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Development of agent orange in Vietnam War
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Napalm and Agent Orange, two of the most morally terrifying weapons used in the mid to late 1900’s. These destructive weapons were most famous in the Vietnam War for inflicting fatal wounds and even deformities. In world war two, napalm was mostly used in tanks and incendiary bombs to destroy enemy ground troops. These were extremely effective and later used in planes like bombers. The word napalm comes from the combination of naphthene and palmitate, which are powdered aluminum soap. It was invented in a top-secret 1942 war research collaboration between Harvard University and the U.S. government, used to devastating effect in Europe and the Pacific in World War II most notably to incinerate 64 of Japan’s largest cities and in most major military conflicts after 1945, notably in Korea and Vietnam (Thompson). Agent Orange was later introduced in the Vietnam War. In the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese people there started with little of anything to begin with. The Northern people of Vietnam joined communism because they were Eye burns can lead to loss of one or both eyes. Nasal and ear passages involved develop extended suppuration and necrosis which abscess with unbearable pain to the patient. The face becomes hideous with psychological trauma of formidable proportions. There are other lingering damages: lesions of the bone, which do not show up on X-rays, and appearance of cysts of certain joints and bones of the hand – for instance, the metacarpus – which persist for many years after the initial burning” (Napalm and Its Effects on Human
N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 05 Dec. 2013. http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/womenenc/burns.htm>.
Determining the seriousness and appropriate treatment of a burn requires its classification. Burns are classified according to three factors, the depth and number of affected tissue layers, the total percentage of the body surface that is involved, and the presence of homeostasis disruption or destruction such as respiratory distress, fluid loss, or loss of blood pressure control (Patton & Thibodeau, 2014). According to Mr. MacPherson’s appearance and symptoms, his burns are classified as second-degree or partial-thickness burns. The evidence for this diagnosis according to Patton and Thibodeau (2014), are his presenting symptoms of severe pain and the appearance of blisters, edema, and fluid loss. This type of bur...
These applications include pesticide, herbicide, defoliating agent such as Agent Orange, cleaning agent and electrical insulation. Consequently, human exposure to dioxin is not a recent phenomenon and the dangers of dioxin are not unknown. Only in recent years, especially after the Vietnam War, has the media concentrated on the dangers and impact of dioxin. The physical effect of exposure to dioxin was first seen in skin diseases developed by chemical plant workers in 1895. Exposure to dioxin results in a type of skin disease like acne called "chloroacne," since its cause was initially and incorrectly linked to chlorine gas.
Looking back at how the chemical weaponry expanded starting in the beginning of World War 1, it all began with Tear gas which was used by the French in August of 1914. Those techniques have been used in ancient times. Moving forward eight months in to the war the Germans have been giving great study in to the development of chemical weapons due to the first usage from the French and witnessed its great effectiveness and were the first to use it in a large scale.
In the article, “A Legacy of Illness: The Healing Process Is Far From Done” by Amanda Spake, the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War is shown to be detrimental to Vietnam War veterans’ mental and physical health. The aftermath and effects of the agent did not and still does not receive the acknowledgment it deserves. The depth of the mental and physical distress of Vietnam veterans exposed to the agent is dismissed by the Veteran Administration, Department of Veteran Affairs and the general public. It is from this lack of awareness for the hardships of the veterans of the Vietnam War endangered by Agent Orange that their psychological and physical struggles stem.
"Veterans and Agent Orange: Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam." Veterans and Agent Orange: Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam. N.p., 1994. Web. 3 Apr. 2011. .
Operation Ranch Hand lasted from about 1962 to 1971, and used various herbicide mixtures, such as Agent Blue, Agent White, Agent Purple, and Agent Pink to overthrow its prey, the communist North Vietnamese. However, the most legendary herbicide used was called Agent Orange.
The French were the first to start experimenting on chemical agents in 1912. They first used it on their people as riot control to capture criminals that who had robbed a bank. They used 26 millimeter grenades filled with chemical agents into the center of the group criminals they were attempting to apprehend. It was not said if it was effective but continued to look into using it for other means. However, the Germans at this time had not been interested in producing any kinds of chemical weapons.
The Agent Orange was a defoliant chemical used by the US in the Vietnam War from 1961 through 1971. This chemical caused a lot of effects too many people. It could have been just a short term effect or a long term effect, it could have killed someone right away or it could have made them suffer then they passed away. This chemical was very dangerous and deadly but was used by the United States military forces.
She talked to chemical companies that manufactured Agent Orange. VA’s top brass ordered her to stop asking questions (Carroll).” The VA once again shut down the issue of Agent Orange, making them seem more guilty in the years following Operation Ranch Hand. Carroll gave a summarized Public Law 97-72 as, “authorizing priority health-care services in all VA medical centers for the treatment of health conditions in Vietnam veterans that may be related to Agent Orange exposure (Carroll).” Once the law was set in motion the VA realized they were in a losing position in the argument of who was at fault. Later on in the decade, “Congress appropriated $100 million for VA to conduct its own Agent Orange study.- Delegates at the 1981 American Legion National Convention called for an immediate independent study.- Rep. Thomas Daschle,D-S.D., introduced a bill to recognize a service-connection presumption for some of the illnesses veterans described.- Daschle’s bill died (Carroll).” As described by Dolan, “The agreement called for them to place $180 million in a trust fund that would then be distributed among all the veterans claiming harm by Agent Orange (Dolan 82).” However, the money was not able to reach all Veterans affected by the
Poison gas was perhaps the most feared weapon out of all. Created to overcome the long stalemate style of trench warfare, its purpose was to draw out soldiers hiding in the trenches. One side would throw the poison gas into the enemy trenches and they would either wait for their enemy to come out into open fire or perish in the trenches. The first poison gas used in battle was chlorine at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres on April 22, 1915 by the Germans. Shortly after, followed the phosgene. The effects of these gases were ghastly. Chlorine was the most deadly as "within seconds of inhaling its vapor, it destroys the victim's respiratory organs, bringing on choking attacks" (Duffy). Phosgene had similar effects, except the fact that the effects started kicking in after 48 hours of inhalation. In September 1917, the Germans introduced the mustard gas or Yperite which was contained in artillery shells against the Russians at Riga. Those exposed t...
and N-Butyl Ester 2,4,5,-T, Agent Orange made many Vietnam soldiers go insane (Vietnam Veterans, 11-10-2000). This atrocious chemical lead and still today leads to death, deformation, and diabetes. Dr. Joel E. Michalek, who deals with statistics for the air force, was the first to notice a link between Agent Orange and diabetes. But the federal government was not willing “...to spend millions of dollars on such studies”.
Steinbeck states, “Under extended bombardment or bombing, the nerve ends are literally beaten. The eardrums are tortured by blast and the eyes ache from the constant hammering. This is how you feel after a few days of constant firing. Your skin feels thick and insensitive. There is a salty taste in your mouth.
Johnson, it was time to change the way we were distributing our forces to help aid the Southern Vietnamese military forces (History.com, 2010). The use of aircrafts first started out to transport wounded off the battlefield, but quickly turned into the use of different chemicals such as agent orange, to destroy brush for troops to travel through easier. Operation Rolling Thunder started out as just a discussion among those of higher ranking command, but on March 1965 the talk became action (Pike, 2016).
“Living with Burn Trauma,” an online article, states that “human skin is the largest organ of the body.” It provides many functions which assist humans to survive. What happens if this vital organ is destroyed? This is a question with which thousands of Americans are challenged annually. In the United States alone, 4,000 people die in burn accidents or from complications of burn injuries (“Prevention”). One common misconception is that burn victims have all come into contact with flames. Burns result from fires, electricity, hot liquids, chemicals, and even ultraviolet rays. Seeking medical attention for a proper diagnosis is critical to ensuring quality treatment and management of burns. Burn Centers have been established to help patients adapt to life after burns, which can be a great challenge. In today’s society, hospitals and medical professionals can treat burn victims, but the best remedy for burns is prevention.