Any day is a good day to check on an old Vietnam Veteran.
Agent Orange Awareness Day is an annual observation on August 10th and designed to raise awareness of the effects of the herbicide known as Agent Orange, used in Vietnam by American forces to defoliate future and current battlegrounds with the purpose of depriving the enemy ground cover to hide in.
While it is widely reported that American combat troops did not officially fight in Vietnam until 1965, the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam by Americans began as early as 1961. The use of Agent Orange was originally authorized by President John F. Kennedy and Air Force planes began flying missions to disburse Agent Orange as part of something known as Operation Trail Dust.
Agent Orange was not the only compound used in this operation, but it is was used in over half of the flying missions there. What’s more, flying missions were only part of the effort. Agent Orange was disbursed on the ground from trucks, from boats, and even disbursed by people carrying the compound in backpacks.
Agent Orange contained an incredibly toxic substance known as dioxin. Nearly 400 pounds of dioxin were used in Vietnam in Agent Orange. Dioxin is responsible for cancer, birth defects, and other symptoms. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed off on a Department of Veterans Affairs study of Agent Orange; legislation known as the Agent Orange Act was not signed into law in 1991.
Many Vietnam Veterans continue to suffer and die today from exposure.
Agent Orange exposure can cause any of the following medical issues:
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Agent Orange Awareness Day is an annual observation on August 10th and designed to raise awareness of the effects of the herbicide known as Agent Orange, used in Vietnam by American forces to defoliate future and current battlegrounds with the purpose of depriving the enemy ground cover to hide in.
While it is widely reported that American combat troops did not officially fight in Vietnam until 1965, the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam by Americans began as early as 1961. The use of Agent Orange was originally authorized by President John F. Kennedy and Air Force planes began flying missions to disburse Agent Orange as part of something known as Operation Trail Dust.
Agent Orange was not the only compound used in this operation, but it is was used in over half of the flying missions there. What’s more, flying missions were only part of the effort. Agent Orange was disbursed on the ground from trucks, from boats, and even disbursed by people carrying the compound in backpacks.
Agent Orange contained an incredibly toxic substance known as dioxin. Nearly 400 pounds of dioxin were used in Vietnam in Agent Orange. Dioxin is responsible for cancer, birth defects, and other symptoms. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed off on a Department of Veterans Affairs study of Agent Orange; legislation known as the Agent Orange Act was not signed into law in 1991.
Many Vietnam Veterans continue to suffer and die today from exposure.
Agent Orange exposure can cause any of the following medical issues:
- AL amyloidosis
- Leukemia
- Hodgkin’s and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Ischemic Heart Disease
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type II
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Respiratory Cancer (e.g., bronchus cancer, larynx cancer, lung cancer, trachea cancer)
- Prostate Cancer
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma
- Multiple Myeloma
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