VVA To Cosponsor Groundbreaking Yale Vietnam Conference

9/3/2002

From: Mokie Porter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, 301-585-4000 Ext. 146

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 -- Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), in association with the Yale School of Nursing, will sponsor the Yale Vietnam Conference 2002, September 13-15. The conference will be a historic gathering of American and Vietnamese scientists, veterans, health-care professionals, and students to discuss the continuing ecological and health effects of the American war in Vietnam.

"The focus of most of the conference will be on Agent Orange, but we also will be looking at the entire range of toxic legacies of the Vietnam War," said Linda Schwartz, chair of VVA's Health Care Task Force and the conference's project director. "That includes birth defects in children caused by Agent Orange and other chemicals; the long-term health consequences of chronic stress among veterans; and the problems of cancer, HIV, hepatitis C, and autoimmune diseases associated with exposures encountered in Vietnam."

In addition, conferees will learn about joint U.S.-Vietnam research projects on Agent Orange, including previous work and future activities. There also will be sessions on the link between environmental damage and human health.

Among the speakers taking part in the conference are Thomas H. Corey, national president of VVA, David Lamb, author of Vietnam Now: A Reporter Returns; Dr. Kenneth Olden, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Science; Dr. Wayne Dwernychuk of Hatfield Consultants, which has been doing environmental and health research in Vietnam since the early 1990s; and Prof. Vo Quy, director of the University of Hanoi's Center of Natural Resources and Environment. VVA's contingent at the conference will also include Agent Orange/Dioxin Committee Chair Paul Sutton, and Women Veterans Committee Chair Marsha Four.

"Even though peace has come to Vietnam, signs of war remain," President Corey said. "This conference provides a means for the people of the U.S. and Vietnam to address environmental and health concerns caused by weapons of war. Perhaps by discussing our concerns and combining our knowledge we will begin to resolve questions that have remained unanswered for too long."

To register, call the Yale School of Nursing at 203-785-5414 or via the internet, log on to www.nursing.yale.edu/news/vwsymposium.html There will be daily registration for those who cannot attend the entire program.

------ Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation's only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families. VVA's founding principle is "Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another."