Jan. 2019,Court Rules VA must Consider Agent Orange
Claims made by Blue Water Sailors
Blue Water Service Agent Orange
      
A Widow's Experience with an Agent Orange Claim
Webmaster's Note: Donald Prock was a Whitehurst Sailor
Who served on Whitehurst during the ship's tour in Vietnam.
He was in the party who went ashore for the crew's Picnic.
Donald developed several  symptoms recognized as caused
by exposure to Agent Orange, including Skin Cancer and
Diabetes.  He worked diligently to get his claim recognized by
the Veterans Department but died, without success, because
 Whitehurst had not been placed in the list of ships with
Presumptive Exposure to Agent Orange.
The following letter is from  Don's wife, Beverly, who pursued
the claim after her husband's death.  She asked me to post it
to help other Whitehurst Veterans who find themselves
suffering symptoms of Agent Orange Exposure.  mc

Dear Max,

   I am Don Prock's widow Beverly Prock. I am sending this information for fellow shipmates. On Oct. 24th 2018 I went before a hearing board member to get a final decision on Don's claim since 2010. He was asking service connection from Agent Orange on skin cancer he had and on diabetes. I had put the claim in my name after his death Oct. 19, 2016. I was granted service connection for Don on the diabetes only.  I will get back pay from 2010 to present. Along with that, a monthly check for life, ChampVA insurance, Federal ID to use on any base in the US and tax exemptions on two vehicles and a home.

  This was possible because of the work Don put into proving he was in Viet Nam, being on shore, getting ships records from archives,* being on the national Agent Orange list and lastly the letter from GMC Tim Lake stating he was onshore. The Whitehurst is a blue water ship, I learned in the hearing. Also, on Don's death certificate, cause of death was diabetes and stroke caused by diabetes.

  I was told the guidelines are stated by VA so having the archive records with dates the Whitehurst was there helped and his medical records from VA hospital. 

  I can be reached by e-mail at beverly.prock@yahoo.com  My hope is that this will help someone else. It is going to take a few months for all of this to be processed but it gives me such hope. Thank you Max for all your help with the information you have sent to us. Wishing you and yours many blessings. 

Always, Beverly Prock

* Click this link for instructions on how to obtain (at no charge) the Whitehurst Vietnam decklogs    decklogs.htm
Whitehurst vets and possibly others who will read this owe Don and Beverly Prock a debt of gratitude for their Perseverance in following the claim tenaciously.  Deck Logs are not distributed without charge. The National Archives will provide Ship's Decklogs for specific dates but they charged about 75 cents per page at the time the Whitehurst Logs were finally secured.  Over 60 pages were made available.  Don and Beverly paid for them, plus  extra hard copies made and placed on CD for use by Don's shipmates.  Their experience following the claim to conclusion was
a sad story of Bureaucratic Stumbling Blocks and Red Tape for literally years.  We are thankful for their persistence. mc

 Phone number to call if you were exposed, or think
you were exposed to Agent Orange
1-800-749-8387

Agent Orange Registry Info
Register your Exposure

Scroll down through the index list for other topics pertaining to Agent Orange and Asbestos.

LCDR C. F. Bryant turns over Command to LCDR Peter Patterson
Last Change of Command Ceremony

Whitehurst Receives ASW Award 1968
LCDR Charles F. Bryant Commanding Officer
Award

Whitehurst Vet Attacked by  Warthogs by Tim Dorgan
Warthog Attack

Kronenberg's Leg, a Hilarious Paint Job, by Tim Dorgan SM2
Kronenberg's Leg

Mary Soo AKA Garbage  Mary, Hong Kong's "Painter of Ships"
by Warren Blakely LTJG and Tim Dorgan SM2
Garbage Mary

Maynard "Snake Man" Cox BM2, Obituary and Eulogy
Maynard Cox

Barbeque on the Fantail by Tim Dorgan SM2
Barbeque
 
Letter to an Old Shipmate
(A Smelly Sea Story)
Letter

Post Office Reopens then Closes again with Memorabilia
Post Office II

Honor a Deceased Whitehurst Veteran
Eulogies

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