from flying plates, so here it is. Someday I hope to be able to sit with Nancy and discuss the whole AO thing, including the Brandie Schieb Children's Fund.
I was supposed to write about that fund for those interested per instructions from Nancy, but I am not so sure it wouldn't sound self-serving, so I am hesitating.......


Moved from Flying Plates:

Japanese T.V.
Not sure which thread this belongs in, or if anyone will find it interesting....but here's a little news blurb.
10 Years ago a crew from Toyko came here to film a special broadcast about AO, and did a 2 hour film interview with Brandie and me.
Last week, the same crew came back to do a follow-up. First they went to D.C. and filmed Brandie for her part, then they came here and did an hour or so with me.

Seems the Japanese are very interested and concerned about AO, the effects and the long term results. The last time they did this and showed the special on Japanese T.V., donations to the Brandie Schieb Children's fund took a HUGE jump for a while. The Japanese donated heavily...I still don't completely understand it.

[Nancy]

Thank you, Hank. This is very important to me and I appreciate the fact that you have agreed to talk about it.

I know a Navy veteran here in New York who wants me to give you his phone number. He'd like to help get this going again. He has gone as far as he can through the proper channels and he reports that along the way, lawyers for the government tried to discredit him.

Maybe we could actually make a difference with the Agent Orange victims if there were enough of us. It's just so hard to get everybody together.

I'd appreciate any suggestions from the Forum Force.

[Kris]

Thank-you Nancy!
Hank, please tell us all.
Nothing you could ever say could ever be thought of as self-serving. It's true, even from just reading your typed out words it's plain to see that you are totally genuine.

[JamesDeFrances]

Hank, I didn't live through Vietnam, but thanks to the history books and veterans I have become quite aware of the tragedies of that war. I just want to tell you that I think you are doing something that is absolutely incredible. Have you ever considered a benefit concert? I have been involved with a few of those and they do raise considerable amounts of money and people also gain awareness to the cause.

I did one last October for Make-A-Wish foundation and we raised nearly $8000, and that money went towards a few children's "wishes" I felt that even though it wasn't a substantial amount, it made a difference. The audience was educated about the cause because of a video short that was played before the show began. But if you ever did something like that you could definitely get big name entertainers.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do though, if you ever need any help, I am more than willing.

[mikeg]

Hank,
I don't think you are in any way self-serving. Please tell us more...education is the first step. I have always thought our Vietnam vets were treated terrible. I was alive but really too young to get much out of what was going on. I do remember the news reports. I have never understood not supporting our troops. I don't support our current overseas actions but the troop get 100% admiration from me.

When Brandie was born with all her birth defects, I was working as a crane operator on a construction job. At first, because the cause of the defects were unknown, my union insurance was paying for her care...minimal right after birth.

A year after she was born, I became involved with AOVI (Agent Orange Victims International) and Brandie became the 'poster child' for that group. At that time, most of the people in this country had never heard of AO, and we felt it was our duty to inform the public along with try to get compensation.

We were so dumb....thinking that the government and the chemical companies would help.

We did have help, some very famous and influential people took up the cause. Robert Dinero 'adopted' Brandie, and thru him, Tookie Smith (remember Room 222?), Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan and others did much to publicize the cause. Robert Dinero made about 10 PSA's (Public Service Ads) and they were played all over the country in advertising slots and during his movies, etc.

Once the word of Agent Orange hit the public, and it became known we were going to try to get compensation from the Government and the chemical companies..... my union decided that they were no longer required to pay for her care. I had also started my own business, which I still run, and applied for private health insurance.

I finally got insurance, with a clause exempting pre-exisisting conditions. Therefore, I was on my own for Brandie's healthcare.

As she got older and started having reconstructive surgery done at Boston Children's Hospital (the Shriners and several others refused to touch her case) the medical bills started to mount. Within 3 years, I had lost my home, my car and almost all my possesions to pay hospital bills.

Then AOVI (without my knowlege) started what they named The Brandie Schieb Fund, and did serious fund raising.

With help from Dinero and some others, I managed to keep the bills under 500,000.

I made a deal with the doctors and hospital to make monthly payments, and the surgeries continued. At this time, she has had over 15 MAJOR surgeries. All this time, we were constantly meeting other Nam vets with similar problems, and from time to time AOVI would ask me if they could take some of the money raised for Brandie and help another kid.

Of course we agreed... and since Brandie was getting older and more aware of the situation, she asked if the name of the fund could be changed. It was... to the Brandie Schieb Children's Fund, and it was registered as a non-profit Fund, conforming to the 301-c3 formula. It became a tax-deductible fund, and fund-raising continued, using professional fund-raisers.

We have raised and distributed and leveraged in excess of 5 million dollars to date.

Next time I have a few minutes, I will tell about more current issues with the BSCF, but now I need to go back to work.

I hope I haven't bored anyone with all this!!

[Judy]

Bored? No, Hank - this is an amazing story - while your politics and mine don't always mesh, I have great respect for you and all you and your family have gone thru...you and others who have suffered at the hands of our government and their contractors deserve so much more than they're getting.


Anyway, your story is amazing...

[mikeg]

I truly had no idea. I think what you are doing is wonderful. I really don't know anything else to add.

[George Lyons]

HANK, it's amazing what you and Brandie have accomplished with your fund raising and awareness campaigns; I, like James, would be glad to participate if you ever need entertainment for this special cause; you should always freely speak out about this matter - you and your daughter are inspirational, God bless you both.

[Kris]

Wristbands for the Brandie Schieb Childrens Fund..
It would be great to be able to make donations and in return receive a wristband. Wristbands make people curious and that gets people interested. It would be great if this could all be arranged and made obtainable through our forum and the Frank Sinatra Foundation.

I would love to see this happen.

Nancy, I really believe all of us here can make a difference.

[MikeHOU]

<I hope I haven't bored anyone with all this!!>

No way Hank...keep it coming!

Do you have a web site for the Brandie Schieb Children's Fund?

After our 'settlement' with the chemical companies, things got worse for the AO victims. No veteran got more than $100 out of the settlement, and thanks to Judge Weinstien, what little money left after the lawyers got their bite was not distributed fairly.

The money was put into a fund and every disbursment had to be approved by the judge, and I firmly believe that there was a LOT of dirty deals done.

AOVI had grown larger, and had an office in Stamford, Ct. Frank Mcarthy and Jim Sparrow tried running it while keeping part-time jobs to live on, but expenses were higher than income.

As the media and the public grew less fond of the AO issue, fundraising got harder and less was collected for AOVI. However, the Brandie Fund was solvent and it kept helping kids, thousands and thousands of them.

As time went by, in the 90's, AOVI just couldn't survive. No one wanted to hear about AO anymore. So Mike Milne of the Veterans of the Vietnam War, Inc in Wilkes-Barre Pa. was asked to take over the fund, because AOVI was going under, but the Fund was alive and functioning.

Mike kindly took over as administrator, and with the new blood, it flourished for a short time. But once again, the media and the general public tired of hearing from the Vietnam Veteran.

The Gulf War was news, and the it seems that everyone just didn't want to hear from the Nam vets anymore. We supported the Gulf War vets strongly, but our own issues were history and not a concern to anyone anymore.

So..... Mike Milne's group died a slow death. Just before going under, he asked Bob Genovese from the Veteran's Who Care Committee, Naugatuck, Ct. to please take the fund over.

I am on the board of directors of the VWCC, and a very close friend of Bob. I felt it might be seen as a conflict if we took over the fund, but I was over-ruled by the 11 other board members, and VWCC took over the fund about 5 years ago.

We did fund raising and disbursed money where needed most, but since VWCC is a local group, we didn't have the manpower to do a lot with the fund.

I will post more about VWCC and more about the Brandie Schieb Children's Fund as soon as I can sit here for a while. It may be of interest to some to know what is happening with the fund today.

[Nancy]

Hank - I think every Sinatra Family Forum member should send a minimum of $10.00 to the fund. Where shall we send it and how should we make out the checks.

How about it, folks?

[SYLMML]

Great idea Nancy...just post the address.

[Rhodalee]

Yes -- I agree, please tell us where to send the check.

Rhodalee

[Canela]

Yes I am there, and I will ask my friends and family also..
Let us know where!
Elba

[mikeg]

I'm in! Just post the address.

[Kris]

YES

[Savatri]

Hank -

I'm so glad you posted this. I read read bits and pieces before but wanted to hear everything on your problem with AO from the beginning. I still feel as tho I'm missing something here.

I was very aware of Agent Orange, having worked at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington. After leaving there and starting to work at the VA Medical Center in Sepulveda, CA in the Medical Library, I read the 2 reports that came from the Institute on Medicine of the NAS, so I've been aware of the disaster that occurred from the use of that in Viet Nam.

However, I have never read any personal stories and yours is mind-boggling. I'm still not sure I understand how you experienced it from the beginning. These are stories that should be out there in the press every day and if they are I haven't come across them.

Please do let us know as much as you can. What you have experienced is just plain numbing. Do you know of a compilation of such personal stories written anywhere? If you mentioned it, I missed it.

I tried to keep up with the Gulf War veterans' syndrome, but the news seems to come and go quickly. I worked for the VAMC and
and was not pleased at all with the direction it was taking starting in the mid-90s with the closure and consolidation of so many VAs all over the country. Having left there, I don't have any inside sources as to what is going on but it was thriving with gossip starting back then and continuing. I sure would like to know.

Thank you for letting us know the trauma you have been going through. It's more than incredible and something every one should know.

Joan
Yes, the address - many of us would contribute.

Absolutely. I'm in!