Allen Daniels at the Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base: Herbicides in 1967 and 1968
Allen Daniels is an Air Force veteran working to prove to the VA that he served near the perimeter of the Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, and that he witnessed two aircraft incidents in 1967 and 1968.
Mr. Daniels was a member of the Air Force’s 432nd Supply Squadron serving in Thailand in 1967 and 1968. He also served in the 507thSupply Squadron at Kincheloe Air Force Base in Michigan, and the 1369 Photographic Squadron in Vandenberg AFB in California.
We are looking for people who may have been stationed at the Udorn RTAFB in 1967 or 1968 and remember the following:
In December 1967 or January 1968, an F-105 slide off the Udorn runway and crash.
In January of 1968, an F-4 Phantom land with co-pilot canopy blown off, exposing the body of the co-pilot.
Mr. Daniels remembers witnessing these events after alarms went off. Unfortunately, the VA currently states that the Air Force kept no record of the occurrences. If you recall these events, please contact my office at (816) 756-5458.
Herbicide Use
Allen Daniels served in Thailand from 1967 to 1968. He was stationed at the Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base. His job title was “materiel facilities specialist.” He worked in indoor and outdoor warehouses at the base, about 500 yards from the flight line, which was being used to fly combat missions to Vietnam.
Publicly, the VA has conceded that a “recently declassified Department of Defense report written in 1973, Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report: Base Defense in Thailand 1968-1972, contains evidence that there was a significant use of herbicides in the fenced-in perimeters of military bases in Thailand to remove foliage that provided cover for enemy forces.” The CHECO report does indicate that herbicides were used on the Royal Thai Air Force Bases, including Udorn:
However, when a veteran seeks to apply for benefits based on exposure to those herbicides, the VA will insert into the veteran’s file a “Memorandum for the Record” that downplays the presence of herbicides on the bases.
So, Mr. Daniels is placed in the same position of many veterans who must prove to the VA that they were near the perimeter of their own base.
If anyone can remember use of herbicides at Udorn, please contact my office at 877.VET.WINS. It would be a great help to Mr. Daniels.