U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

There are thousands of Vietnam veterans who never set foot on Vietnam soil.

They never sloshed through a rice paddy or traversed the country’s inland waterways.

Yet they are suffering major health problems, including serious and rare cancers and neurological illnesses, consistent with exposure to Agent Orange, a toxic chemical containing dioxin that has long faded from the public’s consciousness but once was used to clear Vietnam’s thick jungle and kill crops.