by August 10th is Agent Orange Awareness Day. It marks the day that the defoliant was first used in the Republic of South Vietnam in 1961. The day is meant to pay tribute to those who were exposed to Agent Orange and is a reminder of its lasting impact on many of those who served in Vietnam.
This one is personal to me. My father was medically retired from the Army in April 1972 and died almost exactly nine years later at age 62. He had served as the First Sergeant of an Army Engineers’ road building company in 1970-1971 stationed north-west of Saigon. Undoubtedly, they had sprayed Agent Orange at some period of time. Among the ailments which caused his medical retirement were both a stroke and heart issues. I don’t mean to put all the blame on Agent Orange as he was a heavy smoker but ischemic heart disease has been directly traced to it.
In 1972 he nor we knew much about the relationship between his probably exposure to Agent Orange and the disabling ailments he suffered. Likewise, when he died in 1981 it was just beginning to be understood. President Jimmy Carter had signed off on a Department of Veteran Affairs’ study only two year previously. It was not until 1991 that Congress passed the Agent Orange Act.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has recently added hypertension to the list of disabling ailments directly related to Agent Orange exposure. This is in addition to multiple types of cancer and other illnesses.
There is still much research to be done and other diseases to be added to the list. For example, I had a friend and client who died in early 2021 from pancreatic cancer. He had served in DaNang with the Air Force in 1968. His job was loading ordnance and Agent Orange on the various aircraft. His protective gear was a T-shirt. The VA still didn’t recognize his pancreatic cancer as being related to his direct exposure to Agent Orange which is a shame.
The use of Agent Orange officially ended in 1971. It is still impacting a generation of now older Americans. I hesitate to guess of its impact on Vietnamese civilians living in those same areas.
Just as there are areas of northeast France which are still no-go areas due to unexploded shells from World War One, the impact of the use of Agent Orange is still being felt almost 50 years since the Vietnam War came to a close.
I had an uncle who was a lifer in the army. He was in both Korea and Vietnam. He suffered from the effects of Agent Orange, and ended up dying from lung cancer plus a couple of other related diseases, linked to the chemical. His wife, my aunt, received a greater amount of pension due to his dying being related to the chemical. That was small consolation to losing him prematurely.
She just passed away this last year, in Junction City, KS. My uncle was stationed in Ft. Riley for many years. When he retired, he was hired as a civilian working from the same office, using the same tools, and doing the exact same work, at twice the rate of pay. His job was as a communications installation person, which he did in both of his war time deployments. As strange as it seems, he was never involved in any battles in Vietnam, but in Korea he was.
I recall him telling about the time he was shooting an enemy Chinese soldier, from about 100 yards away, and the man kept coming. My uncle said he could see the dust flying from the quilted vest the man was wearing, but he never faltered, until finally after several hits, the man fell down. My uncle was a pretty rough army type, and he admitted that at the time, he was getting pretty worried.
I want to tell anyone who served in the military, at any time, that they have my thanks and admiration. It is still something honorable, in my estimation.
My dad was also a lifer. He served in WW2 and Vietnam. After WW2, he got his GED and then went to college graduating in 1951. I believe he stayed in a local Nat Guard unit during most of the time he was in school. He was given a chance to transfer to the Regular Army at his Guard rank of MSgt. As he left the Army in 1945 as a Corporal, that was an advance for sure. Unlike your uncle, he never in any battles as he served in the Caribbean during WW2 and mostly did construction management in his two tours in Vietnam. He was in Cam Ranh Bay during the Tet Offensive so he might have seen some action there.
He loved being in the Army and had hoped to make his 30. He got 28 when the Army say you must retire. The sad thing is he only had 9 years in retirement. I have already outlived him by over 4 years and have a reasonable expectation of much more.
I agree with you 100% that service in any branch at any time is still an honorable thing.