After three weeks in Vietnam, I have stopped noticing all the people living their lives with deformities. Between legless beggars on the sidewalk and people biking with their arms, deformity is a daily occurrence in Vietnam. And while I am no physician, it seems likely many of these people are living with the effects of Agent Orange, 30+ years after the war ended.
As most probably know, Agent Orange is a dioxin mixture used to kill the jungle during the war. When we visited the DMZ north of Hue, we could see firsthand how effective it was at this primary duty as many hillsides are still devoid of trees or even shrubs.
Yet you don't have to go to the hills to see the other consequences of spraying millions of acres with a known carcinogen. Everywhere in Vietnam, there are people living with dramatic birth defects. Shriveled arms, bent legs that no longer function, stumps where limbs should have grown - these are all common sites on the streets of Vietnam's towns.
When we visited the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (Formerly known as the Museum of American Aggression, the name was changed after some tourists expressed dismay.), we could see a dizzying array of photos of people living with the impacts of Agent Orange.
Another legacy of our war to keep the Communist domino from falling in Indochina.
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