An Phuc International

The War in Vietnam was one of the bloodiest wars in the history of the world. Hundreds of massacres have been documented and recorded, regular slaughter of women, children, and rice farmers, and kept secret from the American public for decades. This is not including the now infamous My Lai Massacre which resulted in the death of over 500 civilians. To be clear, civilians refer to non-military personnel, essentially villagers. Innocent people. Though it may seem unimaginable, the United States went even further than the customary slaughtering of innocent people, with biological and chemical warfare. In November of 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized the commencement of Operation Ranch Hand, the code name for the destruction of forests and foliage in Vietnam. One of the greatest travesties of war ever committed was the use of the herbicide Agent Orange on the rice fields, farmlands, and villages throughout the country. In addition to the deforestation effects, Agent Orange is also an extremely potent neurotoxin, binding to the DNA of those with whom it comes into contact. The damaging and deforming effects of Agent Orange show up most aggressively in the next generation of offspring. Because it directly damages one’s DNA, effects of Agent Orange can be seen for four generations. As a result of exposure to Agent Orange, Vietnamese children are being born deformed (the United States knowingly dropped Agent Orange on roughly 25% of Vietnam, at 13 times the recommended concentration by the US Department of Agriculture). Over gallons were dropped from 1962-1971, exposing over people to the chemical. Crops were also ravaged because of Agent Orange. The American soldiers learned after the fact that the crops they believed were being used by Vietnamese military, were in actuality being used to feed the villages. The widespread crop destruction led to additional millions of people, including entire villages, starving and malnourished.