ipl-logo

Agent Orange Effect

882 Words4 Pages

Agent Orange was a highly poisonous herbicide used during the Vietnam War for defoliation of forests and crop destruction (“agent orange”). Agent Orange is one of the many Rainbow herbicides such as Agent Pink, Agent Green, Agent White, Agent Purple, and Agent Blue used during the war. These herbicides got their colorful names due to the color-coded stripes painted on the fifty-five gallon drums they were stored in (“What is Agent Orange?).
Millions of gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed from low flying U.S. planes during a military operation called Ranch Hand (“Agent Orange I”). The United States used Agent Orange to defoliate forest areas where Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers found cover in the thick jungles of South Vietnam …show more content…

James Clary when they initiated the herbicide they knew of the potential damage due to dioxin contamination. However no one was concerned because it was only to be used on the enemy. They didn’t imagine their own personnel would be affected. In 1979 outraged veterans issued a lawsuit against the United States government because of all the effects they were experiencing. Five years later in an out of court agreement seven large chemical companies that manufactured Agent Orange offered to give 180 million dollars to all the Vietnam veterans or their next of kin. By 1988 the amount of money changed to 240 million dollars with interest. Any Veteran anywhere in the Vietnam War was most likely exposed to Agent Orange (Erickson). However in 1991 President Bush signed the Agent Orange Act saying that veterans with health issues as a result of the dioxins would be treated for free, as a thank you for their service to America (“Agent Orange …show more content…

Many Vietnamese people were affected as well. According to Vietnamese officials nearly 400,000 people were killed or maimed by the dioxins. They also claim that half a million children have been born with birth defects and two million people got cancer or other illnesses because of the dioxin. Not to mention the thousands of square miles of damaged terrain. Fred Wilcox says that America will not compensate Vietnam for the damages because they would be admitting to committing war crimes during the Vietnam War which would open the doors to many lawsuits and a loss of billions of dollars (Legacy of Agent Orange in

Show More
Related
666 Words | 3 Pages

The direct quote from navy officials proves Monsanto is not trustworthy with its chemicals. Also, the purpose is clearly demonstrated in a direct quote from a trusted national source reviewing Monsanto’s PBC substance. Again a quote from a trusted source is used to show Monsanto’s chemical history. Doctors discuss the lasting effects of the chemical dioxin, which is one of the most deadly chemicals known to date. They say after meeting with the workers who were exposed to this chemical, “‘We believe these men are excreting a foreign chemical through their skins,’the confidential report to Monsanto noted.

Read More
297 Words | 2 Pages

The GAR continuously challenged congress to pass additional bonus compensations. The veteran’s organization became one of the most powerful lobby associations in D.C. The Pension Act of 1890 was introduced into congress by future President William McKinley. The Act provided all honorably discharged veterans with ninety days or more of service a monthly bonus of $6 to $12 dollars. A series of additional legislative actions granting veterans and their family’s additional monetary awards ballooned the nation’s annual bill from $170 million dollars in 1917 to over $16 million dollars before World War I.

Read More
972 Words | 4 Pages

Agent Orange was a various mixture of many chemicals combined together to expose the hidings of the Northern and Viet Cong Troops throughout the forest, also to exterminate those plants and herbs that they may use that are consumable and of use to the Vietnamese army. From the years of 1961 to 1972 many acres of Vietnam land were sprayed with Agent Orange, approximately over 19 millions gallons were used across 4.5 million acres. Alongside Agent Orange it was a war of attrition, back and forth trying to make one another weaker with simple plans as weakening them would strengthen and conquer the other. They waited one another out, the U.S. had plans of destroying their hidings spots and plants they’d use as a food source so they would be hungry and less prepared for combat. They were only invading troops, not knowing many strategies for engaging and weakening their biggest opportunity was with the agent orange to atleast get rid of some of their food supplies so they’ll be hungry and not be able to fight much or even perform

Read More
1071 Words | 5 Pages

The Tet Offensive was one of the largest military campaigns in the Vietnam War launched by the Viet Cong and North Vietnam People’s Army which killed over five thousand American soldiers. How did the Tet Offensive influence American politics, society, and the overall development of the war in Vietnam? This question plagues many historians, politicians, soldiers, and veterans. The Tet Offensive influenced American politics by forcing politicians to take a stand one way or another on the viewpoint of the war, influencing American society by causing people to see the reality of war itself, and influencing the overall development of the war by showing that the enemy was not, in fact, about to collapse in defeat as the government had told the public for years.

Read More
1090 Words | 5 Pages

Additionally, there is another example that proves this claim which can be seen through the Vietnam War: This is known as the Gulf of Tonkin. The year 1964 would mark the formal involvement of the U.S. entering the Vietnam War issued by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Having similar ideas like those of the CIA interventions, the U.S. also had intentions of stopping communism from happening in Vietnam. All starting because of two separate attacks on two US Navy destroyers: “U.S.S Maddox and U.S.S Turner Joy” (Gulf of Tonkin Resolution), the Gulf of Tonkin shows how similar to Operation Cyclone and Pearl Harbor it really was to the idea of increasing military supplies based on both threats of communism and threats of attacks, as well as gaining the support of Americans by justifying these threats as “major problems that must be taken care of all in the name of “protecting and serving our nation”.

Read More
1351 Words | 6 Pages

Out of the approximately 58,100 American casualties of the Vietnam War, Tim O’Brien managed to be one of the lucky foot soldiers that avoided brutal Viet Cong assault, countless hidden land mines, and deadly booby-traps. After the war, O’Brien conjured up a very emotional and eye-opening novel about his experiences in Vietnam and titled it, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me up and Ship Me Home. Author Tim O’Brien argued that the Vietnam War was unjustified through his depictions of exquisite brutality, mistreatment of Vietnam civilians, and soldier’s experiences of guerrilla warfare. The ways in which O’Brien demonstrates to the audience the exquisite brutality of the Viet Cong and American soldiers during the Vietnam War, are scattered throughout the entirety of the book and really help to strengthen his claim for the lack of justification for the War.

Read More
769 Words | 4 Pages

It was used to damage forest area, the leaves, and crops where Vietcong troops were hiding. Agent Orange made it easier for United States troops to see what was going on. In the end, “Many would blame Agent Orange for cancers suffered by Vietnamese civilians and American veterans” (Danzer 945). Since Agent Orange contains dioxin, a deadly chemical, it caused many severe health problems worldwide. “They included cancers, birth defects, rashes, and severe psychological and neurological problems” (“Agent Orange 1”).

Read More
1044 Words | 5 Pages

For those that witnessed these deaths, the mental effects were long-lasting. In the Vietnam War, approximately 388,000 tons of Napalm bombs were dropped between 1963 and 1973. This figure is nearly six times the amount of Napalm bombs that were used in both the Korean War and in Japan. While the use of Napalm bombs resulted in some of the most successful United States attacks during this war, it was one of the first occasions that Napalm was criticized on a large, public scale. While some media outlets hailed Napalm as the number one weapon of the war, Winston Churchill spoke out against its use.

Read More
326 Words | 2 Pages

A country changed forever, with a beginning but possibly no foreseen end. Agent Orange worked its way into the very roots of nature and mankind. “ ...war not just on vegetation but also on the roots and essences of life itself,” as stated by Hitchens in his essay, “The Vietnam Syndrome.” Honestly, I don’t believe that those who decided to spread this chemical ever knew what the immense cost to human life would be, or just how long its effects would last. Generation after generation have felt and seen it’s maliciousness and destruction.

Read More
1666 Words | 7 Pages

Chemical weapons have some “immediate effects of chlorine gas toxicity include acute inflammation of the conjunctiva, nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea, and bronchi. Irritation of the airway mucosa leads to local edema secondary to active arterial and capillary hyperemia. Blistering gas is another form of chemical weapon” (OPCW, Sheet 4). It was “first tested in combat in 1917 by Germany and {has} been used in several conflicts since” (OPCW, sheet 4). This Chemical agent is “primarily dispersed in liquid or vapour (aerosol) form and may persist for days” (OPCW, Sheet 4).

Read More
315 Words | 2 Pages

Additionally, the soldiers who made back alive came back with mental illness. Mental illnesses are a common thing to get obtain when a person or a soldier is faced with a dangerous situation, and it 's not surprising that the soldiers ' mental states always tended to be on the paranoid side due to the guerrilla warfare in Vietnam. War is a game of

Read More
1111 Words | 5 Pages

According to WorldAtlas.com, the use of these chemicals in the Vietnam War created the second worst chemical warfare event in history, second only to an event in 600 BCE. In an article stating the top 10 worst chemical warfare events in history World Atlas justifies the Vietnam War being the second worst with, “Agent Orange itself breaks down within a week, as a result producing a compound called dioxin. Dioxin lingers in some conditions for up to 100 years and is estimated by the Vietnamese government to have caused up to 400,000 deaths, and 1.5 million birth defects.” The backlash to the use of these chemicals was huge, and the U.S. government was the main target for supporting the production and use of these disliked weapons. After they were exposed for using these chemicals, even more people opposed the war and the US’ decisions.

Read More
369 Words | 2 Pages

In an attempt to contain the reaction this decision will have between organizations of veterans and among the families of the more than 50,000 Americans killed in that war, Clinton said that lifting the embargo was “the best means of resolving doubts about the fate of those who are still missing.” More than 2,200 US soldiers involved in the war are still in the category of missing in combat. Clinton explained during a brief ceremony at the White House that this initiative does not mean full normalization of diplomatic relations. He said that to get to that point is necessary for the Government of Hanoi collaborate more actively in the investigation into the fate of missing persons. Vietnam’s communist regime has traditionally argued that there

Read More
1164 Words | 5 Pages

In using artillery and air power of weapons like the M163 Vulcan, M42A1 Skysweeper, and the MIM23 Hawk we were able to take down our enemies. There was 2.7 million soldiers that served in the Vietnam War. In this being said there were 58,000 that died or remained missing, and 300,000 that were wounded. More than one hundred forty billion dollars was spent on this war. The U.S failed to overcome its objective of preserving an independent, noncommunist state in Vietnam, now no one knows how or why we fought this war or weather the military outcome was possible for the United States.

Read More
695 Words | 3 Pages

destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, and President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the retaliatory bombing of military targets in North Vietnam. By the time U.S. planes began regular bombings of North Vietnam in February 1965, some critics had begun to question the government’s assertion that it was fighting a democratic war to liberate the South Vietnamese people from Communist aggression. The anti-war movement began mostly on college campuses, as members of the leftist organization Students for a Democratic Society began organizing “teach-ins” to express their opposition to the way in which it was being conducted. Though the vast majority of the American population still supported the administration policy in Vietnam, a small but outspoken liberal minority was making its voice heard by the end of 1965. This minority included many students as well as prominent artists and intellectuals and members of the hippie movement, a growing number of young people who rejected authority and embraced the drug

Read More

More about Agent Orange Effect

Related Topics

Open Document