Chemical Warfare in the Vietnam War

Chemical Warfare in the Vietnam War

Luke Joseph Bartini

Honors English 9E

Mrs. Lisa Wespiser

31 March 2014

Chemical Warfare in the Vietnam War

        The Vietnam War started in the 1950’s when South Vietnamese armies attempted to overthrow the communist North Vietnam. The South attempted the overthrow because of a command from U.S. President Harry S Truman. Based on a doctrine issued in 1947, President Truman promised U.S. support for armed opposition to communists all around the world (Brigham). The U.S. feared that North Vietnam would eventually conquer all of Vietnam and spread communism to nearby countries such as Laos, Cambodia, India and even as far as China (Vietnam War). Vietnam was not always communist, that is not until in 1954 when North Vietnamese troops conquered the French colonies in Vietnam (The Winds Of War). This victory is what provoked President Truman to send U.S. military troops along with millions of dollars to South Vietnam in hopes of purging the North Vietnamese Communists (Vietnam [pic 1]War). Truman knew that the South, with its weak military and unstable government, was not nearly strong enough to attack North Vietnam on its own. In 1955, the United States government, under President Dwight D. Eisenhower began sending even more troops to Vietnam to help the struggling South Vietnamese military (Vietnam Pix).

        This steady process of sending aid to South Vietnam continued for years. In 1961, John F. Kennedy sent 400 American troops into South Vietnam as “advisors” (The Winds Of War). Foreign military aid to both North and South Vietnam kept increasing. The U.S. was sending support to the South, while the socialist and communist countries such as the Soviet Union and China were sending aid to the North (National).

        In addition to sending aid, President Kennedy devised a secret military operation that involved sending Special Forces (Green Berets) into North Vietnam as well as into Laos. This was around the same time that the U.S. was also beginning to use chemical agents in order to defoliate the thick tropical forestry of Vietnam (Agent). Agent Orange was the main chemical that the U.S. used to destroy the forests and to expose the Vietnamese troops and their bases.

        By 1963 the war in Vietnam was growing more intense, and the Vietcong (the military branch of the National Liberation Front) and North Vietnamese were using advanced warfare tactics (The Winds Of War). In 1963, John F. Kennedy began taking action to get the U.S. military out of Vietnam. But Kennedy was soon assassinated, and Lyndon B. Johnson took over as President. Johnson kept the troops in Vietnam, sending even more money to them. This war was purposely not being publicized much in the media, partly because Johnson was now sending over a million dollars worth of supplies to South Vietnam each day. However, things were about to change. In 1964 the U.S.S. Maddox, a U.S. Navy destroyer, was attacked by Vietcong forces (Brigham). This enemy action is what caused Lyndon Johnson to retaliate against the North Vietnamese. Johnson ordered air strikes as well as chem[pic 2]ical warfare in an attempt to kill off the North Vietnamese. As a result, thousands of innocent Vietnamese citizens were negatively affected by Agent Orange as well as another virulent chemical called Napalm. These deadly chemicals have long-lasting catastrophic effects and should not have been used in an attempt to gain control over Vietnam. Chemicals of this type used to harm people and animals, and destroy natural resources represents not only a war crime, but a crime against humanity.

        Agent Orange was the first chemical that was used by the Americans. Many parts of Vietnam, especially in the North, were covered with dense tropical rain forests, which made it nearly impossible for U.S. airstrikes to be accurate. The U.S. had no idea where the Vietcong and other North Vietnamese armies were hiding (Vietnam). The U.S. had a quick solution for this problem. Get rid of the forests. To take out such a large area of dense trees obviously took a strong herbicide. That herbicide was  2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), more commonly known as herbicide orange, and codenamed “Agent Orange” (Agent). These dioxins are lethal to plants and extremely harmful to humans and animals. The U.S. government was fully aware of the dangers of Agent Orange because many lab experiments had been performed. U.S. fighter jets dumped over 19 million gallons of this herbicide on North Vietnam, which wiped out nearly 90% of all forestry (The Winds Of War). However, Agent Orange just took out the tree canopies and the branches, the actual tree trunk remained. The Vietnamese troops were now easy to spot.

        In addition to defoliating all of the trees and bushes in the forested areas where it was sprayed, Agent Orange had other, more devastating effects[pic 3]. The chemical also took out their main food source, fruit and crops (Agent). This deadly herbicide also killed nearly 400,000 people, most of whom were innocent civilians (Statistical). Although most of the victims of Agent Orange were Vietnamese soldiers and citizens, thousands of American soldiers were also plagued by this herbicide (Sukha). Some of the immediate effects caused by this dangerous chemical include rashes, seizures, bleeding from the mouth and nose, burning eyes and skin. Years, even decades later, the effects of Agent Orange are still being dealt with by the Vietnamese citizens, as well as by U.S. military veterans. It has been proven that this toxic chemical causes many forms of cancer, neurological damage, as well as birth defects (Agent).

        Agent Orange wasn't the only chemical used by the U.S. during the Vietnam War. In addition to the deadly herbicide, the Americans also used a chemical agent called Napalm. Napalm is a substance made out of gasoline and polystyrene hydrocarbon benzene. It is stirred in a mixing plant until the substance becomes a thick jelly (Thompson). This substance was used in flamethrowers to make the flames burn longer and hotter. Napalm can generate temperatures up to 2,200 º F, an unimaginable heat that few people could survive (Lemann). In addition to attacking humans with Napalm, the substance was also spread over small towns and civilizations, then it was lit on fire to destroy large areas of homes and buildings.

        However, Napalm was used in much more insidious ways than just to burn buildings and trees. Later in the war, the U.S. realized their method of using flamethrowers to disperse the Napalm wasn’t as effective as they had hoped. They soon began making Napalm bombs and dropping them all over North Vietnamese troops (Neer). A single Napalm bomb could incinerate and decimate entire areas within a radius of more than 2,500 square feet (Neer). Thousands of innocent people, as well as pets and livestock, were caught in the path of Napalm bombings and burned to [pic 4]death. Few people survived these Napalm bombings, and those who did are scarred for life, physically and psychologically (Neer).