Veterans frustrated by claims backlog

Many military veterans frustrated by claims backlog, 'endless' process
By CASEY SMITH
World Staff Writer
Published: 10/15/2012

U.S. Marine Ralph Henderson brought a combination of physical and mental problems back from the area near the Vietnamese port city of Da Nang, where he was stationed in 1968 and 1969.

Exposure to Agent Orange, the highly toxic herbicide he was covered in on multiple occasions, caused heart blockage, Henderson said. He also had head lacerations from combat and hearing loss in both ears from "too many big guns going off" next to his head, he said.

But the post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, outweighs Henderson's physical problems.

"You really never get over that stuff, but you just learn to cope with it better," Henderson said. "You just have these images burned into your brain."

Images of injured children stick with the 66-year-old Mannford resident most.

One painful scene occurred during operations near the Cambodian border. North Vietnamese soldiers were firing at U.S. forces. Henderson was fixing a fan shaft on an armored amphibious assault vehicle stuck in a river swelled by monsoon season.

An enemy artillery shell hit and exploded at a grade school while he was working. A girl around 7 came running up to Henderson carrying her little sister. The toddler's leg had been blown off. He sent them to the Corps' medic and kept working.

"You never know what happens to those people," he said.
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