Paul Cox of Veterans for Peace Speaks About Agent Orange

The Vietnam War will always be a sad chapter in our nation's history, and it will ideally remain a memory illustrating how not to handle foreign policy - one of many such lessons we need to learn and re-learn. But one remnant of the war, the effects of the herbicide Agent Orange which our military sprayed liberally over Vietnam, is more than just a memory; it is a reality that stays with many Vietnamese, children of Vietnam War veterans, and Vietnamese Americans. These victims suffer various cancers, immune deficiencies, reproductive illnesses and, in the case of babies, severe birth defects. In addition, Agent Orange has stayed in the Vietnamese soil, thus its effects continue to plague parts of the population there.

Paul Cox of Veterans for Peace - a Vietnam veteran who labels himself a "recovering Marine" - is at the forefront of the organization's Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign. On Sunday evening, January 15, Paul will speak about the campaign and about H.R. 2114, the Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2015, which he helped to write and that was introduced by East Bay Rep. Barbara Lee. The bill will expire with the present Congress, and a new version will surely arrive in the next one.

Paul is a founding member of VFP Chapter 69 in San Francisco. He is also a board member and former board President of Swords to Plowshares, a veterans' rights organization providing direct services to local vets as well as advocacy for their issues. Paul has worked on securing justice for all victims of Agent Orange since 2005; on January 15 we will hear about his latest efforts and how people can help.

The January 15 program is at 7 PM at the Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo, 300 E. Santa Inez Avenue (at Ellsworth - enter on the Ellsworth side) in San Mateo. Admission is free, contributions are welcome. The UUSM is wheelchair accessible.

Free, contributions welcome.