Department of Veterans AffairsRegional OfficeJohn F. Kennedy Federal BuildingGovernment CenterBoston, NlA 02203-0393

Re: 301/21/SMSFile Number: 26 082 691George NI. Collins III

To whom it may concern,

I, George M. Collins III, make oath and do solemnly swear thefollowing as true, so help me god, under penalty of law. I was aSgt., service number AF11617165, and was a member of the USAFStrategic Air Command (SAC). My job specialty was AFSC 42350 AircraftElectrician, with seven level authorization, on flying status with a secretsecurity clearance in the 99th Bomb Wing Field Maintenance Squadron(FMS) assigned to the 4258th FMS. That squadron became the aoz" FMSand all of these units were part of the 8th Air Force. I was in service to ourgreat country from Nov. 1966 thru July 1970, and was stationed initially atWestover AFB, then at Utapao RTNAB, Thailand, from 1968 thru 1970. For7 months, beginning in 1969, ending in 1970, I was assigned to the AeroSpace Ground Equipment unit (AGE) at Utapao to rebuild MD 3 electricalgenerator carts used to power the aircraft parked on the ground. Theground around the AGE facility building was paved and around it wasdefoliated soil. The MD 3 units that I worked on were parked on thisdefoliated soil. The commendation I received for that work is included asevidence exhibit A. As the only electrician at AGE, my duties also includedrepairing any electrical problems on any equipment that was assigned to,part of, or used by AGE. Twice, I was given the task of diagnosing andrepairing a "Buffalo Turbine foggerlsprayer unit" which sprayed the baseconsistently for insects and defoliated the base perimeter and other areason the base, to maintain base defense. Just like all the other units, thesprayer/fogger unit was always parked in this area of defoliated soil in casethere was a chemical leak, and to clean out its chemical tank, therebynever requiring cleanup of the grounds.

The barracks that I lived in was located on the defoliated baseperimeter. I have included a map and pictures showing the exact location of

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those barracks at Utapao as exhibit B. I would often play my guitar on thedefoliated perimeter soil located behind the barracks, so as not to disturbothers in the barracks. On the night of an attack by Thai communists, whohad snea ked onto and crossed the base perimeter, I was hit from behindover the head and neck with an 8 foot long 2 x 4 piece of wood, puncturingmy scalp. I was knocked unconscious and went to the base hospital thatnight. The incident is in my medical record. It was the basis upon which Iwas service connected for headaches from that head and neck injury Isustained in service but without compensation. A copy of that finding isincluded as exhibit C.

I recall that I saw the "Bob Hope Christmas Show" twice at Utapao.The staqe was setup between two barracks. The viewing area to see theshow was on the defoliated perimeter. The other areas that were defoliatedon the base were the soft ball fields where I played softball, around themain gate, other entrances, and all other areas they did not wish to mow.The Klong River which ran thru the base next to the barracks was alsodefoliate<i, so as to be able to see any Thai communist infiltrators.

I witnessed the storage of chemical filled barrels/drums in variousplaces on the base. A picture marked exhibit D shows some drums at oneof those places on an outside rack on defoliated ground. The chemicaldrums with either orange, blue, or white banded stripes, containing the 3different defoliants that were used at Utapao, were kept in a locked shed atAGE surrounded by defoliated ground. They were stored along with thechemical barrels that did not have any colored bands which contained theinsecticides that were used at Utapao. The insecticide barrels stored in thatshed were Malathion, along with another insecticide, both of which had askull and cross bones marking on the label. We were instructed to usegauntlet rubber gloves, rubber aprons and eye protective goggles whenhandling the insecticides because their labels were marked with skull andcross bones. The defoliant drums had no such markings, and on twoseparate occasions I got defoliant substance on my skin while I wasrepairing the sprayer/fogger parked at AGE, and immediately washed it offwith water. I was continually cleaning this brownish black tarry substanceoff of the soles and heals of my boots. I did this because a year or soearlier while assigned to the 4258 FMS Aircraft Electric Shop at Utapao, Ihad the misfortune of working on an "Operation Ranch Hand" aircraft thataborted its spray mission, and had an emergency landing at Utapao.Although not assigned to my base, repairs were needed to fix some brokenwiring, which kept the "Hayes Dispenser" on board the aircraft from

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spraying, I was the person that was sent out to diagnose and repair thataircraft, because I was the top diagnostician of the aircraft electric shop. Iwas the only honor student at the aircraft electrician's school at ChanuteAFB, Rantool, IL, and my shop chief knew that I could very quickly figureout any electrical problem. During that particular repair I found out that thisaircraft was from a northern Thai air base, and was attempting to spray alocation in South Vietnam, a secret location which they would not divulge.While kneeling to make the repairs, my pant legs became soaked with themilky white liquid substance that was on the floor of the aircraft. I was toldby the aircrafts' crew chief that this liquid was in fact Agent Orange. By thetime it dried it turned into a brownish black tarry substance which burnedmy skin. I reported to sick call the next morning, and was told that I hadgotten a chemical burn, which had now blistered the skin. I was given acream to apply to that burn which I believe was Hydrocortisone. Thatblistering rash reappeared continually during the rest of my time on activeduty in the service. For ten plus years after I got out of the service, thatblistering rash continued to reappear. The VA has denied all my claims forservice connection to Agent Orange. However, in contradiction to the VA'sdenial of service connection, starting in the 1980s, the VA put my name onthe AO registry, which still sends me the AO update newsletters every year.I began visiting the VA as a patient just after I was discharged from theUSAF in July 1970, complaining of different problems I was having. The VAhas denied service connection and compensation for most of them, exceptconversion reaction (which is now called PTSD) for 50 %, and low back,neck, and headache pain for which they awarded "0%" compensation withservice connection in 1977. The PTSD compensation was lowered to 30%in 1984 because upon re-examination the VA decided that my PTSD hadimproved. Please find exhibit E as proof of this. My PTSD had improvedbecause I had seen Dr. Weiss of Newton, Massachusetts, a civilianpsychiatrist who treated me for the memories of my service in the USAF.After the sessions with Dr. Weiss I stopped sleeping with a hand gun undermy pillow. For a long time after that, the people around me told me I didn'tseem as angry as I used to be all the time. Because I was able to controlmy anger issues I was now able to keep jobs longer than 1 year.

I was diagnosed by the VA in April 2007 with Follicular Non-Hodgkin'sLymphoma, the symptoms of which began in 2004. My only symptom in2004 was profuse sweating day and night. My civilian doctor tested me formany months for every known malady which my private health careinsurance would allow, but found no explanation for the sweating symptom.

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He and I suspected the sweating was caused by my exposure to AO. Heknew I had served in the Air Force so he asked me to go to the VA forfurther testing and diagnosis. The VA ran every test you can think of,including an MRI, in an effort to explain my sweating symptom, and myother major complaint of severe low back pain. The results of the MRIshowed !Jolf ball sized lymph nodes in my abdomen. Before I had a chanceto tell my new doctors, VA Oncologists Drs Bauer and Fallon, they askedme if I recalled coming in contact with AD. I told them that I had. I alsomentioned that I was stationed in Thailand and that I worked in Vietnam ona limited basis when my repair skills were needed there. The USAF wouldfly me in for the day on secret missions, which necessitated my boots being"on the ground". I cannot disclose the details of these missions because Ihave sworn to those who gave me secret clearance and signed adocument stating so.

In the opinion of Dr. Bauer, the particular type of cancer I have wasdiaqnosed as a form caused by the dioxin present in defoliants used inVietnam. Enclosed please find notes from Dr Bauer indicating same,marked exhibit F. Nine months of chemotherapy commenced, after which Iwas temporarily in remission. Remission was short lived and a new moreaggressive form of the same cancer had to be dealt with. Three moremonths of intensively debilitating chemotherapy took place. For my nextphase of treatment, I was sent to Seattle, Washington's Puget Sound VAhospital for a life threatening bone marrow stem cell transplant. Thistreatment lasted for three months. Since my return home, I have hadcontinuous blood testing, periodic Pet and CT scans, and oncologycheckups to make sure the cancer is under control.

lance again state that while traveling to and from Thailand on WorldAirways, I landed in Vietnam and had "boots on the ground". I have seenpostings on the web from other service people that were stationed inThailand and can confirm that the planes that took me from the continentalUnited States to Thailand and brought me back from Thailand, 6 flights intotal, did stop in Vietnam to let GI's off or pick GI's up. On one flight, thecommercial airliner I flew in landed at Danang, Vietnam, and we got off tofly on a different plane flying directly to Utapao, Thailand. Another plane Iflew in landed in Saigon, Vietnam to pick up GI's returning to the UnitedStates. In support of my contention that I landed in the country of Vietnamenclosed please find copies of statements/affidavits witnessing this fromformer World Airways employees/commercial airline personnel, attesting tothe fact of "in country" landings marked exhibits G.

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I am also submitting other veterans' affidavits in support of theveracity and truth of my sworn statements, marked exhibits H.

Since April 2007, with all of my cancer treatments, with the realizationthat I may not survive the cancer, along with the preparation of the claims Ihave had to file to establish service connection to exposure to AgentOrange, and the re-examining and reliving of my job duties overseas in theUSAF, have all caused a return of my PTSD memories of Utapao,Thailand, and my Vietnam experience. I have great difficulty sleeping atnight. I am currently being treated weekly for this by the VA at the PTSDcenter, on the 12th and 13th floors in the Jamaica Plain VA hospital.

Prior to my diagnosis of Follicular Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in April2007, I worked as an automotive diagnostician and ASE certified master L1auto repair technician at Totten Pond Shell, Waltham, Massachusetts. Ihave not worked at Totten Pond Shell since April 2007. Additionally I ambarely surviving on food stamps, and my semi-retired 70 year old girlfriendis struggling to help with my support. I have included a letter from TottenPond Shell stating how debilitating my cancer treatments were in 2007,marked exhibit J.

The VA doctors have done a great job of extending my life medicallyto this point, but financially I am ruined. I have lost my ability to earn a livingin my chosen field. I do not have the energy or stamina to perform anyphysical activity. I find I have to rest most of the time. My VA oncologistshave told me not to work for one or more years. They have also told methat they will be testing me continually for the rest of my life for anythingfurther that the AO may have caused. I feel sick all the time. I also feel I willneed psychiatric counseling for the rest of my life for those PTSD memoriesand the anger I now feel.

Sincerely, ..%~ /J..//<- ,~ /11c!t~.c.,"

George M. Collins III SS # 029-34-2534120 Locust LaneNeedham, MA 02492-1014

Enclosed/attached are Exhibits numbers A thru JSigned and notarized this date

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