Agent Orange Controversy of the 1960s
The Agent Orange controversy of the 1960s centers around the use of this chemical herbicide by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War, primarily aimed at defoliating jungles and destroying crops that provided cover and sustenance to enemy forces. Initiated in 1962 and extensively used from 1965 to 1971, the program, known as Operation Ranch Hand, involved the aerial spraying of over 100 million pounds of herbicides across South Vietnam. While some military officials initially supported the tactic for its strategic benefits, growing concerns emerged regarding the long-term health effects on both U.S. soldiers and Vietnamese civilians exposed to the chemicals.
As evidence mounted linking Agent Orange to serious health issues, including various cancers and birth defects, a significant controversy unfolded. U.S. veterans began reporting numerous health problems after returning home, leading to demands for accountability and compensation. Despite a 1981 congressional act recognizing the connection between Agent Orange and veterans' health issues, the Pentagon initially denied responsibility. This ongoing struggle culminated in a class-action lawsuit settled in 1984, but the legacy of Agent Orange continues to affect affected individuals and their families today. The human and environmental toll of this herbicide use remains a poignant chapter in the history of warfare and its impacts on health and society.
Agent Orange Controversy of the 1960s
A chemical defoliant used throughout the Vietnam War. This potent dioxin has been linked to a variety of illnesses suffered by Vietnamese and veterans of the war and to deformities in their children.
The Use of Agent Orange
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Air Force sprayed chemical herbicides such as Agent Orange over cropland and jungles. The first limited use of the chemicals occurred in 1962; they were employed over a widespread area from 1965 to 1971. Although many scientists praised the use of herbicides to destroy food sources and dense forage that hid communist insurgents, they slowly grew concerned about the effects of these herbicides on the Vietnamese villagers and U.S. forces who were exposed to them. Toward the end of the conflict, a controversy arose over whether various ailments suffered by U.S. veterans and birth deformities in their children were linked to the use of chemical defoliants in Vietnam.
In 1962, President authorized the Air Force to carry out the extensive defoliation campaign in Vietnam to destroy cropland and jungle cover used by North Vietnamese forces. Kennedy’s advisers objected to the campaign, fearing that the United States might be accused of using chemical warfare. Modified Air Force C-123s flew thousands of sorties, ultimately destroying half of South Vietnam’s timberland in a campaign called Operation Ranch Hand. By 1969, questions arose concerning the effects of Agent Orange on humans. Vietnamese women exposed to the herbicide gave birth to an unusually high number of children with birth defects. Soldiers complained of persistent headaches and coughing.
Impact
One C-123 airplane could carry eleven thousand pounds of Agent Orange and spray the chemical over three hundred acres in less than four minutes. In a matter of weeks, the treated area would become barren. In all, more than one hundred million pounds of chemical herbicides were applied to the Vietnamese countryside. Much of the exposed territory can never be refoliated and can certainly never be farmed. The human cost is more difficult to measure but is substantial nonetheless. The tactical advantage gained from destroying the enemy’s cover and food supply was minimal.
Subsequent Events
The defoliation campaign ended in January, 1971. Some three million U.S. veterans subsequently contacted the Veterans Administration about possible Agent Orange-related health problems. Veterans receive compensation for several Agent Orange-related diseases, including sarcoma, lymphoma, chloracne, porphyria, prostate and lung cancer, and Hodgkin’s disease. As late as 1985, the Pentagon denied any connection between Agent Orange and the ailments suffered by Vietnam veterans, despite a congressional act in 1981 that ordered the Veterans Administration to compensate veterans exposed to Agent Orange and other herbicides. A class-action lawsuit by veterans against the companies that produced Agent Orange and other dioxins used in Vietnam was settled out of court in 1984. The problem continued decades after the war because of time limitations placed on veterans’ claims for Agent Orange-related health problems.
Additional Information
Sources of information on Agent Orange and the use of herbicides in Vietnam include Cecil Paul Frederick’s Herbicidal Warfare: The Ranch Hand Project in Vietnam (1986) and Fred Wilcox’s Waiting for an Army to Die: The Tragedy of Agent Orange (1983).