The Department of Veterans Affairs has made it  easier for the public to get answers about family history, old war buddies or famous war heroes. The agency has put on the web 3.2 million records for veterans buried at 120  national cemeteries since the Civil War.
     The VA's Nationwide Gravesite Locator also has records for state veterans cemeteries and burials in Arlington National Cemetery since 1999. The Web site is http://www.cem.va.gov

Important Phone Numbers for Veterans

VA Benefits 1-800-827-1000
Health Care 1-877-222-8387
Education 1-888-442-4551
Life Insurance 1-800-669-8477
Debt Management 1-800-827-0648
Mammography Hotline 1-888-492-7844
Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD) 1-800-829-4833
CHAMPVA 1-800-733-8387
Headstones and Markers 1-800-697-6947
Special Health Issues: Gulf War, Agent Orange, Project 112/Shad
1-800-749-8387

Important Web Sites for Veterans

VA Home Page ....................................................... www.va.gov
VA Health Care ............................. www.va.gov/health_benefits/
Returning Veterans ................. www.seamlesstransition.va.gov/
Survivors .......................... www.vba.va.gov/survivors/index.htm
VA Facilities ................... www.va.gov/directory/guide/home.asp
VA Forms ................................................. www.va.gov/vaforms/
VA Benefit Payment Rates ........ www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Rates/
Education Benefits ........................................ www.gibill.va.gov/
Home Loan Guaranty ......................... www.homeloans.va.gov/
Life Insurance ....................................... www.insurance.va.gov/
Voc Rehab ........................... www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/index.htm
Burial and Memorial Benefits ......................... www.cem.va.gov/
Veterans Employment and Training .............. www.dol.gov/vets/
Federal Jobs ......................................... www.usajobs.opm.gov/
Veterans Preference ............ www.opm.gov/veterans/index.asp
Records .............. www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/
Department of Defense ............................ www.defenselink.mil/

Agent Orange Update
     :
     As required by law, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hereby gives notice that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, under authority of the Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001, Public Law 107-103, Section 201(d), has determined that a presumption of service connection is not warranted (i.e. for conflicts other than Vietnam) based on exposure to herbicides used in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam Era for the following health outcomes: Hepatobiliary cancers; oral, nasal, and pharyngeal cancer; bone and joint cancer; skin cancers (melanoma, basal, and squamous cell); breast cancer; female reproductive cancer (cervix, uterus, and ovary); testicular cancer; urinary bladder cancer; renal cancer; leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)); abnormal sperm characteristics and infertility; spontaneous abortion; neonatal or infant death and stillbirth in offspring of exposed individuals; low birth weight in offspring of exposed individuals; neurobehavioral disorders (cognitive and neuropsychiatric) ; movement disorders including Parkinsons disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); chronic peripheral nervous system disorders; respiratory disorders; gastrointestinal, metabolic, and digestive disorders (changes in liver enzymes, lipid abnormalities, ulcers); immune system disorders (immune suppression, autoimmunity) ; circulatory disorders; amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis; endometriosis; effects on thyroid homeostasis; gastrointestinal tumors (esophagus, stomach, pancreas, colon, rectum; brain tumors; and any other condition for which the Secretary has not specifically determined a presumption of service connection is warranted.

     The Secretary's determinations regarding individual diseases are based on all available evidence in a 2004 report of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and prior NAS reports. This notice generally states specific information only with respect to significant additional studies that were first reviewed by NAS in its 2004 report. Information regarding additional relevant studies is stated in VAs prior notices following earlier NAS reports, are not repeated here. NAS reviewed scientific and medical articles published since the publication of its first report as an integral part of the process that resulted in Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2004. The comprehensive review and evaluation of the available literature that NAS conducted in conjunction with its report has permitted VA to identify all conditions for which the current body of knowledge supports a finding of an association with herbicide exposure. Accordingly, the Secretary has determined that there is no positive association between exposure to herbicides and any other condition for which he has not specifically determined that a presumption of service connection is warranted. For further information contact: Rhonda F. Ford, Consultant, Regulations Staff, Compensation and Pension Service, Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 273-7210.

[Source: Gordon H. Mansfield, Deputy Secretary of VA notice 5 Jun 07 ++]