http://vva.org/Committees/AgentOrange/AO_Brochure.pdfAgent Orange is a highly toxic herbicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to defoliate hiding places used by the Viet Cong, rice paddies and fertile fields that provided them with food, and to clear the perimeters of military bases to give service members a clear line of fire. Although colorless, it is known as “Agent Orange” because of an orange band painted on the drums used to store and transport it. After years of advocating led by VVA, Congress enacted into law the Agent Orange Act of 1991. This legislation empowered the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to declare certain maladies “presumptive” to exposure to dioxin and enable Vietnam veterans, and some veterans who served along the demilitarized zone in Korea in the late 1960s – to receive treatment and compensation for these health conditions. Service-connected benefits, however, also may be granted for other maladies not recognized as presumptive health conditions.
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