A young boy is born without eyes due to being exposed to chemicals during the Vietnam War, 1970s

A young boy is born without eyes due to being exposed to chemicals during the Vietnam War, 1970s

During the Vietnam War, two regimes fought against each other to control the entire country. The South had a US-backed regime, and the North had a Soviet-backed communist regime. The war in the Asian jungles was brutal, haunting and fierce. 

The jungle was a combat zone in which American troops had very little experience. In fact, the entire US military had minimal jungle warfare experience, meaning that US troops had to encounter many obstacles and scenarios they were not prepared for in their training. 

The North Vietnamese used the dense jungles to ambush US troops. This proved highly effective, as they were very hard to detect. In response, the US would use chemicals to kill the foliage so that they could spot and engage the North Vietnamese more easily. US troops could walk in afterwards and control the area.

Agent Orange was a chemical that the US used. It got its name from the orange barrels in which it was stored and transported. They sprayed the agent from planes in an area where the foliage turned black soon after coming into contact with the chemicals. By the war's end, 12% of South Vietnam had been sprayed with Agent Orange.

Agent Orange was not the only agent used, but it was the most widespread. It saw varied success. Green, Purple and Pink were all used before Orange and white, as they were less effective and were discontinued in 1966 when orange and white were deployed for the first time. Agent blue was used against crops to starve out villages that supported the North Vietnamese.

At the time, Agent Orange was thought to be safe. However, soldiers exposed to it began to develop different cancers. Children were born with severe defects and other issues. Agent Orange was actually highly toxic. The agents were used from 1961-1971 and were discontinued when it was realised how harmful they were.

One of the many scars caused by the Vietnam War.

Photographer: unknown 

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