Historical Context
During the Vietnam War the US Air Force engaged in a program of herbicidal warfare known as 'Operation Ranch Hand'. For ten years the Air Force sprayed forests in South Vietnam, affecting some 5 million acres of forest, or some 20% of all the forests in South Vietnam.
There were several chemicals used, but the most famous was Agent Orange (There were also Agents Green, Pink, Purple, Blue and White). The idea behind using the chemicals was to destroy foliage acting as a potential cover for the Viet Cong insurgents, who used trails through the forest for supply lines and camps.
The impacts on the Vietnamese people and ecosystem were devastating. It is estimated by the Vietnamese Red Cross (although these figures are disputed) that as many as 3 million Vietnamese suffered illness due to the chemicals, and around 1 million people are disabled as a result of it. Many children were born with deformities as a result of prenatal exposure to Agent Orange.
Photo Info
Photographer: United States Air Force
Location taken: South Vietnam
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Related Events
- 1962-01-12 Operation Ranch Hand begins, a US Air Force operation to spray South Vietnamese forests with defoliants such as Agent Orange
- 1979-11-24 Senate report proves US troops in Vietnam were exposed to the toxic chemical defoliant Agent Orange
- 1984-05-07 $180m out-of-court settlement reached in Agent Orange suit
Related Articles and Photos
Vietnamese Monk Burns Himself Alive
Thích Quảng Đức moments after setting fire to himself in Saigon as an act of protest
June 11, 1963Execution of a Viet Cong Prisoner
General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan summarily executes Viet Cong prisoner Nguyễn Văn Lém
February 1, 1968Vietnam War Moratorium Demonstration
Millions marched against the Vietnam War outside the White House
November 15, 1969The Fall of Saigon
South Vietnamese civilians scramble to board a CIA helicopter during the evacuation of the US embassy in Saigon
April 30, 1975
Related Famous People
Vietnamese Communist Revolutionary
Ho Chi Minh35th US President
John F. Kennedy36th US President
Lyndon B. JohnsonPresident of South Vietnam
Ngô Đình Diệm