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Help Needed: Donna Suen, daughter of MSgt A.J. Green


bobdaley
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I tried posting this once and it got lost.

Can anyone help this lady get Nam benefits for her dad.

Thanks

Bob

My name is Donna Suen. I am the daughter of retired MSgt. A.J. Green. I found his name on this forum. Jrkaegi had mentioned his name and the tail # of his plane on this forum. bobdaley mentioned that my dad still hung out at the VFW in Jacksonville. I am trying to help my dad get service connected disabilty from the VA. They denied us because we couldn't prove that he was "boots on the ground" in Vietnam. I have a picture of my dad, and another service man in front of the "Saphire" (as it is spelled on the plane), but it doesn't prove he was in Vietnam. I was told that it didn't matter if he got the Vietnam Service Medal because lots of people got the medal and never went to Vietnam. I am in search of anyone who can help me prove that they served with my dad in Vietnam. I had Senior Master Sergeant James Gilbert write a letter, but that wasn't enough. My dads orders were for Okinawa and Ubon. I know he went TDY to Vietnam, but there are no records of it according to the VA. I was told either records weren't kept properly or that they could've been destroyed years ago in a fire were the records had been kept (St. Louis).

My dad is currenlty living in an assisted living facility in Arkansas. He is having to pay out of pocket to live there. He has diabetes, hypertension and Parkinson's disease. They only awarded him 30% for his hypertension and a ankle injury. He meets the criteria for Agent Orange. I can't proceed with an exam because I don't have proof of him actually being in Vietnam. My dad's memory if terrible. It maybe by choice I'm not sure, he's very complicated. He never talked about any of his time in the service with me growing up. Any help woud be greatly appreciated or if you know of anyone who can help me my email address is [email protected].

Thank you,

Donna Suen

(daughter of MSgt A.J. Green)

Edited by Casey
to keep post from being lost in the site announcements
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If you could post the dates he was in Okinawa and Ubon, any order number and if you have a picture of him during that time it might jog someone's memory of him. If he has any boxes or files stashed away then dig through them. If you have what is called 'Blanket Orders" there may be names on them someone will remember. Hang in there Donna. Bill

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Another possibility if all fails. Contact Military Personnal Center and request copies of all his APRs, surely a reporting official would make mention of trips to Vietnam. When I retired I got all my old APRs and still have them. I'm glad I did because I attended a school and no record existed except for one of these reports. The office took this information and a diploma was issued.

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I have been through the problem with the VA of proving "boots on the ground" in Vietnam. The VA denied me even though I had documentation of over 200 combat missions and several combat medals. We were TDY and only had blanket orders which are not accepted by the local VA hospital.

I finally got it through the VA by getting a DD215 which is an amendment to the DD214. I would recommend that you get in contact with a Veteran's Service Representative at a local VFW post or maybe an American Legion post. If they don't have one at the post they should be able to put you in contact with one. It is a complicated and long process. You will need help. The sooner you start, the better. What you will need to prove "boots on the ground", if the VA there is the same, will be to have a Vietnam Expeditionary Medal and/or the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry added on the DD215. If he is eligible for either of those the Veteran's Service Officer should know how to get the paperwork through.

Some VA Hospitals in different locations have different requirements. Someone at the local VFW or American Legion should know what is required. I don't think pictures or blanket orders will help. You will need to request travel vouchers from St. Louis. Don't let the fire story stop you. His travel vouchers should still be there.

Good luck with it!

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  • 2 years later...

a.j.greensdaughter,

Any update on your progress I know AJ was at Naha the same time I was except he was in a different squadron. I was in the 21st. I also know he spent time on the ground in Nam as did all of us Crew Chiefs. To my recollection we did not always have orders but were just added to the manifest of the aircraft as a passenger. See if you can find copies of  AFTO Form 781 which would tell you what bases he flew in to and have his name listed. Also ask the VA if they will accept letters or affidavits from those who knew him and would state they knew he had "boots on the ground" as proof.

I an sorry it took so long to respond. I don't know how I missed this.

Sonny

Blind Bat Crew Chief 1968

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