I am looking for some info for my mother. My father was a veteran in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He was an AT on P-3s and at the time was with VP-4 The Skinny Dragons during Operation Market Time. We are trying to prove that he either stepped foot in Vietnam or in another region where Agent Orange was used. We do remember him telling us they used to refuel in Vietnam and we did know that they were flying out of Thailand. DD-214 doesn't mention any details that would help just his awards and schools. We also have a box of letters that he sent to my mom during his deployments. I was thinking of cataloging the APO numbers and matching them to locations

My father passed away in 2012 from neuroendocrine carcinoma. And we had initiated a claim once he got sick due to the possibility of it being service connected.

Other than Vietnam he also spent time in the Philipines, Iran, Guam and we were also stationed at Barbers Point NAS as well as Moffett Field NAS. The hanger he worked out of while stationed in Moffett was Hanger 1 which was polluting the ground water in the surrounding area to the point that they have stripped it down to the frame.

My mom was told at the VA if we could prove my father stepped one foot in Vietnam she would receive his VA benefits. not sure about back benefits. My father was one of those people who never went to sick call. I remember his ears bleeding from sudden decompression while flying and never missed a day at work.

He retired as an ATC with VP-1 in 1989. Any help that ya'll can offer would be appreciated.

My suggestion would be to search online for the multitude of Veteran Forums, search by his unit and time of service etc and see if someone who was with his command could respond to you as to where the unit was deployed. There are lots of Vets that would possible be able to give you some leads...probably more than you would find fighting through the VA bureaucracy. Sorry I can' t give you any specific sites, but just search, and search...
Good luck to you and to your mother.

If all he did was refuel in Vietnam, I very much doubt that agent orange contributed to his health problems.

I dont definitively know if "all he did" was re fuel in Vietnam. He never really talked about it. That is just one of the things that he did share with us.

Also there are several locations around the world that if you had even stepped one foot on the ground you would receive 100% disability from the VA, Vietnam is one of those places.

Also did you know that women who get a hysterectomy prior to separating from the service receive 80% disability?

http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/va_search.jsp?NQ=URL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.benefits.va.gov%2FCOMPENSATION%2Ftypes-disability.asp&QT=vietnam+presumed+disability&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Search

For the Op, if you click on the link, there's a detailed list of illnesses that are on the "presumed disability" list. I think the applicable info you're looking for is in section 10.

I don't have any personal experience dealing with the VA in this area, but I've been told someone in your situation may want to enlist the assistance of an NSO at one of the veterans's groups, such as the DAV or American Legion. Best wishes in your endeavors.

You can request his full military and medical records here:

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/

believe Air Force archives are in Alabama - might have flight records. Also, contact guys in his outfit who could vouch for him being in Nam.

Thought I would give everyone an update. I ended up finding a webpage for the VP-4 Association and emailing several people who's assignment to VP-4 coincided with my father's. I received an email earlier this week from my Dad's supervisor at the end of his time with VP-4. Although he did not fly in my dad's crew when he arrived in 1975 he did state that VP-4 was operating out of Saigon from 71-75. He is sending me scanned copies of the cruise books from the years my dad was with VP-4.

My fingers are crossed that this is enough to connect the dots for my mom and the VA.

AdamsBQ06 - the link I provided will allow you to request his entire record book, not just the (summary) DD214. Those records would be authoritative and would/should show all assignments (TDY/PCS).
Best to you and your mom in your efforts.