Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 29, 1994 TAG: 9412290116
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MIDDLETOWN, CONN. LENGTH: Medium
Outside the cubicles where Aetna Insurance Co. workers answer telephone calls about the claims, mementos of the war and its survivors hang on a wall.
There are cards and letters of appreciation, newspaper articles and plenty of pictures: of veterans, their spouses and their comrades who have committed suicide.
``A lot of these people are in real bad shape mentally and physically,'' said Maria Martinez, claims administrator for the compensation fund. ``You just get to know these guys over the telephone and you feel very bad for them and for what's happened to them throughout the years.''
Martinez said Tuesday that her staff of 16 has taken 800 to 1,000 calls per day in the past three weeks, up from about 200 calls a day.
So many calls came in Wednesday that Aetna decided to extend the phone lines' hours until midnight Wednesday, today and Friday. Phones also will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. In addition, the company decided to accept letters requesting applications, as long as they were postmarked by midnight Saturday. Previously, the company had said that the applications themselves had to be postmarked by midnight Saturday.
Agent Orange, a toxic, vegetation-destroying chemical, was sprayed in Vietnam by U.S. military aircraft to make it difficult for enemy soldiers to hide and find food. Veterans said it caused illnesses such as cancer and produced birth defects in their children.
Ten years ago, veterans and their families reached a $184 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against makers of Agent Orange. About $21 million has not been claimed.
by CNB