Barbara’s Dad
By Pat Elder
July 26, 2025
Military Poisons regularly receives letters from around the world, many from women whose husbands, fathers, or they themselves became seriously ill after exposure to toxic substances during military service. These deeply personal stories—filled with grief, anger, and unanswered questions—offer a powerful reminder of the human cost of military contamination.
A recent message came from Barbara, a devoted daughter seeking help for her ailing father. She believes he was exposed to Agent Orange while stationed at Fort Ord and is now fighting to secure the level of health care he desperately needs and deserves. Her story reflects the ongoing struggle of thousands of families affected by toxic military exposures — and underscores the urgent need for truth, accountability, and care.
Barbara wrote:
Dear Honorable Caring Advocates of Veterans:
I have perused your articles in militarypoisons.com and online and am very grateful for the noble work you are doing for Veterans and humanity.
I have been a caregiver for my very ill Veteran Father who was at Fort Ord, Ca. He has an extreme case of Parkinson’s and other very challenging co-morbidities, such as a history of tumors, sinus, bronchial/breathing issues and more..
Currently, my father is in the VA Hospital and I am looking for info/ articles/ Scientific Publications and any help I can to help FINALLY get my father service connected - which would be the only way to get him the proper care that he deserves-- and his current medical situation has become very complex and I am unfortunately not enough - he needs a TEAM of people to be cared for properly.
The way the VA works is that care is very limited if you don't have service connection - which he deserved to have years ago -- and I am feverishly looking for info to relate Parkinson's and help the VA to recognize his chemical exposure there.
My father's history during service shows endless visits to sick hall for migraines, rashes, nausea, nightmares and more. My father got so sick and was so gaslighted - that he sought off base help, as he didn't get the care he needed on base.
I believe that his long history of tumors since service and Parkinson's more likely than not is linked back to service.
Any advice or scientific articles, EVIDENCE, or recommendations that you suggest ABOUT AGENT ORANGE AT FORT ORD, CA.
Please help my sick father!!
My sincere gratitude and God bless you!
Barbara
Daughter of a great Veteran
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Thank you, Barbara.
Parkinson’s disease is officially recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a presumptive condition linked to exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War and at various other military sites where they say these toxic chemicals have been deployed.
The Monstrous Injustice of Agent Orange Denial
“Presumptive” status means that veterans do not have to prove a direct link between their illness and military service—if they served in a location the Department of Defense acknowledges was contaminated by Agent Orange. But Fort Ord is not on that coveted list—nor are more than a hundred other U.S. military installations where Agent Orange was used, stored, or dumped.
This is an unbearable truth. Veterans who were stationed at these locations are suffering and dying without the care or recognition they deserve. Their families are left fighting impossible battles for justice. It is a monstrous injustice—one that continues to unfold while the government refuses to admit the full extent of its toxic legacy.
This truth is glaringly absent from the national conversation. You won’t see it covered on CNN, Fox, or MSNBC, and you won’t read about it in the New York Times or the Washington Post —media outlets that suck on the teat – outlets that draw heavily from the advertising budgets and influence of the very military-industrial complex President Eisenhower warned us about over 60 years ago.
Their silence enables the ongoing neglect. While veterans and their families struggle with devastating illnesses linked to toxic exposures, the institutions that should inform and protect the public remain complicit in suppressing the scale of this crisis.
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Please support our work. See below for the costs
associated with environmental testing at Fort Ord
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"Preponderance of the Evidence"
In civil law, the standard of proof is called preponderance of the evidence. It simply means that something is more likely true than not. Yet despite overwhelming evidence showing that Agent Orange was used at a hundred U.S. bases—including credible testimony, environmental records, and eyewitness accounts—the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to deny care and compensation to thousands of veterans.
Veterans have come to describe the VA’s logic as a cruel game of “three strikes and you’re out”:
www.va.gov/vetapp21/Files12/21072205.txt
Strike One: You were never in Vietnam, Korea, or Thailand.
Strike Two: There was no Agent Orange at ______ base
Strike Three: You didn’t have Parkinson’s while you were stationed there, or until many years thereafter.
(Parkinson’s disease can develop many decades after exposure to Agent Orange. The latency period between exposure to the herbicide and the onset of symptoms varies, but delayed onset is well-documented.)
I’m sorry, Barbara, I know how unbearable it must be to watch your dad suffer while being denied the care he earned. But according to the VA’s rules—rules designed to avoid responsibility rather than pursue truth—your father has “struck out.”
And yet, that doesn’t mean we stop fighting. On the contrary, this is the reason we must speak louder, organize stronger, and demand justice—not just for your dad, but for the countless others suffering in silence.
Google: va.gov "citation nr:" "agent orange" Fort Ord . Substitute the name of the base, add words like “children” “McClellan,” “leukemia,” etc.
“The Veteran and appellant reported that, while stationed at Fort Ord from September 1968 to December 1968, he was detailed to spray Agent Orange for weed control and clear unwanted vegetation on the perimeter and all the ranges. He indicated that herbicides were stored in warehouses located away from the barracks, in barrels marked with orange and purple stripes, and he never wore any protective gear while spraying.”
The Veteran alleged his lung, and prostate cancers were caused by exposure to Agent Orange at Fort Ord. The VA responded, “Such disorders are on the list of diseases presumed to be related to exposure to herbicide agents. However, the Veteran's alleged in-service exposure to herbicide agents has not been verified.”
https://www.va.gov/vetapp22/Files3/A22005243.txt
Deadly Semantics
In 2006, the Department of Defense published a history of its herbicide programs, introducing a distinction that would go on to deny care to thousands of veterans: the difference between “tactical” and “commercial” herbicides.
This is not science—it is propaganda.
The DOD report states:
“Various estimates have circulated on the internet as to the number
of sites where veterans may have been exposed to Agent Orange
and ‘other herbicides’ used in Vietnam. There is, however, significant
confusion by veterans and by the Department of Veterans Affairs
as to the distinction between ‘commercial herbicides’ used by the
DoD and ‘tactical herbicides’ used by the DoD.”
According to the DOD, tactical herbicides were specially formulated for combat use (e.g., Agent Orange), while commercial herbicides—containing the same active ingredients - 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T - were used for base maintenance, vegetation control, and other “non-combat” purposes. The 2006 report identified 40 distinct locations across 32 sites outside Vietnam where “tactical herbicides” were tested.
But the chemicals are identical in composition and effect. Dioxin is deadly—whether sprayed to clear jungle in Vietnam or to control poison oak in the California chaparral.
The distinction is bureaucratically convenient but scientifically meaningless and ethically bankrupt. Its sole purpose has been to shield the U.S. government from responsibility. The result is a policy both senseless and lethal—a mechanism of delay, denial, and deflection.
This is more than a semantic trick. It is a deliberate act of institutional cruelty. And it is criminal.
Unborn Vietnamese baby deformed by Agent Orange.
The Toxic Legacy of Agent Orange
To review, Agent Orange is a 50:50 blend of two herbicides: 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T.
2,4-D, though deadly, is still sold in hardware stores as a defoliant. While 2,4,5-T was officially banned in the United States in 1979, its toxic legacy remains. The compound and its deadly contaminant—dioxin—can persist in soil, dust, and smoke for as long as a hundred years.
The government knew as early as 1965 that 2,4,5-T caused severe birth defects in animal studies. Still, it continued to spray millions of gallons of Agent Orange across Vietnam and other locations around the world and across the U.S. It worked better than anything else. To this day, federal agencies downplay the dangers of dioxin and obscure the full extent of its use and consequences.
The infamous contaminant in Agent Orange is 2,3,7,8-TCDD, a specific form of dioxin considered one of the most toxic substances ever studied. Dioxin is a potent carcinogen, an endocrine disruptor, and an immune system suppressant. It can cause serious biological harm at concentrations as low as parts per trillion.
One dying veteran summed it up plainly: “Agent Orange is bad ass shit.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. This was a weapon of mass destruction sprayed not only on enemy territory, but on American service members, foreign civilians, and U.S. soil.
Some horrible effects of Agent Orange:
A Monumental Crime
The U.S. Army insists that tactical herbicides like the Agent Orange used in Vietnam were never sprayed at Fort Ord, California. But the record says otherwise.
Historical evidence shows that Fort Ord was sprayed with pure 2,4,5-T. At times, the herbicides used at Fort Ord were deadlier than those deployed in Vietnam. For years, the Army routinely treated up to 9,000 acres of Fort Ord’s landscape with various concentrations of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T.
Julie’s Database
Julie Akey has compiled an anonymous database of nearly 1,800 veterans and family members who lived at Fort Ord and now suffer from a wide range of serious health conditions—many linked to Agent Orange and dioxin exposure.
Whether Barbara’s father appears in this database is unknown because Julie collected the data with the promise that everyone’s identity would be protected.
The Department of Defense and the VA continue to deny the use of Agent Orange at Fort Ord and more than a hundred other U.S. bases, where veterans report exposure and illness.
And so, time and time again, they are denied care. The truth is horrifying. This is mass murder.
Many within the military understand this. They cannot silence every retired officer, contractor, or whistleblower who bore witness to the spraying, the illnesses, and the aftermath. The crime is so vast, and the suffering so profound, that the United States government—through the Pentagon and the Veterans Administration—made a conscious choice: to conceal the truth from the American people rather than accept the staggering cost of caring for the millions who became sick, died, or are still suffering.
Do you think they’ll let me on CNN?
This is a national disgrace. And it must be exposed.
Evidence of Agent Orange use at Fort Ord
Barbara asked us for evidence of Agent Orange use at Fort Ord. Finding it was easy with ChatGPT—short for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer. This artificial intelligence tool was developed by a company called OpenAI. ChatGPT is a chatbot, meaning it's a computer program designed to simulate conversation and generate human-like responses.
From ChatGPT July 19, 2025:
I entered: “Evidence of Agent Orange at Fort Ord” (my comments follow in bold italics.)
ChatGPT: Several lines of evidence suggest the presence and use of Agent Orange or herbicides with similar compositions at Fort Ord, a former US Army base in California, despite official denials by the Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA). (Unlike Google, ChatGPT cites my work first and foremost.)
Letter from national expert calls for Fort Ord to be added to the DoD list of locations where Agent Orange was stored and used - May 8, 2024
The Pentagon denies using Agent Orange at Fort Ord - April 18, 2024
https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/the-pentagon-denies-using-agent-orange-at-fort-ordnbsp
Evidence of toxic herbicide use including Agent Orange at Fort Ord, CA – April 5, 2024
(I don’t know how CHATGpt works, but I am impressed with the results it returns. I am worried by the thought that they sure know a lot about me from the questions I’ve been asking. CHATGpt is a free service, and we know nothing is for free.)
I entered: "VA rejections of army veterans claiming they were sickened by Agent Orange while they served at Fort Ord."
ChatGPT said: Many U.S. Army veterans who served at Fort Ord during the Vietnam era have had VA disability claims denied, despite serious illnesses such as prostate cancer, citing Agent Orange exposure, due to VA’s current policy that Fort Ord is not recognized as a presumptive location. Here’s a breakdown:
ChatGPT, cont. -VA's Current Policy & Claim Denials
The VA presumes herbicide exposure (like Agent Orange) only for veterans who served in specific locations and timeframes, such as Vietnam (1962–75) or near the Korean DMZ (1967–71), or who worked with C‑123 aircraft known to be contaminated. https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/hazardous-materials-exposure/agent-orange/
Fort Ord is not on the approved presumptive location list. The VA states there is no Defense Department documentation of Agent Orange being used, tested, or stored there. This report is based on our research: (From California News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service Collaboration) https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2024-06-03
As a result, many veterans—especially those diagnosed with prostate cancer, which is a recognized presumptive condition—have received denials. VA denial letters often state their illnesses are more likely age-related rather than service-connected. This report is also based on our research: From California News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service Collaboration https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2024-06-03
ChatGPT, cont. -
Evidence & Advocacy Efforts
Researchers and veterans’ advocates have uncovered documents indicating use of herbicides like 2,4,5‑T on Fort Ord, sometimes to control vegetation like poison oak. Though formally not recognized as “Agent Orange,” these chemicals included harmful dioxins. (A team of Fort Ord Veterans and activists compiled this website.) https://www.fortordcontamination.org/veterans-claims?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Despite documents and anecdotal testimony, no veteran serving at Fort Ord has yet successfully received VA benefits based solely on presumed herbicide exposure at that base. https://www.fortordcontamination.org/veterans-claims?utm_source=chatgpt.com
VA proposed in early 2024 to expand offset presumptive Agent Orange exposure eligibility to 17 domestic U.S. military bases, but Fort Ord was not included, citing DoD’s 2019 review finding no documentation.
This report is also based on our research: From California News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service Collaboration https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2024-06-03
ChatGPT, cont. -
Real Veteran Experiences
Veteran claimants and advocates share frustration over systematic denials:
“The VA often copies and pastes these words when rejecting claims from veterans: ‘The record does not reflect that the Veteran served in Vietnam.… fails to establish that the Veteran was exposed to toxic herbicides while serving at Fort Ord, California.’ In other words, you couldn’t be suffering from Agent Orange exposure at Fort Ord because it wasn’t there.” (This also cites Military Poisons.)
“Until Fort Ord is recognized by the VA as a presumptive site, it’s probably going to be a long, difficult struggle to get some kind of compensation.”
ChatGPT, cont. -
You said: Please provide specific Fort Ord documentation sources to support my case.
ChatGPT said:
Here are key source documents and evidence you can cite to support your Agent Orange exposure claim related to Fort Ord:
1. U.S. Army Agronomist Report on Poison Oak Control (1951–1956)
Provides detailed descriptions of spraying 2,4‑D and 2,4,5‑T (the two components of Agent Orange) across thousands of acres to control poison oak. Supports existence of herbicide operations on training grounds. https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/evidence-of-toxic-herbicide-use-including-agent-orange-at-fort-ord-ca-3?rq=evidence
2. The Military Engineer (1956)
An article by Major Sam E. Alden in The Military Engineer journal confirms the use of 2,4‑D and 2,4,5‑T on Fort Ord, framing it as a substantial component in vegetation control.
https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/evidence-of-toxic-herbicide-use-including-agent-orange-at-fort-ord-ca-3?rq=evidence
3. 1980 Department of the Army Memorandum & Veteran’s Claim (VA Citation 1235530, 2012)
Includes sworn testimony and a letter from the Army stating that Fort Ord’s Pest Control Shop maintained records (from January 1973 onward) clearly listing usage of 2,4‑5‑T and 2,4‑D. https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/evidence-of-toxic-herbicide-use-including-agent-orange-at-fort-ord-ca-3?rq=evidence
4. Hazardous Waste Minimization Assessment (1991)
Documents that Fort Ord used roughly 80,000 pounds per year of herbicides, including 2,4‑5‑T. Confirms large-scale chemical application on post. https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/evidence-of-toxic-herbicide-use-including-agent-orange-at-fort-ord-ca-3?rq=evidence
5. RCRA Closure Plan (mid‑1990s)
Fort Ord’s RCRA “Part A” permit lists EPA waste code F027, indicating storage of up to 1,000 lbs of 2,4‑5‑T (a primary Agent Orange component) at the DRMO Hazardous Waste Container Storage Unit. https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/evidence-of-toxic-herbicide-use-including-agent-orange-at-fort-ord-ca-3?rq=evidence
6. Record of Decision – Fritzsche Army Airfield (1995)
Army Corps of Engineers report shows TCDD, the dioxin contaminant in 2,4‑5‑T, found in soil at 3.5 ppt—above remediation goals. https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/evidence-of-toxic-herbicide-use-including-agent-orange-at-fort-ord-ca-3?rq=evidence
7. Media Coverage & Advocacy Summaries
A KFF Health News article (April 2024) outlines these same sources, condemning the VA/DoD for excluding Fort Ord despite documented evidence. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/26/us-agent-orange-exposure-not-covered-va/73451111007/
An April 2024 piece on MilitaryPoisons.org highlights the same studies (engineer report, agronomist memo, RCRA plan, hazardous waste review, soil testing). https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/the-pentagon-denies-using-agent-orange-at-fort-ordnbsp?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Like the CHATGpt search, I entered: “Evidence of Agent Orange at Fort Ord” into a Google search. The results were disappointing
Google provides two links to the meticulously cited evidence we published, but it is buried after a mountain of government propaganda. Until recently, Google would never have included a direct link to Military Poisons, so there is movement in the right direction.
Google Images 7 of the first 12 images shown are from Military Poisons. This is a vast improvement over the last several months.
Google News There are 3 news items – one from a reprint of the Hannah Norman & Patricia Kime piece in the Louisiana Illuminator and two from the VA. This is also a recent improvement.
Short videos - All of the short videos reflect the VA’s line.
Like the CHATGpt and google searches, I entered: “Evidence of Agent Orange at Fort Ord” into a Microsoft Bing search:
.
These results demonstrate remarkable improvement in coverage.
I don’t know why ChatGPT only mentioned prostate cancer. Certainly, Chronic B-cell leukemias, Hodgkin’s disease, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Multiple myeloma, Lung cancer, Soft tissue sarcomas, Bladder cancer, Chloracne, Diabetes mellitus type 2, Ischemic heart disease, and Parkinson’s disease deserve mention.
Those who diagnose and treat cancer are heroes. Those trying to figure what causes cancer are enemies of the state.
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At the end of my reports, I include a segment on fundraising, which, in this line of community service, is life sustaining.
I’m working with a wonderful group of Fort Ord veterans and activists. We have raised $10,000 to purchase testing kits for use at the former Fort Ord - in Seaside and Marina California, where the Army says vast areas of the deadly Superfund site are suitable for development. We hope to perform our testing sometime in September.
We will conduct testing in the following environmental media, using the kits described below:
Soil Testing kits
Dioxin in soil test kit ($699)
Tap water testing kits
TCE, PCE, CT and other toxins ($290)
PFAS tap water testing ($79)
Stream water
TCE, PCE, CT and other toxins ($290)
U-238 Isotope Water Test kit ($349)
PFAS surface water testing ($79)
Human blood serum
PFAS pin-prick blood testing ($279)
Volatile Organic Compounds in the air
Various VOC air exposure tests ($246)
Home vapor monitor for multiple VOC’s ($125)
Carbon Tetrachloride vapor monitor ($60)
Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl Benzene, Xylene air test kit ($60)
Trichloroethylene vapor monitor ($45)
Perchloroethylene Vapor Monitor ($45)
One round of testing will cost $2,646 so we must prioritize our spending carefully. Dioxin testing kits are extremely expensive—but if we can confirm the presence of dioxin in the soil, we may be able to halt the Army’s reckless plan for a prescribed burn this fall.
Toxic remnants from a precribed burn at Fort Ord.
Agent Orange was sprayed across thousands of acres at Fort Ord. During a burn, dioxin residues become airborne—posing a grave health threat to surrounding communities.
The stated purpose of prescribed burns is to detonate unexploded ordnance (UXOs). But these burns do more than clear munitions—they also incinerate wildlife and propel toxic chemicals into the air. The resulting explosions and fires aerosolize contaminants, which then settle in our lungs, water, and soil.
One environmental advocate described the process bluntly: “They blow all the shit up, grade it out, plant seed, and then turn it into housing developments and strip malls.”
This is not cleanup—it’s cover-up.
These toxins are known to become
airborne during prescribed burns.
Please support our work. If you’ve already sent money, please don’t be upset at me for not acknowledging your gift. I will when the trip is over.