Waterford — On Jan. 28, 2015, Arthur Gagnier Sr. died at the age of 69 due to complications from Agent Orange exposure, his obituary says. Six months later, his friend, another Vietnam veteran, Lester Wilson Jr., died at age 72 from the same.

Before they died, the men, longtime members of the Waterford Veterans of Foreign Wars post — Gagnier served three times as post commander before resigning in December 2014 for health reasons — and the previous commander, Robert Hecker, had the idea of erecting a memorial in town to honor veterans who were exposed to the herbicide Agent Orange during their military service in the Vietnam War.

After they died, their widows, members of the VFW Auxiliary, took on the project. Carol Wilson, 74, and Gail Malloy Gagnier, 69, sisters from Waterford, have raised more than $8,000 for the memorial, which will be unveiled next month.

"I just get angry because, you know, he's not here to enjoy his grandchildren. His life was cut short," Gagnier said during a recent interview at the Waterford VFW post.

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Wilson agreed. "It took our best friends away," she said.

[naviga:img class="img-responsive" src="/Assets/img/news2018/agent-orange/AGENT-ORANGE-WIDOWS-008.jpg" alt="Carol Wilson, left, of Quaker Hill, and her sister Gail Gagnier of Waterford."/]Carol Wilson, left, of Quaker Hill, and her sister Gail Gagnier of Waterford, at The Waterford VFW and Auxillary, Post 6573, in Waterford on Friday, April 27, 2018. Both women lost their husbands who were Vietnam veterans, within 6 months of each other. They feel their husbands died from the use of Agent Orange when in Vietnam. A memorial has been created for Vietnam veterans subjected to Agent Orange, and will be unveiled on May 26, 2018. (Tim Martin/The Day)

They watched as their husbands' health deteriorated. They went with them to doctors' appointments, and helped with their medicine.

"They get sick and they can't do nothing," Gagnier said.

She and Wilson began ticking off the host of serious illnesses that their husbands developed.

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Lester Wilson had heart problems, diabetes and pancreatitis among his health issues. Arthur Gagnier had liver and bladder cancer, as well as other health issues, his wife said. He told The Day in 2013: "All it does is just get worse and so far it's collecting (adding up); defibrillator, I got 3 percent of my kidneys left, tumors in the bladder, artery disease, it's all from the Agent Orange."

The women have spent countless hours on the internet researching Agent Orange, which was the most common herbicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to reduce foliage for tactical purposes. Wilson said she started reading up on it in 1985, when her husband first suspected his exposure to Agent Orange might be causing him health problems.

[naviga:img src="https://www.theday.com/Assets/img/news2018/agent-orange/lester-letter_thumb.jpg" alt=""/]Read the two letters Lester Wilson Jr. wrote to his parents in 1969, while he was serving in Vietnam.

The Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes 14 health conditions, including various cancers, as linked to Agent Orange exposure. It has considered adding other conditions to the list. The VA offers benefits, including compensation and health care, to surviving spouses, dependent children and dependent parents of veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and died of diseases related to that exposure.

Many veterans still are fighting for their benefits but that was not the case for their husbands, Gagnier and Wilson said. Gagnier's husband was determined to be 100 percent disabled by the VA, she said, "but big deal, he's dead."

The couple married young, before Arthur Gagnier left for Vietnam. He trained at Fort Dix, N.J., and Fort Sill in Oklahoma, before serving in an Army heavy artillery unit in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968.

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Lester Wilson served as an Army combat medic with the 101st Airborne Division from January 1969 to September 1969.

Both men enjoyed playing music. Arthur Gagnier sent his wife several pictures of himself playing guitar in Vietnam. He was in a band called Mellow Tunes.

Lester Wilson began playing guitar at the age of 12. He played for rock 'n' roll stars Chuck Berry, The Ronettes and Fats Domino, and country music stars like Hank Williams Jr., Mel McDaniel and Moe Bandy, according to his obituary. He later played bass and steel guitar with local bands, including his own, called Southern Breeze.

Once their health deteriorated, both men had to stop playing music.

"It took that away," Wilson said. "It took mostly everything away. Finally, they're breathing."

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j.bergman@theday.com

If You Go

What: Memorial for veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange

When: 11 a.m. May 26

Where: Waterford Town Hall