Local vets tell terrible tale of Agent Orange

Intended to remove the forest cover that sheltered the Vietcong guerrillas and to make food growth impossible across the countryside, Agent Orange use created a wealth of serious health-related problems — death, disease, chronic illness, birth defects in offspring, etc. — for those who came in contact with it.

As more and more veterans returning from the Vietnam War began to report psychological symptoms, skin rashes, diabetes, bleeding, cancer and other issues, the federal government eventually recognized Agent Orange exposure as a compensatable war injury. This declaration entitled affected veterans to health care and fiscal compensations.

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Q&A: 'Toxic War' - The Story of Agent Orange

U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War was long and costly in many ways.  The conflict itself raged for more than two decades, but the consequences of military actions taken in Vietnam continue to this day.  One of the darkest legacies is the effect of a widely used defoliant meant to quickly clear dense forests and flush out enemy forces.  Known as Agent Orange, the chemical induced adverse health issues for both U.S. troops and Vietnamese on both sides of the war.

Peter Sills, an attorney who helped represent the Vietnam Veterans of America in a class action lawsuit regarding the use of Agent Orange, has written about it in a new book titled Toxic War. Speaking with VOA’s Jim Stevenson, Sills told of the many ways Agent Orange had a direct effect on people, and how it even evolved into a weapon.

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