Agent Orange Information

“It won't hurt you. It's just to kill plants. It's called Agent Orange...and it won't bother humans.”

― Karl Marlantes, Author of Matterhorn (Click here for more info on Karl Marlantes)

Agent Orange is a highly toxic herbicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to defoliate hiding places used by the Viet Cong, rice paddies and fields that provided them with food, and to clear the perimeters of military bases to give service members a clear line of fire.

Although colorless, it is known as “Agent Orange” because of an orange band painted on the drums used to store and transport it.

After years of advocacy led by VVA, Congress enacted into law the Agent Orange Act of 1991. This legislation empowered the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to declare certain maladies “presumptive” to exposure to Agent Orange/ dioxin and enable Vietnam veterans, as well as some veterans who served along the demilitarized zone in Korea in the late 1960s, to receive treatment and compensation for these health conditions. Service-connected benefits, however, also may be granted for other maladies not recognized as presumptive health conditions.

John Rowan

National President

Vietnam Veterans of America

CLICK HERE to read or download a copy of the the VVA Self Help Guide to Agent Orange Exposure.

CLICK HERE to view VVA YouTube Video with Tony Becker on Learn about Toxic Exposure.

AGENT ORANGE INFORMATION