VETERANS PRESS: Faces of Agent Orange Episode 6 2025

“I am a 57-year-old Vietnam vet who was exposed to Agent Orange. At age 41, I had to have an emergency heart bypass. I have had six heart attacks since my surgery. Our youngest daughter suffered with learning disabilities through grade school and high school. Her first child was born in 2002 with complex congenital heart disease and fetal hydrops. He only lived five hours. I feel that I passed on something to our daughter because I was exposed to Agent Orange.”  

Since 1991, Birth Defect Research for Children has recorded thousands of cases like these reported by Vietnam veterans in our National Birth Defect Registry. Approximately 2.6 million veterans served in Vietnam. Statistically 3-6% of all children are born with some kind of birth defect. Are these just unfortunate coincidences or has Agent Orange exposure left a legacy of disabilities in Vietnam veterans’ children that may possibly extend into future generations? There is now an impressive body of scientific evidence showing increases in birth defects and developmental problems in the children of Vietnam veterans and others exposed to dioxin-like chemicals. Agent Orange was a combination of two defoliants, 2-45T and 2-4D contaminated by dioxin (TCDD), a toxic byproduct of the chemical production process.  

Over 19 million gallons of herbicides were sprayed in Vietnam between 1962-1971 to destroy crops and ground cover. Over 11.2 million gallons sprayed after 1965 were dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange. Agents Purple, Pink and Green used before 1965 were even more highly contaminated with dioxin … Additional studies provide evidence that many more birth defects may be associated with dioxincontaminated herbicide exposure in Vietnam. In 1990, an independent scientific review of the literature was sponsored by the American Legion, the Vietnam Veterans of America, and the National Veterans Legal Services Project. Seven prominent, independent scientists and physicians on this Agent Orange Scientific Task Force concluded that elevated incidences of specific birth defects in the children of Vietnam veterans were found in several studies. These included spina bifida, oral clefts, cardiovascular defects, hip dislocations and hypospadias. In addition, defects of the digestive tract and “other” neoplasms like neuroblastoma were also higher in Vietnam veterans’ children. Aschengrau & Monson from the Harvard School of Public Health conducted a study (American Journal of Public Health 1990) on paternal military service and the risk of late pregnancy outcomes.  

The scientists reported that Vietnam veterans’ risk of fathering an infant with one or more major malformations was increased at a statistically significant level. To read the full article, go to https://shorturl.at/hnDcL. — Submitted by Jean Bledsoe, Editor 

Does this sound like someone you know? Check with the Veteran Service officers listed in the “Resource Directory” located in this section.