick worked in electronic warfare during the Vietnam conflict, decoding enemy radio transmissions in 1971-72.
As his life slipped away in a hospital bed in early April, the VA denied his claim that exposure to Agent Orange affected his health.
“I didn’t walk out on them,” Kilpatrick told News Channel 8’s Steve Andrews. “They’ve abandoned me, they’ve abandoned everybody else.”
Our reports about Kilpatrick’s plight, got the attention of Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R)-Fl.
He requested the Department of Defense open Kilpatrick’s classified Navy records to see if there was anything that showed he was exposed to the deadly defoliant.
“He worked in a particular area where Agent Orange was definitely sprayed,” Congressman Bilirakis said.
In the 11th hour, the VA approved Lonnie’s disability benefits. Days later, he died.
8 On Your Side requested to see the evidence that showed Kilpatrick was exposed.
Veterans and lawyers from around the country reached out to us after our reports revealed the VA had approved Kilpatrick’s benefits.
The congressman’s office responded that it was “unable to obtain service records or the exact information that the VA considered due to the sensitivity of that information.”
Brian Moyer is among those who want to see that document and only that document.
“We’re not talking about what he did, or how he did it, or codes,” said Moyer. “We’re not talking about where submarines are patrolling or anything like that, we’re talking about herbicides. Talking about weed killer, a deadly weed killer.”
What’s classified about that?
“That’s a good question,” Moyer stated.
We pointed this out to Congressman Bilirakis during a telephone conversation on Thursday night. He agreed to send a letter to the Department of Defense, asking that the document be declassified so that other veterans might benefit.
If you have a problem that you think should be investigated call our 8 On Your Side helpline at 1-800-338-0808.
