{"id":29913,"date":"2020-09-28T14:58:03","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T14:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/09\/28\/va-finishes-digitizing-deck-logs-for-blue-water-vietnam-veterans-should-speed-disability-claims\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:42:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:42:49","slug":"va-finishes-digitizing-deck-logs-for-blue-water-vietnam-veterans-should-speed-disability-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2020\/09\/28\/va-finishes-digitizing-deck-logs-for-blue-water-vietnam-veterans-should-speed-disability-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"VA finishes digitizing deck logs for blue water Vietnam veterans, should speed disability claims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a move that should speed up disability claims for some Vietnam veterans<\/a>, officials announced Monday they have completed digitizing thousands of deck logs from ships stationed offshore during that war, enabling researchers to better determine where troops served and what toxins they may have encountered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Completion of the project is the culmination of more than a year of work between Veterans Affairs and National Archives and Records Administration<\/a> officials. The move was prompted by legislation passed in summer 2019 mandating VA award presumptive benefits status<\/a> to veterans who served in the waters off Vietnam during the war there five decades ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Department officials said they have awarded roughly $641 million to more than 22,524 blue water Navy veterans or survivors since the start of this year. But advocates have estimated that as many as 90,000 Vietnam veterans may be eligible for those payouts, and the digitized deck logs are expected to help with that application process.<\/p>\n\n\n\t