VA Can't Cover Top Secret Injuries, Because Veterans Worked on HIGHLY Classified Nuclear Secrets - Thom Hartmann

[Rhiannon12866]

Veterans who worked near nuclear testing sites are suffering devastating cancer rates, yet many are denied benefits because their service was classified.

Their records do not reflect the danger they were exposed to, leaving them and their families without care.

Lawmakers acknowledge the injustice but face budget hurdles. Why should secrecy excuse abandoning those who served?

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) joins Thom Hartmann to explain. - Aired on 12/26/2025.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Something similar happened to my friend during Vietnam.

He was in the thick of it and watched his platoon get blown up in front of him, leaving him the sole survivor.

And he had a nervous breakdown as a result. That, and Agent Orange.

While this made him unable to continue fighting, the Pentagon and the VA refused to treat him for a nervous breakdown as they didn't want North Vietnam to know that their troops were having mental collapses. Same with Agent Orange.

So my friend was sent back to the States, where he was treated for "battle fatigue", not a nervous breakdown. I mean that his symptoms, his mental injury, went untreated. And for decades, he suffered from PTSD, restless nights without sleep, anxiety. He had to figure out that he had been sprayed with Agent Orange.

Four decades later, with his own money, he found treatment from competent doctors for both his mental/psychological and medical traumas.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Wow, so sorry that it took him so long to get the help he needed

I worked with a very nice guy who was also a Vietnam vet. He brought in a few photos that were taken when he was there, including the spraying of Agent Orange. Like I said, he was very nice and my coworker and I advocated for him to join our department. But unfortunately he was placed with a relatively incompetent boss and he started having flashbacks.

[Norrrm]

3. Soldiers spraying Agent Orange without protective equipment

Soldiers spraying Agent Orange without protective equipment

Film of US Soldiers spraying Agent Orange defoliant onto a riverbank without protective equipment

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=spraying+agent+orange+in+vietnam

[cpamomfromtexas]

4. I think this has affected the posthumous claim

For my husband. Wish us luck please.