Along Quang Tri's Highway 9, which bends and winds with the curves of the Cua Viet River, hamlets and villages are scattered throughout one of the most heavily bombed parts of the planet. U.S. artillery fire bases was also doused with Agent Orange. Dubbed Operation Ranch Hand, U.S. military C-123 cargo planes blanketed the South Vietnamese countryside with Agent Orange. By 1971, the United States had sprayed about 12 million gallons of the defoliant over parts of southern and central Vietnam. Vietnam says Agent Orange has poisoned its former troops and is also responsible for countless birth defects in children of war veterans.
Similar findings are apparent among U.S. combat troops exposed to Agent Orange.
Although no definitive link between Agent Orange, birth defects and other illnesses has been established, evidence is mounting. The U.S.-based Institute of Medicine released a study last year that suggested a strong connection between the herbicide and a serious birth defect called spina bifida. Vietnamese studies and independent research by Syracuse University's Dr. Arnold Schecter indicate Quang Tri is tainted with dioxin often in areas laden with unexploded bombs. Down Highway 9 near the tiny hamlet of Lam Xuan, young soldiers scour the side of the road looking for bombs. It's safer than trying to handle the aging and fragile bombs.