I’ve been seeing rumors on the internet about “large” settlements for veterans suffering injuries or maladies after exposure to AFFF Fire-Fighting Foam as used throughout the Navy and at some Air Force and Army aviation facilities.
Apparently, there are several non-VA organizations preparing lawsuits about AFFF Foam and are looking for veterans to sign up for possible payouts for a list of medical problems including many kinds of cancer. You can find a list of these private businesses by Googling “PACT Act AFFF Settlement.”
Be careful; these businesses are out to make a buck. My advice is to stick with the VA directly. My own experience with the Foam was Navy Fire-Fighting training in 1969. Every sailor was exposed during this training and the instructors even let us taste it to prove how safe it was; it tasted like roadkill. Every Navy ship had a supply of this stuff in five-gallon cans for fighting shipboard class-B fires (flammable liquids).
Just apply to the VA if you’ve had a medical problem you believe was caused by AFFF Foam.
Last month, our Freedom Dogs event was canceled along with the Independence Day Parade in Houston because of storms and heavy rain. That left us with a lot of frankfurters and buns with nobody to feed. We were glad to be able to provide these all-beef hot dogs to Texas County Memorial Hospital for Employee Appreciation Day on the 15th of July. The hospital dietary department provided chili and beans and a dozen members of American Legion Post 41 served them out free of charge at the hospital cafeteria.
Afterward, 38 packages of leftover hotdog buns were donated to the Texas County Food Pantry. Everybody was happy!
Texas County area veterans organizations:
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 473 meets on the last Thursday of each month at 1800 at their Post Meeting Hall on Highway 63 north of Cabool.
- American Legion Post 559 meets at 1800 on the second Tuesday of each month at the VFW Post 6337 meeting hall in Licking.
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6337 meets each third Monday of the month at 1730 in Licking at their Meeting Hall on Main Street just south of Highway 32.
- Fleet Reserve Association Branch 364 meets at 1430 every fourth Sunday of each month at the American Legion Post 41 meeting hall in Houston. The FRA exists to serve all veterans and active-duty members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard.
- American Legion Post 41 meets at 1800 on the second Thursday of each month at their meeting hall on the west end of Chilton Oil Company in Houston (just north of Pizza Hut). Changes to membership eligibility now allow U.S. veterans of all branches and periods of service to join the American Legion.
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7222 meets at 1800 on the first Thursday of each month at their meeting hall just east of Summersville.
Houston resident Robert E. Simpson is a retired U.S. Navy chief electronics technician who served from 1969 to 1990. His columns are posted online at www.houstonherald.com. Email gfjjkaa@gmail.com.