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"I emailed the guy after he said he could not remember my husband. His answer was never heard of him. Maybe he is suffering of some of the affects of Agent Orange. I have gone down the crew list and only picked up two or three that my husband hung…"
"I have found both of these sources. Since it has been almost fifty years since I have even seen most of his buddies I do not remember their names. One that was contacted by the first lawyer we had said he did not remember Bruce. We had visited…"
"Being that his ship transported the defoliant to Viet Nam and he was on damage control if any of the containers leaked, his exposure was more than if it came on the air. You are very lucky to not have any problems. My husband had type 2 diabetes,…"
"My husband was a machinist mate on the Sitkin from 1967 to 1969. He made a West Pac cruise and a Med cruise during that time. I was an ET but never finished school as I married my sailor and got pregnant right away. Back then you were discharged…"
"My husband's name was Bruce C Kiefer. Most of the men on his ship called him Keef. I would like to reach out other veterans of the Great Sitkin while she was in Viet Nam. We are fighting with the VA to get him recognized as having been exposed to…"
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Location
Long Beach, CA
Birthday:
December 31
Rank
Seaman
Enlisted Rating
Electronics Technician (Communication)
Where were you or your family stationed?
My deceased husband was a second class machinist mate aboard the USS Great Sitkin AE17and in Viet Nam during 1968. I was stationed at Great Lakes, IL in 1967
Veteran of Foreign War
None
Current Status with the US Navy
Honorably Discharged
Start date of your service
April 6, 1967
End date of your service
February 18, 1968
Comments
Thanks for your message, Lorena.
What you wrote indicates you had already done your homework - good for you! About the guy your previous lawyer contacted: maybe if he saw pictures of you and Keef from the time you visited him it would jog his memory, especially if you wrote him details about your reciprocal visits. Also, going through the 1960-s crew list on greatsitkin.org might turn up names you had forgotten. It did for me. And membership is not required. Well, once again the best of luck and lots of patience. It has been 6 years since I put in for hearing loss disability and I had to go the whole route - denial, disagreement, Board of Veterans Appeals video conference, denial, appeal to the Court of Veterans Appeals and retaining a law firm (CCK, recommended by DAV St Petersburg). At last the final brief has been filed and I'm anxiously awaiting the Court's decision. So you can wish me luck too if you feel up to it. With that, fair winds and following seas,
'Shoes'
First, a hearty welcome aboard, Lorena! David de Rooy wrote me about your plight-er- fight with the VA, so maybe the following info will be of use to you. Bev King, aesailors dot com's Newsletter editor just sent me the latest edition in which it says aesailors.com is active in assisting people in your situation. Also, you may find sailors that served with your late (my sincere condolances) husband on the Sitkin in www. greatsitkin.org. Luck, 'Shoes'
Welcome aboard Lorena, very nice to have you here.
Thanks for the reply Lorena. Sorry for your loss of your husband "Keef" This agent orange exposure seems to be hard to prove, was his illness related to AO exposure? The ship I was on was in Viet Nam bluewater several times and we tied up at Danang pier. But I still don't know if I was exposed or not. I'm very healthy at 68 yrs old So it's not something I am concerned about at this point. Good luck with that
Welcome aboard Lorena. share some stories about the Navy from a woman's perspective. I would like to hear more about your husbands time on the Great Sitkin. I have a friend who also served on that ship