Did chemical defoliants work in Vietnam?

Question

Aka Agent Orange.

Answer 1

I sprayed Agents Orange, White and Blue in Vietnam.

Did it "work"? Well, it depends on what you mean. Chemical defoliants did cause parts of the jungle, rubber plantations, and crops to turn brown and die. Obviously it did not work well enough to win that unwinnable war. Further, the contaminants in Orange (in particular - dioxins), seem to be causative agents in many illnesses of us veterans.

Right now, my liver is not in great shape. Toxins do that to livers. I know of kids of veterans with strange skin blotches. I know of other vets who ascribe diabetes, leukemia, and other diseases to exposure to defoliants.

I also mixed and dropped napalm (burning gelled JP4 airplane gasoline) on garden plots and bunker complexes. Did that work? I have nightmares about napalm and what it does to humans.

All of that comes under the heading of chemical warfare. It seems now to be contrary to the Geneva Convention. I did it because I was ordered to do it. I do not take pride in it. I am paying some of the price survivors pay.

Answer 2

Hell no they did not work! Agent Orange killed a lot of American Military Personnel. It killed lots of trees. We Americans did not have trouble killing people in Vietnam. We killed over one million Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. We are still killing children in Vietnam with mines and, yes, Agent Orange.
The idea that Agent Orange worked is like saying that innocent sailors that were forced to witness Nuclear explosions and died later of cancers of varies kind also were expendable according to this philosophy.
Yeah it work OK! It worked to kill lots of innocent people including many Americans. And guess what, many of those Americans were not taken care of by the Veterans Administrations. Many did not qualify for care because they died before the Government admitted there complicity in causing the deaths. Innocent sailors and Marines also died because secret missions were never revealed and so the Veteran could not prove the exposure.
The same thing is going to happen in this current war. GI's will come home and die young but the Government will wash there hands of the responsibility. Just wait and see!

Answer 3

It depends of what you would consider success.

The defoliant was very successful in killing vegitation and rendering large portions of South Vietnam uninhabitable. There are large portions of what used to be mangrove jungle in South Vietnam that are moonscapes thanks tons of Agent Orange dumped on it.The areas that were heaviest sprayed is still uninhabitable. You can see the destruction Agent Orange caused by using Google Earth or a satellite mapping site.

The very big downside is the side effects. Thousands of U.S. servicemen, including my own Father, continue to suffer physical and psychological illnesses from exposure of being in Vietnam for just a year. Hundreds of thousands of Viets in the country are suffering too.

Long story short: Agent Orange worked too good. It removed foliage from large parts of South Vietnam and kept the Viet Cong from hiding in those places. However, it has destroyed land and an ecosystem that may not recover in our lifetime.

Answer 4

Agent Orange worked on a lot more than just plants as many of our vets can attest.

Become familiar with Agent Orange and the Health of Our Vietnam Veterans

Answer 5

Did carpet bombing bring WW2 to a halt? No, in Europe it was ground forces up to the last hour. In the East, it was the nuclear weapons.

Answer 6

Yeah they defoliated area, so I guess it did its job.

Answer 7

Yes.

Answer 8

Yep.

Answer 9

yes bigtime

Answer 10

yes but is bad for you