Al Austin, an American war veteran who fought in Vietnam, has suffered from leukemia as a result of Agent Orange exposure. Agent Orange is the common name of the herbicide and defoliant, chemicals used to kill invasive weeds and other foliage, used during the Vietnam War by the United States military throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Over twenty million gallons of the herbicide was sprayed to eradicate the thick mangrove forests native to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, as to improve
Exposure In the Vietnam war, the United States used a strategy of spraying tactical herbicides. Agent Orange was the main herbicide; it got its name from the orange strip on the drums that was used to haul it from place to place (Hillstrom and Hillstrom 184). This was not the only agent sprayed though. There were also Agents Blue, Pink, White and Green. All of which got their name the same way (Schmidt 2). This strategy seemed great at first but it was more than expected. Agent Orange turned out to
Christopher Nguyen J301 Research Paper The Unwinnable War: A Nature of Herbicidal Warfare Mostly consisting of thick costal mangrove, the dense forest spread high across a wet, humid plateau in the countryside of North Vietnam. For centuries its environment provided raw natural resources such as nutrient-rich soil ideal for cultivating rice and flowing streams, providing a reliable water supply to the native people of the region. Now, on a summer day in 1961, it was under attack. Following direct
Agent Orange, a now known toxic chemical was produced for the U.S. Department of Defense by the Monsanto Corp. and Dow Chemical. The reason it was called “agent orange”, is because the barrels that it was shipped in had an orange stripe around the barrels. It was the most used y used chemical of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides". The agent orange was an herbicide or defoliant chemical used by the U.S. in the Vietnam war to prevent forest from developing this kept the Vietnamese and Vietcong troops
During the early 60’s in the Viet Nam war, Viet Cong soldiers used the protection of the forest canopy and mangroves to move troops and for ambushes against United States and Allied troops. To stop this, the US Air Force began Operation Ranch Hand in an effort to clear areas along roads, rivers and the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail using various herbicides manufactured in the United States. Agent Orange was successfully employed throughout Vietnam while clearing thousands of square miles of forest.
During the early 60’s in the Viet Nam war, Viet Cong soldiers used the protection of the forest canopy and mangroves to move troops and for ambushes against United States and Allied troops. To stop this, the US Air Force began Operation Ranch Hand in an effort to clear areas along roads, rivers and the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail using various herbicides manufactured in the United States. Agent Orange was successfully employed throughout Viet Nam while clearing thousands of square miles of forest
Vietnam Veterans and the Bitter Harvest of Agent Orange Vietnam veteran Paul Reutershan said on the Today show, “I died in Vietnam, but I didn’t even know it” (Wilcox x). For the veterans that survived the Vietnam War without major physical injuries, there were still other problems to endure. After the war, many veterans faced disapproval for fighting, serious psychological problems, and for some, diseases believed to be caused by herbicides used in the war. Many veterans didn’t even think that
History March 10, 2016 Word Count: 2125 Effects of the Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a horrific conflict fought between two principal countries, the United States of America and North Vietnam but with the involvement of many. The main countries that participated in the war were the United States of America, Australia, China, South Vietnam, and North Vietnam (Viet Cong)1. The Vietnam War, also called the American War in Vietnam, took place between 1954 to 1974 and resulted in over 3
are still paying a high price for fighting the war in Vietnam. Agent Orange is slowly taking the lives of these brave veterans. The government has recognized some diseases but the rules to compensation can be complex. It was in the 1960's that we were in the process of trying to destroy vegetation and brush in Vietnam, in doing so we proceeded to contaminate one of the largest parts of the environment, Humankind. War Veterans were exposed to Agent Orange and now live their lives with a disease not necessarily
Agent Orange: An Herbicide with Agency The war in Vietnam was, and continues to be, one of the most controversial hot button topics in American history. The military’s use of dangerous pesticides, like Agent Orange, is a major part of this controversy. Agent Orange is a defoliant that was widely used to deforest dense jungle areas to reduce both hiding places and food sources for the Vietnamese. During the war, American B-52 bombers released over nineteen million gallons of Agent Orange over the