The Pros And Cons Of Agent Orange

Children and grandchildren of Vietnam War veterans are most likely to inherit deformities and fatal diseases from their father's exposure to Agent Orange. Children suffering from these diseases, normally do not have the money to get treated after the Vietnam War and no support from the government. These children are affected by diseases formed by Agent Orange because of their father's involvement in the Vietnam War 43 years ago and to this day these deformities and diseases are

Poison Gas/Chemical Warfare usage, while not harming physical structures preventing the collateral damage of homes and buildings, causes a high casualty rate in all living things. It is indescriminate and robs life equally be they related or not to a target of military or strategic importance. Gas usage has been widely considered uncivilized, but the French resorted to its usage in August, 1914 during the first World War in an attempt to rout the Germans. Unfortunately, the Germans were the first to give gas warfare serious development and it became used extensively before the war was over. On the battlefield it prooved effective in eliminating hostile threats in an inhumane way, but this does not make it morally acceptable. In more recent times ISIS has been reported to using Poison Gas in Syria against both military and civilians in an indescriminate manner. This sort of attack ignores international laws as well as inhumanely cause widespread harm. In this day and age, this sort of attack is unnecessary and is why it was outlawed in the first place even back during the first World War.

Veterans from the war even made groups that opposed the war. These soldiers formed an organization called Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). This organization held a purpose, this was to form a voice for the opposition to bring home our military men and woman in the ongoing war in Vietnam, this organization had over 28,000 members across the United States as well as active military personnel in Vietnam. Through the actions of the organization, they exposed the real truth about the United States involvement in Vietnam and veterans real life experiences, which made America realize how unjust this war was. VVAW was created in retrospect to the vast majority of veterans with PTSD because of Vietnam. Agent Orange, a chemical that U.S. used during the war had effects on our veterans. The U.S. government used over 15 million gallons of herbicides during the war to destroy plants and trees, not understanding that soldiers used

Agent Orange was used during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was, “a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States”

The increasing number of troops and military efforts involved with Vietnam and the seemingly optimistic reports reported by the government were the primary factors that caused the Tet Offensive and Counteroffensive. The American government had become increasingly involved with the Vietnam war. From 1965 to 1967, over 400,000 soldiers were sent to help the South Vietnamese forces. This massive increase in the amount of soldiers was frustrating to the American people. Johnson’s approval rating fell to a mere 40%, half of what it had been in 1965.  (“Vietnam War (1959-1975)” ; Axelrod 1). When the American soldiers returned home from Vietnam, it was often heard that they were spit on, and

During the peak of U.S involvement in the Vietnam War, between 1967 and 1969 the U.S employed a strategy that proved to be a disaster on many different levels. With over 500,000 of their troops serving in Vietnam at the time, the widespread use of herbicides, particularly Agent Orange began being sprayed over the Vietnamese jungle by planes. The aim of this was to eliminate the ‘invisibility' of the Viet Cong and offer a safe path for the American troops to follow. This was a good idea in theory, but what the American strategists didn't think of was the toxicity of the herbicides, and the fact that not only would the Viet Cong be exposed to it, but their troops and innocent South Vietnamese would be also. A widely speculated and argued repercussion of this is that many Vietnam veterans, and Vietnamese villagers began to give birth to babies with birth defects. However, a confirmed result

The first chemical to be discussed is Agent Orange; Agent Orange has been identified as a human carcinogen; this chemical was introduced during the Vietnam war as a defoliant for the thick Vietnamese jungle. Although Agent Orange contained a variety of herbicides, most of the pesticide contained Phenoxyacetic acid – based herbicide 2,4-D and 2,4, 5-T. The most common mixture of the Agent Orange used during

“We were told, ‘it’s totally safe and it won’t hurt you at all,” he added. “We were told you can drink it, you can brush your teeth with it, or you can bathe in it. It won’t hurt you. Those were lies.” (“U.S. Soldiers Sprayed Agent Orange across Korea” 1) Agent Orange was an herbicide used by the United States military forces in Vietnam between 1962 and 1971 to destroy their enemies’ food supply, land, and protection. Twelve million gallons of this toxin were sprayed. (Department of Preventive Medicine 1) It affected the Vietnamese and the American troops who were fighting in the same jungle. Little did the United States military know the effects of this dangerous herbicide. It caused many long-term complications, including health problems

The USA was extremely vain when going to war in Vietnam. They had extreme firepower. With a few weeks notice at the time, had the power to turn Vietnam into a region of radioactive glass. The US’s strategy of search and destroy conflicted directly with the Vietnamese’s strategy of hanging onto their belts (caplan,2012). Unlike previous American victories against

This is a more in-depth piece on the lawsuits made by veterans following the end of the Vietnam War. Claims started being made in 1977 after many veterans were experiencing health issues and having children born with birth defects. They reported the issues to the Department of Veteran Affairs for disability benefit, but the agency denied them of any help unless they could prove it was directly from serving in Vietnam or within a year after coming home. A case worker for the department, Maude De Victor, met a widow of a veteran who died from lung cancer and she believed her husband’s cancer was related to exposure to Agent Orange. De Victor started to ask other veterans about being exposed to Agent Orange and asking the Department of Defense,

Almost thirty years after the last troops were pulled out of what was then South Vietnam, its effects are still felt in today’s society. It is hard not to find someone who’s life has not been affected because of this war. One of the most controversial decisions made in the war was to use chemicals to fight the enemy. The most boradly used chemiucal was called Agent Orange. Some people agreed with the use of Agent Orange. They saw it as a very viable weapon that needed to be used in order to keep the Communist from taking control of South Vietnam and subverting their democratic government. Many others disapproved of its use. They knew, correctly, that it would severely devastate the landscape of Vietnam and would forever ruin the

Only six years into the war, over 1.5 million acres of Vietnamese foliage were being sprayed annually by the United States Military (Poremba). Many did not even know that they were being exposed because the chemicals would seep into their skin ("Agent Orange Cancer"). A group of scientists began doing research on this highly dangerous herbicide. After an extensive and rigorous analysis of Agent Orange, scientists deemed it to be unsafe. It was estimated that over 5,000 scientists begged President Kennedy to stop the use of it in Vietnam ("Vietnamese"). Nevertheless, the chemicals were continued to be used there by the United States until the end of the Vietnam War.

The chemical weaponry that were used on the Vietnam vegetation had an adverse effect on the people in a way that even after three generations, the effects are still evident on the children. Many of them are born with malformations and severe defects in the nervous structure and immune system. The chemical also affected the American soldiers and veterans as many of them have health issues related to these weapons. Although the American government thought that they were only punishing the North Vietnamese, American veterans ended up victims of chronic and unhealthy conditions.

We must do everything in our power to make the world recognize that our veterans 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 curable. The question remains did these Veterans know about the hazardous effects, and how are they being compensated now? Agent Orange was the code

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 orders, an American Air Force pilot steers his C-123 cargo aircraft over the jungles of Vietnam. In its wake, the aircraft leaves behind a toxic cloud of 2, 4- dicholorophenoxyacetic acid and 2, 4, 5- tricholorophenoxyacetic acid, spewing from its’ cylindrical, orange- stripped, steel drum; this toxic mixture of chemical compounds would become known as the deadly herbicide, Agent Orange. The utilization of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War caused a devastating ripple-effect on Vietnam’s environment that has resulted in adverse effects to its region’s natural environment, the physical bodies of exposed civilians and wartime veterans, and the political landscape of the United States.