In the country of Vietnam they are still living the memories of the American War. Year after year more and more Vietnamese nationals are becoming sick and disabled. The same thing can be said for American Vietnam veterans all over this country. Why? 

The spraying of Agent Orange throughout the hinterland of Vietnam could be the cause. The American military thought if they could cut down the tree and bush foliage they could fight this war better. So what better way than to spray a sweet smelling herbicide to level all green living things? Thousands of planes flew over what was then South Vietnam, laying down this spray.  Well it did work, but it’s now overstayed its welcome.  

Thirty years later, this defoliant has gotten into the food chain and humans are still exposed to it and they die. The defoliants were contaminated with TCDD, the most dangerous form of dioxin. The United States banned the use of TCDD in America for any purpose. This was reported in the June 1,2001 issue of Asia Weekly.  

The magazine also stated that Vietnam is overwhelmed with this ever-growing problem. Vietnam has the highest rate of disabled people per capita then any other country in this world. Could Agent Orange be the culprit? 

Many testify that 150,000 children have been cut down in the prime of their lives--children with one eye, with one leg, or one arm; children with bone problems. These children will be ostracized because they look very different than their friends.  

Both governments have estimated that over one million Vietnamese nationals are now disabled. Mothers have had miscarriages, the cancer rate has almost tripled, and birth defects have doubled since the war’s end. All of these incidents cannot be documented, but most people point toward the sweet smelling spray. 

The spraying was a military tactic, killing all ground cover for the Viet Cong, Viet Min, and North Vietnamese Regular Army. This was done so the United States military planes and military space satellites could see communist troop movements in South Vietnam.

The United States military spraying in the late 1960’s and middle 70’s may have been a military success, but it’s now a human tragedy. A tragedy that affects both sides of the Pacific Ocean; and a tragedy that has become a political football. America wants to trade goods and products with Hanoi, but the United States government will not proceed until the People’s Republic of Vietnam drops the recent inquires of Agent Orange. 

Levels of Agent Orange are known to be at least 100 times higher than that section of North Vietnam not sprayed as intensely as in the South. We may never know the extent of damage done in North Vietnam.  We do not know how many disabled children and adults are now living in the North, because we cannot get any current information from the Hanoi government. 

The governments of Vietnam and the United States should be ashamed of its recent actions. They should be finding ways to help these disabled people in both countries, instead of talking about trade with each other. These disabled Vietnamese need food, medicines, and wheelchairs. They need to be studied and documented to really know if the spraying has caused their disabilities. Without that, we will never know the extent of the damage done by our Agent Orange.

This issue hit my family ten years ago; my uncle served in the United States Air Force. He was in Viet Nam for about two and a half years, at the height of the Agent Orange spraying. He passed away from cancer. This very healthy, vibrant man just wasted away in a matter of months.  

Our military spraying killed my uncle and many more American Vietnam Veterans. When will we help the victims and their families? We should help with hospital costs, drugs, and other medical aids to make life easier. When will we help the families of Vietnam that will be suffering for many years to come, as these children become older? The Vietnamese government will not have the information, resources, or will to help its people. 

It is our duty to help, since we used the chemicals. America owes it to our fighting men and woman of that war; America owes it to the new government of Vietnam to help; America owes it to the disabled children of Vietnam.[]