Kalispell’s Elks Lodge was packed to capacity Sunday as hundreds of veterans, family members and citizens listened to a panel discuss Agent Orange.

Agent Orange, the infamous herbicide used in massive quantities in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War, has made its way to the 21st century with a slew of diseases and birth defects closely related to the chemical.

Tom Watson, a Kalispell Vietnam veteran, spoke of what he felt was the deception by the government when so many soldiers were exposed to the defoliant in the 1960s and ’70s.

“There are 22 presumptive diseases and 18 birth defects linked to Agent Orange,” he said. “When we signed up, our oath did not obligate our children.”

He thanked the spouses of veterans dealing with health problems related to the chemical’s use, even four decades after American involvement ended in the conflict.

Jack McManus, the Vietnam Veterans of America co-chair of the Agent Orange task force, was the first member of the panel to speak to the gathered masses. He personally worked with the chemical during his service.

“When reports came out about Agent Orange, I didn’t know what that was,” he said. “We just called it Orange. Now we still don’t know if the government knew it was harmful, or did our officers know it was harmful.”

Tracking into three generations from some veterans, hundreds of thousands of young men and their families may have been negatively impacted by the herbicide. 

The purpose of the panel was to inform citizens about the background of Operation Ranch Hand, which used defoliants from 1961 to 1971. 

Veterans exposed to the Monsanto and Dow Chemical-produced herbicide and their families gained information about health concerns and potential resources. 

Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1087 sponsored the town hall meeting. For more information on the chapter and resources, contact chapter president John Burgess at 857-3609.