Presumptive Disability Benefits
What is “Presumptive” Service Connection?
VA presumes that certain disabilities were caused by military service. This is because of the unique circumstances of a specific Veteran’s military service. If a presumed condition is diagnosed in a Veteran within a certain group, they can be awarded disability compensation.
https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/serviceconnected/presumption.pdf

What are “Presumptive” Conditions?
If you are diagnosed with a chronic disease within one year of active duty release, you should apply for disability compensation. Examples of chronic disease include: arthritis, diabetes or hypertension.  Or, if you served continuously for at least 90 days and are diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) after discharge, you can establish service connection for the disease.

Veterans in the following groups may qualify for “presumptive” disability benefits:
• Former prisoners of war who:
• Have a condition that is at least 10 percent disabling
• Depending on length of imprisonment, specific conditions are presumed
Imprisoned for any length of time:
• Psychosis

Any of the anxiety states
Dysthymic disorder (or depressive neurosis)
Organic residuals of frostbite
Post- traumatic osteoarthritis
Heart disease or hypertensive vascular disease
Stroke and the residual effects
Osteoporosis, when the Veteran has posttraumatic stress disorder
 Imprisoned for at least 30 days:
• Beriberi (including beriberi heart disease)
• Chronic dysentery
• Helminthiasis
• Malnutrition (including optic atrophy)
• Pellagra
• Other nutritional deficiencies
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Peptic ulcer disease
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Cirrhosis of the liver
• Avitaminosis
• Osteoporosis

• Vietnam Veterans who were:
• Exposed to Agent Orange
• Served in the Republic of Vietnam or on a vessel operating not more than 12
nautical miles seaward from the demarcation line of the waters of Vietnam and
Cambodia between Jan. 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975

Specific presumed conditions are:
• AL amyloidosis
• B-cell leukemia
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
• Multiple myeloma
• Type 2 diabetes
• Hodgkin’s disease
• Ischemic heart disease (including but not limited to, coronary artery
disease and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease)
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Parkinson’s disease
• Parkinsonism
• Prostate cancer
• Respiratory cancers
• Soft-tissue sarcoma (not including osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma,
Kaposi’s sarcoma or mesothelioma)
• Bladder cancer
• Hypothyroidism

The following conditions, if they become greater than 10 percent debilitating within a year of exposure to an herbicide agent:
• Acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy
• Chloracne or other similar acneform disease
• Porphyria cutanea tarda
• Atomic Veterans exposed to ionizing radiation and who experienced one of the following:
• Participated in atmospheric nuclear testing
• Occupied or were prisoners of war in Hiroshima or Nagasaki
• Served before Feb. 1, 1992, at a diffusion plant in Paducah, Kentucky, Portsmouth, Ohio or Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Served before Jan. 1, 1974, at Amchitka Island, Alaska Specific presumed conditions:
• All forms of leukemia ,except chroniclymphocytic leukemia
• Cancer of the thyroid, breast, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, salivary gland, urinary tract, brain, bone, lung, colon or ovary
• Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma
• Multiple myeloma
• Lymphomas, other than Hodgkin’s disease
• Primary liver cancer, except if there are indications of cirrhosis or. hepatitis B

Gulf War Veterans who:
• Served in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations
• Have a condition that is at least 10 percent disabling by Dec. 31, 2026
• Specific presumed conditions are:
Medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illnesses that exist for six months or more, such as:
• Chronic fatigue syndrome • Fibromyalgia
• Irritable bowel syndrome

Any diagnosed or undiagnosed illness that warrants a presumption of service connection, as determined by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
• Signs or symptoms of an undiagnosed illness include:
• Fatigue
• Skin symptoms • Headaches
• Muscle pain
• Joint pain
• Neurological or neuropsychological symptoms
• Symptoms involving the upper or lower respiratory
system
• Sleep disturbance
• Gastrointestinal symptoms
• Cardiovascular symptoms
• Weight loss
• Menstrual disorders

Gulf War Veterans who:
• Served in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations or in Afghanistan on
or after September 19, 2001
 Manifest one of the following infectious diseases to a degree of
10 percent or more within 1 year of separation:
• Brucellosis
• Campylobacter jejuni
• Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)
• Nontyphoid Salmonella
• Shigella
• West Nile virus
• Malaria (or when accepted treatises indicate the incubation
period began during a qualifying period of service)
 Manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more at any time after
separation:
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis Visceral leishmaniasis

Gulf War Deployed Veterans who:
• Served any length of time in the Southwest Theater of Operations
during the Persian Gulf War, or
• Served any length of time in Afghanistan, Syria, Djibouti or Uzbekistan
on or after September 19, 2001 and
• Manifests one of the following to any degree within 10 years from the
date of separation from military service: o Asthma
• Rhinitis
• Sinusitis, to include rhinosinusitis
https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/serviceconnected/presumption.pdf

WWII Veteran Who Beat Coronavirus Receives Prestigious Honor on 105th Birthday
RTM Staff by RTM Staff December 4, 2021

A World War II veteran originally from Alabama who beat the coronavirus in 2020 will be recognized on his 105th birthday Friday with the prestigious French Legion of Honor.

Major Wooten repaired bomb-damaged trains in France when he served as an Army private, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Now, he will be given the country’s highest decoration during a medal ceremony and birthday celebration in Huntsville, a statement from the French consulate located in Atlanta and his granddaughter, Holly McDonald, said.

“The Legion of Honor is bestowed upon French citizens as well as foreign nationals who have served France or the ideals it upholds, including individuals who have contributed to the country professionally, as well as veterans such as the Americans who risked their lives during World War II fighting on French soil,” the announcement read.

The consul’s general for France in the city, Vincent Hommeril, will decorate the veteran with the medal that was approved by French President Emmanuel Macron.

After being drafted in 1943, Wooten arrived in France the following year and was among four brothers serving during the war. He worked in Le Mans prior to being sent to work at a Paris railroad station, a summary of his service by the French said.

He came back home in 1946 and worked for U.S. Steel in Birmingham. The veteran tested positive for the coronavirus in November last year, however, he beat the illness in time to celebrate his 104th birthday in his own home.

Now, Wooten “is doing really well” and took part in Veterans Day celebrations recently, McDonald told the AP, adding his mental fuzziness that occurred during his illness has subsided and his strength has also recovered.

Link to full story:  https://resistthemainstream.org/wwii-veteran-who-beat-coronavirus-to-receive-prestigious-honor-on-105th-birthday/?utm_source=telegram

Link to video of ceremony honoring Major Wooten: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZfzSXZG_9s