They had one thing in common: They themselves were exposed to Agent Orange and are now suffering debilitating, if not deadly diseases, or they are the widows of men who died as a result of exposure. Others have children or grandchildren who even today bear the deadly impact of exposure to the herbicide.

On Saturday evening close to 150 Vietnam-era veterans and their wives, as well as widows of men who served and have died, came together for a town hall meeting designed to educate veterans and their families of the medical and financial resources available to anyone who was exposed to the herbicide or was born with health complications as a result of their father's exposure.

The Agent Orange/Dioxin Town Hall Meeting was sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans of America, Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 542 in Harrisburg, and was facilitated by a panel of experts including representatives from the national Vietnam Veterans of America as well as the Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America.

"A lot of veterans that were in Vietnam were sprayed or came into contact and found out years later that illness cropped up," said Cathy Keister, whose husband, Brett Keister, was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and died of cancer in 2005. "The Vietnam Veterans of America fought for many years for the VA and the U.S. government to recognize these diseases in our veterans. There is medical and financial assistance available, but a lot of our veterans don't know it."

Organizers said veterans of all wars going back to World War II and Korea down to present-day conflicts were subjected to lethal toxins. Most were not aware of what was being used or what effects their service would have on their health and the health of the offsprings and grandchildren.

"There's a lot of misinformation about Agent Orange and a lot of information out there that a lot of people don't understand and a lot of veterans still suffering from it who don't even realize it," said Mike Groff, who served in Vietnam in 1968 and was exposed to the toxic agent. Groff does not suffer any health maladies as a result.

From 1962 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed approximately 20 million gallons of herbicides in Vietnam, a tactical operation known as "Operation Ranch Hand." More than half of it was Agent Orange, named after the color of the band around the 55-gallon drum used to transport the herbicide. It was used to destroy the enemy's food base and shelter.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classified the active ingredients in Agent Orange as a human carcinogen, and is considered teratogenic, meaning it causes deformities in fetuses.

Congress in 1991 approved the Agent Orange Act, establishing for Vietnam veterans a presumption of a service connection for diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides. Veterans were no longer required to provide proof of exposure.

Compensation and benefits also were extended to surviving spouses and children of Agent Orange veterans; as well as veterans who served in the Korean demilitarized zone between 1968 and 1969.

Broad compensation was also extended to "Brown Water Veterans," or those who served on coastal and inland waterways of Vietnam. "Blue Water Veterans" who served aboard ships that came ashore or who they themselves went ashore, were also extended benefits. Scores of "Blue Water Veterans," however, continue to battle the VA for compensation in dealing with conditions and diseases linked to Agent Orange.

Dr. Tom Berger, a panelist and veteran advocate, urged members of the audience to contact their lawmakers in Congress and urge them to pass pending legislation in both chambers that would fund research for children's diseases associated with Agent Orange.

"We need your help," Berger said. "We are begging for your help. Talk to your legislators."

He said Washington is in the preliminary stages of looking into the possibility of a morbidity study that will analyze the mental and physical health of Vietnam veterans and their morbidity rates.

About a dozen veterans - and some widows - stepped up to the microphone during the public comment section of the forum and shared compelling stories about their struggles with presumptive diseases or that of loved ones.

Joe Novak, who served in Vietnam, said he spent 15 years battling the VA for compensation. Five years after returning from Vietnam, Novak said he began to exhibit health complications.

"We used to think they were spraying for mosquitoes and here they were spraying Orange," he said.

He urged fellow veterans still struggling with the VA to not give up.

"It can be done," Novak said. "I was rewarded 100 percent. You just have to get with these people and shake them up a bit."Larry Carter, who served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970, recalled what he knew about Agent Orange at the time.

"When they started using it, it killed teakwood, which is a really hard wood," he said. "But they told us it wouldn't hurt humans. How can it kill the jungles but not humans. They refused to say anything."

Larry Carter receives 100 percent compensation for Agent Orange presumptive diseases. A self-described patriotic American from Boston, Carter said he is not angry at the government.

"What I found difficult was coming home," he said. "You came home and people hated you. The war affects you - it could be the Revolutionary War. But we came home and our country hated us."

Among the displays was the chapter's Agent Orange quilt, one of 26 quilts in the country crafted to commemorate service personnel who were exposed to Agent Orange or have died as a result of exposure.

The quilt, which is still a work in progress, bears 18 names.

U.S. Air Force Fairchild UC-123B Provider "Ranch Hand" aircraft spray defoliant next to a road in South Vietnam in 1962. The majority of herbicides, including Agent Orange, deployed by the U.S. military in South Vietnam was sprayed from aircrafts; smaller portions were sprayed from helicopters or by troops, using tankers.

A large portion of the forum was dedicated to discussing the health complications inherited by children and grandchildren of Vietnam veterans.

"This can go on. It can skip a generation," said Herb Worthington, a panelist and member of the national Vietnam Veterans Association.

"This affects not only us as veterans but it affects the kids."

Worthington's daughter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis on her 21st birthday.

He said there are hundreds of disabilities associated with exposure to Agent Orange.

"We were sprayed like they were sprayed," he said of the citizens of Vietnam at the time. "We weren't told any more about it than the Vietnamese were. We were told it was a bug spray..everything but what it was."