Vietnam Veterans Group Hosts Meeting in Northville on Lasting Effects of Agent Orange

A town hall meeting for Vietnam veterans who were exposed to and affected by Agent Orange and other dioxins will be held April 26 at Northville High School.

The event is sponsored by the Plymouth-Canton Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 528. The objective is to register voters, as well as inform veterans, their families and the community of some of the lasting effects of the dioxins used during the Vietnam War.

Dioxins can be carried in the DNA of the affected person for up to seven generations, the group says, citing National Academy of Sciences and Veterans Administration studies that link Agent Orange to 12 diseases, 38 cancers and 20 birth defects.

Speakers at the town hall meeting will include 11th District Congressman Kerry Bentivolio (R-Milford); Michigan state Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton); Edwin A. Martini, author of “Agent Orange, History, Science and the Politics of Uncertainty (Culture, Politics and the Cold War)”; George Claxton, past chair emeritus of the Vietnam Veterans of America; Army Capt. (Ret.) Sandie Wilson, who spent her entire tour of duty in Vietnam as a nurse; Lt. Col Jim Dempsey; and Korean War veteran Steve House.

The April 26 forum will take place from 9:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m., with registration beginning at 8 a.m. Service officers will be available to help veterans file claims

Online reservations are requested by April 1 at vvv.528.org, or by calling (734) 421-1805.