On August 4th, 1993 there was a hearing held in front of the House Veterans Affairs Committee to shed light on the evidence of Agent Orange’s true impact and make recommendations for researching and funding. Admiral E.R. Zumwalt, a commander in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war providing testimony during the hearing.
The opening of the testimony describes the dire situation of fatalities in Vietnam before the government sent the herbicides. Admiral Zumwalt sites that “our casualties were running at a rate of 6% a month, which meant the average young man had a 70% chance of being killed or wounded during his year’s tour in the naval craft. The defoliation rapidly reduced casualties to less than 1% per month (National Academy of Sciences). This statistic provides important framework for the controversy of these chemicals, as they did serve their purpose in protecting U.S soldiers and causing fewer casualties. Even as a senior officer, Zumwalt goes on to say that he believes “no one in the Vietnam theatre was aware that Agent Orange could have harmful health effects for humans” at the time that it was being used (National Academy of Sciences). There does not seem to be a clear answer on how much was truly understood about the toxicity of the chemicals before they were deployed, but this testimony along with the account of Zon Blackburn another veteran who describes being told the herbicide was being used to kill mosquitos and prevent malaria, it is clear that at the very least the people spraying the chemicals were not doing so under the assumption that they would cause so much damage (Timeline).
The most significant piece of this testimony however Zumwalt’s discussion on the United States Government’s intentional actions after the war to avoid responsibility for any of their actions relating to Agent Orange that caused harm. Zumwalt cites that past hearings done by the Human Resources and Intergovernmental Involvement Relations Subcommittee “conclusively proved that the government maneuvered to evade its responsibility to be objective in determining possibly health effects” (National Academy of Sciences). He goes on to specify that this series of five hearings from 1989 to 1992 showed that the government studies on Agent Orange had been manipulated intentionally to make any results inconclusive (National Academy of Sciences). The fact that the government authorized the use of the chemical without knowing the potential for damages is clearly problematic, however, even more concerning is the intentional effort to cover up information that would force the federal government to accept responsibility. For veterans this kind of manipulation of facts could have serious impacts. While U.S. veterans are compensated now if they experience adverse health effects, covering up the extend of those damages will make it harder for those soldiers to get the assistance that they need. Zumwalt talks about his responsibility during the war to protect his men, and yet when they returned to their home country their government prioritized avoiding international backlash instead of helping their own veterans.
The hearing that this testimony comes from provides a report on the health concerns that have been shown to have a direct link to Agent Orange exposure. Zumwalt cites that this is the first report he believes to be accurate after the government and chemical company reports that manipulated results (National Academy of Sciences). This is an interesting point to consider, where it might be expected that the chemical companies would attempt to get themselves off the hook for producing something with extreme levels of toxicity, the government acted in an eerily similar manner. These hearings recommended to Congress that further research should be done in order to develop a more complete understanding of the effects of the chemicals.
The report outlined seven diseases that preset at least likely positive association to Agent Orange Exposure with another twenty diseases and disorders requiring further testing to conclusively state an association (National Academy of Sciences). This testimony also outlines how immensely difficult it is for veterans to receive compensation, essentially outlining that only “death or total disability” qualified veterans for aide at this time (National Academy of Sciences). This hearing happened in 1993, nearly twenty years after the end of the Vietnam war and over twenty years since the discontinuation of Agent Orange. It is strikingly apparent from the statistics, the reports of manipulation and false reporting, and lack of research done that across-the-board coverup attempts were rampant. The goal of the government was to avoid being held responsible for the fallout of the war, regardless of if this hurt many citizens of the United States, as well as Vietnam. These hearings at the very least discredited the faulty reports done previously and shed light on the manipulation of the U.S. government. Zumwalt does not provide whether he believes the government to be in the wrong for providing the herbicide in the first place but based off his assumption that no one knew the true effects, the main problem to be considered is the lack of effort to except blame and fix the fallout after the war ended.
This is a newspaper clipping that discusses Admiral Zumwalt and his son who was a soldier in Vietnam and suffered from cancer, which he and his father attribute to his extended exposure to Agent Orange Toxins. Admiral Zumwalt Grandson also faces significant developmental delays(Zumwalt 1986).