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Agent Orange in Vietnam, Ignoring the Crimes Before Our Eyes
On October 13, The New York Times ran a news story headlined "Door Opens to Health Claims Tied to Agent Orange," which was sure to be good news to many American veterans of the Indochina War.
It reported that 38 years after the Pentagon ceased spreading the deadly dioxin-laced herbicide/defoliant over much of South Vietnam, it was acknowledging what veterans have long claimed: in addition to 13 ailments already traced to exposure to the chemical, it was also responsible for three more dread diseases — Parkinson’s, ischemic hedart disease, and hairy-cell leukemia.
Under a new policy adopted by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, the VA will now start providing free care to any of the 2.1 million Vietnam-era veterans who can show that they might have been hurt by exposure to Agent Orange.
This is another belated step forward in the decades-long struggle by Vietnam War veterans to get the Defense Department and the VA to acknowledge the American government’s responsibility for poisoning them and causing permanent damage to them and often to their children and grandchildren. Dioxin, one of the most poisonous substances known to man, is known to cause many serious systemic diseases, auto-immune illnesses, cancers, and birth defects.
(It is also a warning about the general Pentagon and government approach to other hazards caused by its battlefield use of toxins — most significantly the increasingly common use of depleted uranium projectiles in bombs, shells, and bullets — an approach that features lack of concern about health effects on troops and civilians, denial of information to troops, and denial of care to eventual victims.)
Missing from the Times article (written by military affairs reporter James Dao that did include mention of the obstructionist role the government has played through this whole sorry saga) was a single mention of the far larger number of victims of Agent Orange in Vietnam — the people on whose heads and lands the toxic chemical was actually dropped, or of the adamant refusal by the U.S. government to accept any responsibility for what it did to them.
According to the article, the VA estimates that there may be as many as 200,000 U.S. veterans who are suffering from Agent Orange-related illnesses. But according to a court case brought on behalf of Vietnamese victims, which was dismissed by a U.S. Federal District Judge who ruled that there was "no basis for the claims," there are at least three million Vietnamese — possibly as many as 4.8 million — who are suffering the same Agent Orange-related illnesses as American veterans and their children.
It is estimated that as many as 800,000 Vietnamese in the country’s south currently suffer from chronic health problems due to Agent Orange exposure, either to themselves or to a parent or grandparent. Most of these victims, some of whom are retarded, and others of whom cannot walk or have no use of their arms, need constant care.
Veterans for Peace, an organization whose membership includes a large number of Vietnam War veterans, has issued a call for the U.S. to provide funds for health care, education, vocational education, chronic care, home care, and equipment to clean up hotspots of dioxin in Vietnam — a call Congress and the White House have consistently ignored. Tests have found dioxin levels around the sites of the three main former U.S. bases in what was South Vietnam to be 300-400 times recognized safe levels.
The U.S. dumped huge amounts of Agent Orange for miles around those bases to kill off jungle cover that Vietnamese fighters could use to approach the bases, but it was never cleaned up when the U.S. pulled out.
One organization that includes a number of American veterans of the way, including former military doctors or soldiers who later became physicians, is the Vietnam Friendship Village Project USA Inc., which raises funds to help establish communities in Vietnam to care for the victims of Agent Orange.
It may seem a pathetic stab at principle given America’s use of two nuclear weapons against civilian targets in Japan a few years later, but back in World War II, in the midst of the most brutal island-to-island fighting during the Pacific War, a U.S. Judge Advocate General in the Pentagon ruled that a military request for permission to use herbicides against the Japanese on Pacific islands would be illegal under the Hague Convention (forerunner of what are now called the Geneva Conventions). He ruled that trying to destroy the crops of civilians on those islands to deny food to the Japanese troops would be a war crime.
The U.S. went ahead and used the herbicides anyway, arguing that even though it was illegal, the U.S. was free to go ahead, since the Japanese had already broken the laws of war by using strychnine to kill military guard dogs in Siberia. Under the rules of war, if one side breaks a rule, the other side is no longer bound by it.
But the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese never used toxic materials against U.S. forces or against South Vietnamese forces. And the Pentagon in the Vietnam War never even considered whether spraying a highly toxic herbicide over 1.4 million hectares — 12% of the total land area of Vietnam and almost 25% of the southern half of the country — might be a war crime.
Moreover, the Pentagon knew before it began its massive defoliation campaign about studies showing that Agent Orange was heavily laced with deadly dioxin, but covered up those studies, some by the chemical’s makers, Dow Chemical and Monsanto, and never even warned the troops who handled the material daily or who were sent out to fight in areas that had been heavily sprayed.
The ongoing medical disaster in Vietnam caused by America’s criminal use of Agent Orange to defoliate a nation would be a good place for President Obama to start earning his just-awarded Nobel Peace Prize. He could kick off his peace campaign by finally honoring President Richard Nixon’s immediately broken promise to provide several billion dollars in reconstruction aid to Vietnam at the conclusion of peace talks at the end of the war. Not a dollar of such aid was ever given.
Meanwhile, perhaps The New York Times could salvage a bit of its journalistic reputation by having Dao or some other reporter write a piece about the impact of America’s Agent Orange use on the people of Vietnam.
DAVE LINDORFF is a Philadelphia-based journalist. His latest book is "The Case for Impeachment" (St. Martin’s Press, 2006). His work is available at http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=8988
Posted by Yanira Farray on Oct 15 2009, With 0 Reads, Filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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I have been fighting the VA for this since 1968!
If you haven’t, visit this Vietnam Agent Orange Site: Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA)
http://www.vn-agentorange.org/
This also did not include the Blue and Brown Water service people who do not, still at this time, cannot, receive benefits due to the outlandish ruling of “Boots on ground”. This issue should include any and all in contact with any defoliage during the Vietnam Era and their families, yet doesn’t.
I hadn’t heard of the loophole that, only Boots on ground, are eligable for any benefits, but it doesn’t suprise me. Any chance to refuse culpability is taken full advantage of. and vets always get the short end of the stick.
USN ships and probably USCG cutters in the war zone of the Tonkin Gulf and South China Sea, distilled their own potable water from sea water. Large ships and support vessels with stills supplied the storage tanks of smaller units without them. These stills operated a low temperature by boiling the seawater in a partial vacuum. They were called vapor compression stills. On the open ocean, the water quality produced was quite good, but close to shore, the run-off from the land, containing bacteria, and chemical contaminants was not effectively neutralized and crews were frequently sickened by water-born illnesses.
Years ago it was disclosed that the rate of cancers for “blue water” sailors was the same as for ground-pounding grunts. This led some to suspect that a common contaminant that all consumed, like the preservatives in the foul-smelling beer, was to blame, but maybe the truth was told by the Oly can, which proclaimed “It’s the water.”
I’m wondering if there is a misprint in the article which list’s the newly reconized ailments? The line that I am refering to reads: ischemic hedart disease. Should this read: ischemic heart disease?
Somebody just had to do a spell check instead degest the article, shows where their mind is.
I went over Feb 1966 and return in Sept 1967 and at one time I spray the crap with a hand sprayer..now you want to talk about direct contact.
When I went for my “So-Called” Agent Orange phyiscal (in which was a joke) they said I had a high liver count and should take this up with my “Civilian” doctor.
I the ask where does Agent Orange settle, You know what they told me? IN THE LIVER!!!!!! Now go figure…..
Lets see if this post makes it though and not block by certain writers on this site. Code D44D26..right? right…
My VN vet husband has diabetes, heart ischemic disease and I could go on… our son has strange occurrences with his pancreas and other strange medical things that come and go that the doctor can’t explain.
However much as our family has been affected, this still sickened me:
“But according to a court case brought on behalf of Vietnamese victims, which was dismissed by a U.S. Federal District Judge who ruled that there was “no basis for the claims,” No BASIS FOR THE CLAIMS?”
Who the hell is this U.S. Federal District Judge?
Thank you to ‘Veterans Today’ for this article and the one last week on
El Toro.
Not good news, but good to know.
Thank you for all you do.
Thank you to ‘Veterans Today’ for this article and the one last week on
El Toro.
Not good news, but good to know.
Thank you for all you do.
Whoops! Didn’t meant to write it twice! But, I mean it, Thanks!
I agree that the medical issues we brought upon the Vietnamese and their offspring were horrible, we need to continue to assist Our Vets who were told repeatedly that Agent Orange was not a factor. We are still being lied to and denied benefits. Vets are being used and then tossed aside and forgotten. We will not be forgotten. We are here and we will be heard. Is there a way of finding out the voting record of our vote hog “leaders” to see just how much they are behind the American Veterans? 40 years and counting, the failure to honor those who fought for our country.
I agree we need to fight this tooth and nail. However it will never be resolved or responsibility accepted untill the last one of us has died and there is no one left to compensate. In the mean time they will continue to throw money at every half baked idea that comes down the road in order to pimp for votes to keep their cushy jobs and pay off the big contributers and lobyests. Follow the money and screw the vets. They got what they wanted out of us, now its time to kick to the curb, and start rapeing the next generation of vets. We are a perisable comodity that has to be used up while we are ripe for picking.
Saving Vietnam Veterans Lives 40 Years Later!
40 plus years later, the best American Vietnam Veteran’s, their families can still have a glimmer of hope for, respect and honor for, is for our US government and the government “Red Tape” bureaucracy denial medical claim process to provide the long over due adjudication of all VNV Agent Orange medical back claims, all current medical Agent Orange medical benefits and any future yet to be seen in service Agent Orange medical benefits for all Vietnam Veterans suffering, still dying, from exposure to Agent Orange Dioxin.
Exposed any place in the US, military bases, in Country, Vietnam, Guam, Thailand, Cambodia, Korea, DMZ, Johnston Island, Ft. Richie. Ft. McClellan, in the air, on the ground, Brown water VN. Bluewater VN Navy. If you served your country got sick, died, or still are sick, dying your rear end should be covered for serving your Country. America the beautiful for the ugly Department of Veterans Affairs political system of denial of medical benefits.
‘I died in Vietnam and didn’t know it”
Deny, Delay. until you die”
The VN Veteran slogans of caring for our VN Veterans.
40 plus years later, enough bills, enough IOM, NAS CDC, studies, enough of the Washington political games and delays.
Pay the Agent Orange back claims, fix the system, and take care of what is left of our VN Veterans exposed to the deadly Agent Orange Dioxin chemical.
Honor our Vietnam Veterans. Enough is Enough!!
VNV are still on the wait and die list of Washington.
Carlo Albanese
New York
Even ifthis is good news it is still hurry up and wait. Yes delay, deny and die is the motto for the VA.
I am tracking every day the agent orange equity act. The website is:
http://www.govtrack.us if you would like to look at it.
It is to ensure that all blue water navy, brown water navy, and airmen that flew over the area have the same rights to disability claims without having to prove boots on ground if they have illnesses relates to agent orange.
This is sponsored by Rep. Filner D Ca.
As of this morning Fri. oct. 16th we have 175 representatives on board. I believe we need 285 to get it thru.
I write to our representatives all the time encouraging them to get on board. Our state Legislative chairman from the VFW is putting it in our general orders and I have asked the entire state to get behind this.
As Mr. Wellman said he has been fighting since 1968. My husband has been fighting for 20 years. He finally got a rating of 0%.
Please check out that website.
Rick The reason I asked the question is because the VA has determined that HEART disease is what is slowly killing me but naturally they don’t think my VN service has anything to do with it, even though I loaded the stuff and flew the spraying the missions near the DMZ
Hats off to Dave for the informing article. This is one of the reasons why I keep coming back to Veterans Today. We need to hear info, whether good or bad, in the interest of veterans. Tom, Duffer and staff,…keep writing the articles you feel in the best interest of us as vets!
Is this the effects of Vietnam
Peter Macdonald 465 Packers falls rd Lee NH 03824 603-659-6217
All hope is gone. There can be no understanding. Trying to do the right thing can leave the answer that is confusing. We can have everything but if we do not understand who we are and why, the word lost must be the answer. I am not depressed or need medication. The pain enjoys my body, as my right wrist and ankle seem to function less and less contributing to the deadly pain in my lower back. My head is so light that the dull pain shooting down between my ears can in a non-functional way mean something may be. The odd thing is that at coffee this morning someone reminded me that I promised AM 1340 Radio that I would change the letters on the sign for them this morning. The thought just popped into my mind from nowhere as I finish this first paragraph. The mind is a very strange operation in my head. So setting the discomforts of my body aside I will help others at all costs. If we do not understand who and why, nothing can be more important than volunteering your time helping others.
It is another day and I now know that yesterday’s letter ended with no end. Yesterday I functioned as a normal person but I was not there. Last night my mind traveled each of eight convoys as an American Advisor from that scared teenage U.S. Marine on the first to the defiant confident Marine on the last. I seem to understand why my letters are so hard to believe because what I have done is unbelievable. It is like do I really exist. How hard is it to believe that this person wrote two published books. Others cannot believe that my wife and I are best friends. She orgasms at least twice each of the four days a week that we make love. My letters are mocked because it is inconceivable that I really do exist. I see that people cannot accept me because who I am and why cannot be understood. The people would rather mock than accept the who or why just may not be there.
I am a 100% disabled Veteran. Those are just words to make me accept that there is nothing left. Can the VA be the best health care or are those just words that allow politicians to ignore many U.S. Military returning with defects you mock because you cannot believe. The Marine Corps Birthday and Veterans Day are fast approaching but you fail to hear the homeless veteran or disabled unable to get medical care words of horror. I speak loudly of the dysfunctional ways of the VA and criminal acts of our political fortress but my words are mocked because as this letter will be. The humming in my ears just started and the pain singing from my teeth cannot be explained. Can the reason you do not accept me is that I am not here? As unbelievable as this letter is, this is the mind of a U.S. Marine why?
I do not feel good. I will use all my Marine Corps training to prevent others from being effected by my disabilities. This is a confusing dysfunctional letter that cannot be understood. I publish this letter because it is what is happening to me at this time. This is the mind of a 100% disabled Veteran that the Veterans Hospital medical care is limited to teach me not to write letters such as this. Wake up and do not let what the U.S. government is doing to yesterday and today’s veterans happen to those coming back in the future. This is the end of yesterdays letter today.
Veteran’s Day should be a day of awareness not celebration. I am very tired.
Peter Macdonald Sgt USMC Semper fi
The effects of Vietnam and of all wars and conflicts exist because of christianity.
Calling all Christians
Peter Macdonald 465 Packers falls rd Lee NH 03824 603-659-6217
This letter about calling all Christians in the Concord Monitor letter makes me wonder if people or for that matter the editors are really aware of the people. The news media has become entertainment for people like Rush to bash those he does not like. People like this stand behind the Constitution as if it gives them the right to destroy freedom. The average citizen is so scared of losing everything silence is the norm to protect them from public ridicule, as others like Rush will do to them. A front-page headline in the Union Leader today “Out of work, short on time” said it all. The thing is these people were afraid to say anything to help others when they were making it. No one wants to understand volunteering to help others when times are OK for you will make it better for all later. The news media has lost touch with; it is the word of the people that make a government of the people for the people, work. It can be like my letter yesterday. I just read it and I am astonished that no paper printed it. I have no memory of writing it but to illuminate what the U.S. is doing to Veterans should not be a call to Christians but to all U.S. Citizens.
The newspapers refuse to publish my opinion because of my mental state. My medical conditions exist because of my actions as a U.S. Marine for you. My medical care was stopped because the U.S. government and NH elite (and yes many are Christians) are using my VA medical care to silence my opinion. I am ridiculed and mocked by a few to make the many scared to speak. This action to stop me is OK in the Christians eye because of what I did as a U.S. Marine. I talk in the singular but my words mean every U.S. Military Veteran. Twenty-five percent of the homeless in the U.S. are Veterans. Many veterans in need are denied help because their medical conditions did not appear before their discharge. The Christians will celebrate Veterans Day in the near future but will they understand what we did it for. Reaching out and helping as a volunteer others with out even the need for a thank you is what we did it for. Christianity is allowed to exist openly because of the forgotten ones willing to go off to war for you. Celebrating Veterans Day is wrong if you do not know how to put your hand out to help all freely.
I have a token VA medical appointment on 10-19. This is so the record exists incase the public becomes aware. I will be on time and wait some 45 minutes to see a Doctor for 5 minutes. My medical care was stopped completely until the NH Free Press published my opinion telling the public. How many other Veterans are treated the same or worse because of a corrupt government administration. Everyone should ask why only one newspaper printed a Veteran’s words. The newspapers have made the public afraid of me to aid the NH government to protect the elite class of citizens. Some will say that I am delusional and paranoid but when I read letters like “Calling all Christians” about Carla Skinder’s column on dental care it shows that it is not just me. There is no conspiracy it has become the norm to give to some at the expense of the average. Health care for our government officials is a clear indication of the truth of my words.
WHAT I AM IS A 100% DISABLED U.S. MARINE AND A NATURAL BORN U.S. CITIZEN
Peter Macdonald Sgt USMC Semper Fi