Local Vietnam veteran posthumously honored

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund recently honored a Burbank veteran and hundreds of others who served in the war but are ineligible to be inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Army Sgt. Sal Silva, a recipient of a Silver Star and a Purple Heart among other medals, died Jan. 28, 2013, from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a disease that developed later in his life after exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, said Silva’s wife, Jeannette.

There were 312 other Vietnam veterans who died after being exposed to the toxic chemical who were honored during the VVMF’s annual In Memory program, which is in its 18th year.

Jeannette Silva said that her husband and many others were ineligible to be immortalized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial because they all died after the war and not during the conflict.

Sal Silva grew up in Glendale, worked for Disney as an electrician for 41 years and had lived in Burbank since 1975. His wife still resides in their Burbank home today.

“The trip was very nice and touching,” Jeannette Silva said about her trip to Washington, D.C. “There were other families there whose husbands, dads, brothers and uncles passed away because of their exposure to Agent Orange.”

Jeannette Silva said that she did not know that Agent Orange was affecting so many veterans and was surprised to find out that her husband’s illness had been caused by the chemical.

“He never took a sick day working for Disney,” she said.

She said that her husband was very active, participating in a few softball leagues. However, Sal Silva started having issues standing and began falling. In 2011, he was diagnosed with ALS.

Jeannette Silva said that it is important to honor those who fought in the Vietnam War, especially those who died after the conflict.

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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio