On January 10, 1962, the United States Air Force launches Operation Ranch Hand, a “modern technological area-denial technique” designed to expose the roads and trails used by the Viet Cong.
By: History.com Editors
1962
Operation Ranch Hand initiated
Published: November 16, 2009
Last Updated: February 18, 2025
Agent Orange
Agent Orange was a chemical herbicide used during the Vietnam War that had a devastating impact long after the conflict ended.
Flying C-123 Providers, U.S. personnel dumped an estimated 19 million gallons of defoliating herbicides over 10-20 percent of Vietnam and parts of Laos between 1962-1971. Agent Orange—named for the color of its metal containers—was the most frequently used defoliating herbicide. The operation succeeded in killing vegetation, but not in stopping the Viet Cong. The use of these agents was controversial, both during and after the war, because of the questions about long-term ecological impacts and the effect on humans who either handled or were sprayed by the chemicals.
Beginning in the late 1970s, Vietnam veterans began to cite the herbicides, especially Agent Orange, as the cause of health problems ranging from skin rashes to cancer to birth defects in their children. Similar problems, including an abnormally high incidence of miscarriages and congenital malformations, have been reported among the Vietnamese people who lived in the areas where the defoliating agents were used.
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Citation Information
- Article title
- Operation Ranch Hand initiated
- Author
- History.com Editors
- Website Name
- History
- Date Accessed
- March 21, 2025
- Publisher
- A&E Television Networks
- Last Updated
- February 18, 2025
- Original Published Date
- November 16, 2009
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