Operation Ranch Hand
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Operation Ranch Hand was a U.S. Military operation during part of the Vietnam War, lasting from 1962 until 1971.
It involved spraying 18 million US gallons (68,000 m³) of defoliants over rural areas of South Vietnam in an attempt to deprive the Viet Cong of vegetation cover and food. The defoliant used in the largest quantity was Agent Orange, a mixture of herbicides now known to have been contaminated with dioxin. In 2005, the New Zealand government confirmed that it supplied Agent Orange chemicals to the United States military during the conflict. Since the early 1960s, and up until 1987, it manufactured the 2,4,5T herbicide at a plant in New Plymouth which was then shipped to U.S. military bases in South East Asia.[1][2][3] Corporations like Dow and Monsanto were given the task of developing herbicides for this purpose: Agent Pink, Agent Green, Agent Purple, Agent Blue, Agent White, and Agent Orange. About 12 million gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed over Southeast Asia during the American commitment. A prime area of Ranch Hand operations was in the Mekong Delta, where the U.S. Navy patrol boats were vulnerable to attack from the undergrowth at the water's edge.
[edit] Reference
- ^ Government probes claims NZ exported Agent Orange. The New Zealand Harald. Retrieved on January 11, 2005.
- ^ NZ admits supplying Agent Orange during war. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved on January 9, 2005.
- ^ THE POISONING OF NEW ZEALAND. Safe 2 Use. Retrieved on November 17, 2005.
[edit] External links
- Spraying of Agent orange by US Army in Vietnam and its consequences, Stop USA
- Epandage de l’Agent Orange par l’US Army au Viêt Nam et ses conséquences,
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