And getting little to no help from the government which sent them over there. No wonder so many of them ended up a mess like Mr. Ebeltoft and my friend, Bill.
Rest in peace, Mr. Ebeltoft.
@Applewood Oh,it was MUCH worse than that. I got medivaced from VN for "Tropical Acne" that covered my whole torso,front and rear. Because of this I was put on a permanent physical profile stating I coun't get dirty or sweaty,and that I had to be able to take hot water showers daily. It also meant I was effectively kicked out of SF because I obviously couldn't wear wear gear,a rucksack,or go on patrols.
The result was I was medivaced from VN to the Special Warfare Center because I still had a SF MOS,and after a couple of months there it became obvious it wasn't going away anytime soon,so they promoted me and sent me to the conventional army. It's really hard to say who hated that more,me or the regular army.
I ended up getting discharged a few months later after being offered another promotion if I would volunteer to go to VN with that Company Commander at Bragg and be his driver/bodyguard/whatever. Mostly a office and air-conditioning job with NO time in the jungle. The thing is I MISSED my time in the jungle,and to this very day have not had any nightmares about VN. Hell,I still miss it. So do most of the VN vets I know well enough to talk about this with.
Anyhow,I got ZERO disability for "tropical acne" after getting out,which really pissed me off because I had been offered medical retirement if I wanted it. I didn't want it because I was hoping I could get better and go back on a team and work with people I liked and respected.
Maybe 6 years later "Agent Orange" became a "thing",but I pretty much ignored it because it had mostly quit being a problem. Still had a few cysts and sores,but no more green pus running out of my armpits or open sores on my torso.
Then AO became a BIG "thing" and announcements were made on tv that any vet that thought he might have been exposed to in VN needed to go to the nearest VN hospital for a VERY through physical exam. So,what the hell,I went. VA docs were their usual assholes,coming right out and telling me,and I am assuming the others,that the whole thing was a scam to try to rip the government off for money,and all I needed to do was start taking baths and it would go away.
I MAY have told that doctor a few things he didn't want to hear,and most likely made some suggestions impossible,painful, and rude. Didn't really give a damn because I knew they were going find a reason to not pay me anyhow.
Guess what? The exam came back positive for Agent Orange,and I was awarded an additional 30 percent disability rating for it. That wasn't the good news,though. The good news was I guess I pissed off that cowardly punk of a doctor into falsifying my medical medical records,because on the same page as the announcement that I was now rated at 30 percent disabled due to Agent Orange exposure,they took away the 20 percent disability rating I had on my back due to a parachuting injury in training. The awards letter actually stated my back had healed.
What made this the good news is I had taken the test to work for the post office and passed it,but at the employment interview the metrosexual puddle of pus whose job it was to screen me turned me down "because you have a history of back trouble". That's right,I instantly had my back "healed by VA Doctor",and the post office had no choice but to hire me. I went back and demanded they hire me because I was a disabled vet that had passed their test,and when the puke looked up my prior application he happily informed me that "We have proof you have a bad back right here!",and I happily told him "I have proof it is healed right here!",and pointed to that paragraph on my award letter. I may have added a Mo Fo or two for emphasis.
You would think I had just stomped a bunch of kittens to death after shooting Santa out of the sky from his reaction. He had no choice but to hire me,but you could see it clearly broke his heart.
I was lucky enough to work as a lettercarrier for 5 years before the Agent Orange decided to pay me a visit again,and the Post Office forced me to retire. The good news is this time I didn't walk away penniless with no income.
And to think I almost didn't bother to go for the physical because they had already turned me down for disability a couple of times,and even told me I was trying to rip off the VA for a pension. Hadn't been for that I MIGHT not have made all those suggestions to the doctor that decided to screw me by lying about my back problems.
Karma just happened to be sitting on my shoulder that day at the VA. It sure wasn't the result of any sort of clever plan on my part. I only went because I didn't have anything else to do,so I figured I would amuse myself by screwing with them.