(Johnston, Iowa) Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Director Colonel Robert King (Ret) announces Vietnam Veterans of America will hold a symposium to address the birth defects, diseases, and learning disabilities affecting the children and grandchildren of our nation’s veterans. The Faces of Agent Orange Symposium will be held Saturday, 23rd April 2016, at Hy-Vee Hall, Iowa Events Center, 730 3rd Street, Des Moines, Iowa. There will be two sessions – the first from 9:00 am to noon, and the second from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.

“Our American soldiers returned from Vietnam and associated areas with a number of issues that they have had to contend with since their return years ago. Evidence is now connecting their battlefield exposures to Agent Orange with many diseases and birth defects that are afflicting their children and future generations. It is important that we make the families and communities more aware of the lingering effects of their exposure,” said Colonel King.

The goal of the symposium is to bring attention to the hidden cost of our service and to encourage the government to assist our doctors in finding ways to diagnose and treat these birth defects. Veterans of all wars are subjected to many contaminates, and most were not aware of what was being used or what effects these would have on their health.

Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. is a national non-profit corporation founded in 1978 in the United States that is committed to serving the needs of all veterans. It is funded without any contribution from any branch of government.

In keeping with Vietnam Veterans of America’s (VVA) founding principle, “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,” Vietnam veterans throughout the state of Iowa and across the nation continue to fight for the welfare of our nation’s veterans from all wars.

For more information on this event, please contact Dan Gannon at 515-991-5257 or gannonobx@aol.com.