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Agent Orange and Vietnam Veterans

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Agent Orange and Operation Ranch Hand

Agent Orange was used by the U.S. military from 1961 to 1971 in Vietnam. The herbicide was used to defoliate inland and coastal forests, cultivated land, and areas around military bases during the Vietnam conflict.

The long term health effects of our military veterans has been widely debated. Earlier studies had found no variation in the cancer rates of a soldier who had fought in Vietnam as compared to a man of the same age who had not spent any time in Vietnam. New studies do refute those prior arguments.

Perhaps the experts should talk to each veteran who currently suffers from those "non-existant" long term effects.

Our veterans deserve honor and respect. They have fought valiantly during the war, and now must continue the fight in order to receive the health care they deserve.

What is Agent Orange?

Why were herbicides used?

Agent-Orange-stack-of-55-gallon-drums.jpgAgent Orange was used to defoliate the jungles of Vietnam.

Originally designated as "Operation Hades," the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) developed a plan to defoliate areas of Vietnam that were infiltrated with enemy soldiers using guerilla-type warfare.

Objectives of Operation Hades/Ranch Hand:
  • Defoliate and destroy the triple canopy jungle to uncover the guerilla fighters.
  • Clear certain areas to reduce the chance of ambush.
  • Establish "fields of fire" around military bases so the enemy could not infiltrate under cover.
  • Deny food to the enemy.
A number of herbicides were used during this operation. The different herbicides were coded with a colored band placed on the 55 gallon storage barrels for easier identification.

They became known as the "Rainbow Herbicides."

Agent Orange, coded with an orange band, was a 50:50 mixture of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D. The important thing to note is that the mixture was contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorobenzo-para-dioxin (known simply as TCDD), a known human carcinogen.

Where Was Agent Orange Sprayed?

How much of the herbicides were sprayed in Vietnam?

Agent-Orange-Spray-MapFigures vary, but an estimated 12 million gallons (45 million liters) of Agent Orange were sprayed over Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. The Mekong Delta area, located in the southern tip of South Vietnam, was heavily sprayed. If the undebrush had not been removed along the water's edge, then the U.S. Navy patrol boats would have been much more vulnerable.

Between 1961 and 1967, it is estimated that 20 million gallons (75.7 million liters) of the different herbicides were sprayed over 6 million acres of crops after the Kennedy administration decided to target the rice crops in the hopes of starving the enemy.

Unfortunately, Agent Orange was not as harmless as government officials had stated.

Operation Hades became Operation Ranch Hand

but the insignia patch kept the satanic symbol of a devil with a pitch fork.

US Airforce and Operation Ranch Hand Run

Spraying Defoliant

Operation-ranch-hand-run-us-airforce

The U.S. Airforce on one of the "Ranch Hand" runs. As part of this Operation, the military is spraying defoliant throughout the countryside of Vietnam. Originally termed "Operation Hades," the new title "Operation Ranch Hand" was used to improve public relations.

Agent Orange Sprayed on Rice Fields

us-army-spraying-agent-orange-in-vietnam

U.S. Army spraying Agent Orange over Vietnamese rice fields during the Vietnam War. You can clearly see the soldiers are not wearing any protective gear.

U.S. Army Spraying Herbicides

US-Army-Operations-Spraying-Agent_Orange

Agent Orange sprayed by U.S. Army Operations.

Vietnamese Personnel in Training

Deep in the jungle

Vietamese-personnel-in-training

I included this image because you can get an idea of how dense and thick the vegetation is in Vietnam. Standing are two Vietnamese soldiers who are being trained by the American military.

Veterans and Agent Orange

Veterans-and-Agent-Orange-bookAs noted in Veterans and Agent Orange (link to the online version),

There is sufficient evidence of an association between exposure to the chemicals of interest and the following health outcomes:
  • Soft-tissue sarcoma (including heart)
  • Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
  • Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (including hairy cell leukemia and other chronic B-cell leukemias) (category clarification since Update 2006)
  • Hodgkin's disease
  • Chloracne

Limited or Suggestive Evidence of an Association
There is limited or suggestive evidence of an association between exposure to the chemicals of interest and the following health outcomes:
  • Laryngeal cancer
  • Cancer of the lung, bronchus, or trachea
  • Prostate cancer
  • Multiple myeloma
  • AL amyloidosis
  • Early-onset transient peripheral neuropathy
  • Parkinson's disease (category change from Update 2006)
  • Porphyria cutanea tarda
  • Hypertension
  • Ischemic heart disease (category change from Update 2006)
  • Type 2 diabetes (mellitus)
  • Spina bifida in offspring of exposed people


Veterans and Agent Orange, page 652

You can also purchase Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2008 from Amazon. Or, you can use the link provided above to read the online version.

What do you think about Agent Orange?

Herbicide Defoliation and the Ultimate Toll on our Veterans

What do you think of the decision to use the various herbicides to defoliate the country side during the Vietnam War? Many people believe that DOW and the other chemical companies knew and fully understood the possible health risks of spraying Agent Orange.

Do you think using Agent Orange was a justified decision at the time?

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Yes. We were fighting in a jungle. Using the herbicides was a way to help our soldiers.

CountrySunshine says:

At the time? Yes! It's easy to look backwards and say something is a mistake. I think they did what they thought necessary at the time.

hmm says:

in you are the head of the u.s. militar, are you going to user agent orage?why?

tssfacts says:

I have often wondered why protection gear wasn't issued. With that large amount of Agent Orange being sprayed it seems that perhaps the health issues could be lessen somewhat if protected gear was given to our soldiers.

No. The health risks were documented and well known. Too many of our veterans are now once again fighting for their lives.

widow AGENT ORANGE says:

Hell NO

junior8rules says:

No Way! When I arived in Vietnam and went to my firebase, i noticed the red clay soil, and the lack of grass anwhere on base! No animals around anywhere either. They justified the spraying by saying it was only temporary! They would spray this stuff around so much, you could feel the mist.

stoney says:

The whole war was wrong, misguided and unnecessary so how can you even consider excusing using such chemicals. 50 years later we're still feeling the effects.

pilegirl says:

Heck no! My husband is still having health problems as a result of that war.

bikerministry says:

This is a horrible, unfortunate chapter in America's history. I know that Agent Orange was also used in Korea on the DMZ during the Vietnam war. It now has been documented.

kathysart says:

US Government essentially gassed its own people. That might sound harsh but that is the way I feel about it. Now, they do everything they can do not take responsibility for this horrible deed. Of course it did not help anything.

J. Carideo says:

Absolutely not! The government knew they were using a chemical that was harmful to the tropps but decide to ignore the risk. Three years ago, 40 years after exposure to Agent Orange, my husband was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma resulting in acute kidney failure and passed away on Oct. 6th, 2010. How many more will be diagnosed in the next few years?

reasonablerobinson says:

wrong solution to the problem

AddaptAbilities says:

I suspect that more was known about Agent Orange than the military admitted at the time. Sadly, we have a long history of experimenting on our troops.

Nenkai says:

I think if we knew then what we know now, there'd have been a lot less of all of these kinds of weapons. The cynic in me says, they didn't bother to fully research consequences because they didn't expect the soldiers to survive.

 
view all 16 comments

Soldiers spraying Agent Orange Defoliant

The herbicides used in Vietnam were not just applied via planes spraying the countryside. As you can see in the first video below, the soldiers were spraying the defoliant along the banks of this waterway. They had absolutely no protective clothing or masks. The fine mist was being inhaled, and was absorbed through dermal contact.
Film of US Soldiers spraying Agent Orange defoliant onto a riverbank without protective equipment
by VietnamTTU | video info

27 ratings | 13,097 views
automatically generated by YouTube

Agent Orange: The Last Battle

Two American Veterans tell their story

AGENT ORANGE: THE LAST BATTLE

AGENT ORANGE: THE LAST BATTLE

Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 05/27/2012)Buy Now

Two American Veterans tell their story of being exposed to Agent Orange, one of the defoliants used in Vietnam. They tell their stories of how they were sprayed with this toxic chemical mixture and how it has impacted their lives. They tell their stories of how they continue to fight another battle after leaving Vietnam.

"This moving documentary is a dramatic reminder of the effects war can have, even when that war is long over."
-Wahrheit

Agent Orange Class Settlement

In 1979, a class action lawsuit was brought against the manufacturers of Agent Orange. The case was settled in 1984 for the sum of $180 million. The money was to be distributed among the Vietnam veterans as needed. Only approximatelty 50,000 veterans ever received compensation from the settlement fund before it ran out of money in 1994.

At the time of the class action settlement, most veterans had not yet been diagnosed with any of the cancers that the National Academy of Sciences had tied to the exposure of the Agent Orange. The cancers would often take 20 years to develop.

The case of Dow Chemical Co. v Stephenson questioned whether the veterans who had not been diagnosed with cancer at the time of the settlement were still legally bound to that court decision if the settlement money was already gone.

In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court opened the doors for those veterans, allowing them to pursure their legal claims against the Agent Orange manufacturers.

Nearly 3 million Americans served in Vietnam

Agent Orange was not restricted to Vietnam

During my research, I came across numerous articles that discuss the use of Agent Orange having been used in other countries. I included some of the links here.
Opinion Forum Agent Orange's Toxic Legacy Hits Home
Foster and a group of fellow veterans who were stationed on Guam have persistently lifted the lid on a long-hidden story beyond the widely reported use of Agent Orange herbicides in Vietnam.
Agent Orange: Korean Demilitarized Zone - Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards
Information on possible herbicide exposure along the Korea demilitarized zone in 1968 to 1969 and related VA benefits
Agent Orange: Thailand Military Bases - Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards
Information on possible exposure to Agent Orange in Thailand during the Vietnam War and related VA benefits

Studies on the Effects of Agent Orange

Genetic Damage in the New Zealand Vietnam War Veterans
The study shows a highly significant difference between the mean of the experimental group and the mean of the control group (p < 0.001). This result suggests, within the strictures of interpreting the SCE assay, that this particular group of New Zealand Vietnam War veterans has been exposed to a harmful substance(s) which can cause genetic damage.
Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2008
From 1962 to 1971, US military sprayed herbicides over Vietnam. Because of continuing uncertainty about the long-term health effects of the sprayed herbicides on Vietnam veterans, Congress passed the Agent Orange Act of 1991. The legislation directed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to request the Institute of Medicine to perform a comprehensive evaluation of scientific and medical information regarding the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam.

For More Information on Agent Orange

Help and Information for Veterans

Agent Orange - Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards
This is the home page of VA's Agent Orange Web site with links to information on Agent Orange exposure, VA benefits, health care and more.
Agent Orange Fast Track Claims Processing System
This website is dedicated to processing claims for Vietnam Veterans who are claiming service connection for any of the following conditions:
* Ischemic Heart Disease
* Hairy Cell and other B-Cell Leukemias
* Parkinson's Disease
Agent Orange: Exposure during Military Service
Information on when and where Agent Orange was sprayed in Vietnam and how Veterans may have been exposed to Agent Orange and other herbicides during military service.

Vietnam War Memorial

Missing Names

Reflection in the Vietnam War Memorial


How many names are not included on this wall that should be here? How many Veterans died after the war as a result of exposure to Agent Orange?

Photo Credit: Jim Bowen under Creative Commons License.

Donations for Active Soldiers

Operation Helmet is a 100% volunteer, non-partisan, charitable organization that provides helmet upgrade kits free of charge to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to those ordered to deploy in the near future.

Please feel free to comment

Do you know any Veterans who were affected by Agent Orange? What is your opinion on how this herbicide was used during the Vietnam Conflict?

  • pilegirl Apr 26, 2011 @ 10:32 pm | delete
    Not only are veterans such as my husband affected, but I understand that the people of Vietnam today are living on poisoned ground, having birth defects generations later.
  • kathysart Apr 16, 2011 @ 11:26 am | delete
    My husband vomits almost every day due to the effects of Agent Orange. The government does NOT help and claims are continually denied. The VA is good for nothing when it comes to Vietnam Vets suffering from Agent Orange exposure. Deny ~ Delay ~ Death, is a common quote by many of its victims.
  • careermom Apr 7, 2011 @ 5:14 pm | delete
    It amounts to chemical warfare even if the intent wasn't to kill the "enemy". It was absolutely unconscionable.
  • tssfacts Mar 17, 2011 @ 5:32 pm | delete
    Just flying back by to give a SquidAngel blessing on a wonderful article.
  • Philippians468 Mar 16, 2011 @ 11:58 am | delete
    thank you for such an informative and well done lens. i learnt much from this and my heart goes out to those who were affected by the incident.
  • JeremiahStanghini Feb 18, 2011 @ 4:21 am | delete
    I'm a little young to know about the Vietnam war, but this lens helped me learn about it.

    With Love and Gratitude,

    Jeremiah
  • HarmonyArtMom Feb 14, 2011 @ 3:32 pm | delete
    What an important lens! Thank you so much for putting this all into one easy to read place. My teen is studying this time period in our homeschool history course and I will be having him use this as a reference.
    Adding as a favorite and leaving a special Angel Blessing.
  • reasonablerobinson Feb 10, 2011 @ 9:27 am | delete
    What an excellent lens. I studied the Vietnam War as a young British undergraduate. Nothing quite brings home the reality like the information you have provided here. Text books santise things.
  • AddaptAbilities Feb 7, 2011 @ 2:53 am | delete
    I'd always wondered why it was called "Agent Orange. Thanks for answering that question.

    A friend's father was exposed to Agent Orange when he served in Viet Nam. He doesn't have cancer (yet) but has had weird health problems ever since. Getting help from the otherwise-excellent VA medical system is apparently a no-go when you need to be treated for a condition the government pretends doesn't exist.
  • PaulOnBooks Feb 5, 2011 @ 11:08 am | delete
    Mega lens!
  • BuckHawk Jan 30, 2011 @ 2:35 pm | delete
    Wow, what a lesson for all of us to remember. Tremendous job, as always. A great addition to the Jenga Tower and deserving of some more Angel Dust.
  • kimmanleyort Jan 26, 2011 @ 9:56 pm | delete
    This is such a thorough, educational and, at the same time, heartbreaking lens. Something we should always be reminded of.
  • Tipi Jan 24, 2011 @ 4:29 pm | delete
    Excellent lens!!! ... This is lensrolled to Support Our Troops and Veterans and to Veterans and Veterans of War - USA. I will be getting it featured there also.
  • Wednesday_Elf Jan 24, 2011 @ 11:51 am | delete
    I don't know any veterans personally who were affected by Agent Orange, but have had a lot of friends in the military over the years. Stories such as this need to be told ... and repeated often. Very well done.
  • genglo Jan 23, 2011 @ 9:41 pm | delete
    Thank you for putting this together. This is a wonderful addition to the tower and very worthy of a blessing.
  • tandemonimom Jan 22, 2011 @ 7:03 pm | delete
    I knew a little about Agent Orange; it's good to know more. Such a terrible tragedy, and even more so if they DID know how harmful it would be.
  • TapIn2U Jan 22, 2011 @ 10:10 am | delete
    So much to learn from our history. A very informative lens. Good job!
  • WordCustard Jan 22, 2011 @ 7:25 am | delete
    This is very educational and an eye-opener for those of us who have heard of Agent Orange but never really knew much about it. Great job and a very worthy addition to the Jenga tower.
  • happynutritionist Jan 22, 2011 @ 12:17 am | delete
    Good lens on a difficult topic...had a good friend die some years ago as a result of being exposed to Agent Orange. That's about all I have to say about that. Worthy of the purple star.
  • Nenkai Jan 21, 2011 @ 7:02 pm | delete
    What a beautifully done, sobering lens! Back in the 80s I worked for a guy who did factoring. He knew months ahead of the next war when the Army would order up a new batch of coffins.

    Talk about macabre!
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More Vietnam Related sites that you may find interesting

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Agent Orange - Index

If you want to return to any section of Agent Orange, just click on any item and you will be taken to that section.
  1. What is Agent Orange?
  2. Where Was Agent Orange Sprayed?
  3. Operation Hades became Operation Ranch Hand
  4. US Airforce and Operation Ranch Hand Run
  5. Agent Orange Sprayed on Rice Fields
  6. U.S. Army Spraying Herbicides
  7. Vietnamese Personnel in Training
  8. Veterans and Agent Orange
  9. What do you think about Agent Orange?
  10. Soldiers spraying Agent Orange Defoliant
  11. Agent Orange: The Last Battle
  12. Agent Orange Class Settlement
  13. Nearly 3 million Americans served in Vietnam
  14. Agent Orange was not restricted to Vietnam
  15. Studies on the Effects of Agent Orange
  16. For More Information on Agent Orange
  17. Vietnam War Memorial
  18. Donations for Active Soldiers
  19. Please feel free to comment
  20. More Vietnam Related sites that you may find interesting

by

capriliz

"Agent Orange" was written in response to a Jenga challenge, but it has been something I have long wanted to write. Public awareness will help our veterans... more »

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