Page 6--Friday, July 17, 1981-The Michigan Daily
HERBICIDE 'AGENT ORANGE' CA USES A RUCKUS
Vietnam vets charge indifference
WASHINGTON (AP)-Vietnam war Michael Burt McCarthy, chief ad- hunger strike, said her husband, James legislation nearing passage by
veterans nearing the end of a hunger viser and negotiator for the hunger Hopkins, received "a mockery of an Congress.
strike charged yesterday that the strikers, told the congressional panel Agent Orange consultation" before the "I DON'T understand Agent
Veterans Administration is indifferent that the VA and the White House have VA decided he had no problems related Orange," Coy said. "I know it's a
to Agent Orange, but a VA lawyer and been "stonewalling" the group and are to herbicide exposure. problem. I know it's a concern. I wish
doctor said the agency is doing its best. "insensitive to the plight of Vietnam DR. BARCLAY Shepherd, special scientists had started on the problem 10
The exchange came at an often veterans." assistant to the chief medical director years ago."

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raucous and emotional public forum
held by the House Vietnam Veterans
Caucus.
AGENT ORANGE, named because it
was shipped in barrels with orange
stripes, is a herbicide that was used in
Vietnam from 1962 to 1971 to defoliate
trees and destroy crops. It contains a
substance called dioxin which some
veterans maintain has caused cancer,
birth defects, and nerve and skin disor-
ders.
Three veterans who have been on a
hunger strike near the White House,
seeking a meeting with President
Reagan, announced Tuesday at a news
conference in a House hearing room
that they will end their hunger strike
this weekend.
The three said in a statement that
their group, known as the Veterans
Coalition, "recognizes that its demands
have been considered and are being
substantially answered."
THEY ALSO said the House Vietnam
Veterans Caucus was giving them a
chance to air their grievances at
yesterday's hearing.

"I don't understand Agent Orange ... I know it's a con-
cern. I wish scientists had started working on the problem
10 years ago."
-Robert Coy
Veteran's Administration
Deputy General Counsel

John Avalos, a Marine Corps veteran
of Vietnam, said he went to a VA
hospital in Los Angeles because he was
"unable to stand on my feet," but they
"just examined me about five minutes
and told me togo home."
"I DON'T KNOW why they don't
want to take care of me," he said. "I
can't understand."
Steve Androff, an Army veteran, said
he went in for treatment of a skin disor-
der that still troubles him, but was told
it was just acne and not related to Agent
Orange.
Suzanne Hopkins, widow of a Marine
veteran whose death touched off the

of the VA, said if such things happened
"they were the exception rather than
the rule."
Speaking in a voice choked with
emotion, Shepherd said, "I have
dedicated myself to doing everything
humanly possible to make some sense
of this bizarre business of Agent
Orange. I rededicate myself to this
today."
Robert Coy, deputy general counsel
of the VA, said he thought some of the
criticism of the agency had been
justified but promised a "serious and
sincere effort" to diagnose and treat
Agent Orange-related illnesses under


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The VA officials got a skeptical
reception both from the panel and from
veterans in the audience.
When Cox said the agency is limited
in its powers because it is a "creature
of statute," Rep. Thomas A. Daschle
(D-S.D.), who was presiding, asked
him, "Mr. Cox, don't you really think
that's just a bunch of bull?"
At one point during Cox's testimony,
an unidentified veteran strode forward
with a letter he said he had received
from the VA, tore it in pieces and tossed
it on the witness table. "That's my
response," he said into a microphone.
Feds stop
illegal
wildlife
sales
WASHINGTON (UPI) - The gover-
nment announced the arrest yesterday
of 27 people snared in an animal sting
operation for illegally buying and
selling snakes, turtles, lizards,
migratory birds, and other wildlife.
Federal agents said they were
astonished by the volume of business
the undercover operation attracted
during its 18-month run in a storefront
in an industrial park near Atlanta.
MORE THAN 10,000 animals were
bought and sold by more than 175 in-
dividuals in the largest operation of its
kind ever conducted, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service said. Prices for the
prize specimens ranged from less than
$100 to nearly $2,000.
The investigation also revealed that
tens of thousands of snakes are illegally
sent through the U.S. mail each year.
The service said the operation ended
yesterday morning with 16 arrests in
Atlanta, eight in Pittsburgh, two in
Scranton, Pa., and one in Tallahassee,
Fla. Another 175 persons are under in-
vestigation and arrests may spread into
11 states.
IN ADDITION, the service said it is
in the process of executing search
warrants in 16 states.
Agents did not reveal the names of
those arrested. They face charges un-
der three federal wildlife laws plus an
international agreement on endangered
species. Most were charged with
misdemeanors, calling for penalties of
up to $20,000 in fines and one year in
prison.
Daily
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Results-
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