History and Assessment of the War Environment on the Subsequent Health of the Vietnam Veteran
Main Article Content
Abstract
In January 1962, the first Allied combat, combat advisory, and support forces arrived in South Vietnam. By the end of the War, almost 3 million allied personnel had been engaged in this violent Conflict. Six nations provided the Allied Military Forces to support the Republic of South Vietnam from 1965 through March of 1973. The tropical environment posed many challenges to the Allied Military Forces in waging a war against an elusive enemy who had a history of fighting in such an environment. Most Allied combat units spent weeks in the brush enduring the inhospitable environment that included an invisible but deadly enemy. For those soldiers living in outposts or isolated bases or airfields, the constant enemy shelling deprived them of sleep, leaving them exhausted, disoriented, and too often contentious and increasingly depressed. Beyond the possibilities of injury and death during combat, military personnel were exposed to diverse agents and environments that may have affected their health, and thus caused injury and disease while in service or after discharge. Indeed, insect-transmitted diseases and other health related issues accounted for more casualties then did enemy bullets and bombs. Many of those exposures reflected the diverse tasks and functions of military personnel serving in unfamiliar environments associated with combat operations. Fifty health studies of Vietnam veterans by four of the Allied Nations confirmed that with two exceptions, no Vietnam veterans were ever exposed to Agent Orange. What the health studies did confirm was the impact of the “Vietnam Experience” on the long-term health of the men and women who served in the Vietnam War.
Keywords:
Vietnam, Vietnam veteran, Allied Forces, vector-borne diseases, veteran health studies, Agent Orange, Vietnam Experience
Article Details
How to Cite
YOUNG, Alvin Lee; ALEXANDER, Lynda V..
History and Assessment of the War Environment on the Subsequent Health of the Vietnam Veteran.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 11, n. 3, mar. 2023.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/3661>. Date accessed: 04 dec. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v11i3.3661.
Section
Research Articles
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
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36. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Serum 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin Levels in US Army Vietnam-Era Veterans. 1988; JAMA 260(9):1249-1254. PubMed: 2841506.
37. Buffler PA, Ginevan ME, Mandel JS, Watkins DK (2011): The Air Force Health Study: An Epidemiologic Retrospective. Ann Epidemiol. 2011; 21:673-687. Doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2011.02.001.
38. Jeffs P, Magnus P, McPherson M, Trickett P, Horsley K, Killer G. The validated prevalence of selected cancers in Australian Vietnam veterans. Organohalogen Compds. 2000; 48:91-94.
39. Wilson E, Horsley K, van der Hoek R. Cancer incidence in Australian Vietnam veterans. Organohalogen Compds. 2004; 66:3677-3682.
40. Clarke PM, Gregory R, Salomon JA. Long-term disability associated war-related experience among Vietnam veterans: retrospective cohort study. Med Care.2015; 53(5): 401-408. PubMed: 24349552.
41. McBride D, Cox B, Broughton J, Tong D. The mortality and cancer experience of New Zealand Vietnam war veterans. BMJ 2015: Open 3:e003379. bmjopen.bmj,com/content/3/9e003379.
42. Yi S-W. Cancer incidence in Korean Vietnam veterans during 1992-2003: The Korean Veterans Study. J Prev Med Public Health. 2013; 46(6):309-318. PubMed: 2434955.
43. Young Al, Young KL (2017): Agent Orange Use in Vietnam and Alleged Health Impacts: A Review. Med Res Arch. 2017; 5(10):20 p. http://journals.ke.org/index.php/mra
44. Young AL. Failure of Science and Common Sense. IN: Young AL (2022): Agent Orange: The Failure of Science, Policy, and Common Sense. Chapter 13:239-259. Studies in History and Philosophy, Vol 58, Springer Nature, Switzerland, 2022. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-08187-3_13.
45. Young AL (2022): Failure of Government Policy and Common Sense. IN: Young AL (2022): Agent Orange: The Failure of Science, Policy, and Common Sense. Chapter 14: 261-284. Studies in History and Philosophy, Vol 58, Springer Nature, Switzerland, 2002. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-08187-3_14.
2. Young AL, Cecil PF Sr. Agent Orange Exposure and Attributed Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans. July Supplement 2011, Mil Med 176(7):29-34. ISSN: 0026-4075.
3. Pike D. PAVN: People’s Army of Vietnam. Presidio Press, Novato, CA, 1986. 373p. https//archive.org/details/pavnpeoplearmyo0355pike.
4. Karnow A. Vietnam - A History: The Complete Account of Vietnam at War. The Viking Press, New York, NY, 1983.750p. ISBN 0-670-74604-5.
5. Fox RP. Air Base Defense in the Republic of Vietnam 1961-1973. Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington, DC, 1979. 278p. https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoill/items/show/1322 .
6. Cima RJ. Vietnam – A Country Study. DA Pam 550-32. Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 1989. 444p. Lib Cong 4812387.
7. Fuller JF. Weather and War. History Office, Airlift Command, Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 1974. 274p. https://www,afhra.mil/article/968648
8. Westing A. Ecological Consequences of the Second Indochina War. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Almqvist & Wiksell International, Stockholm, Sweden, 1976. ISBN 91-22000-62-3.
9. Buckingham WA (1982): The Air Force and Herbicides in Southeast Asia. Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington, DC, 253p. 1982. GPO: 1982 0-348-375.
10. Neel S. Medical Support of the US Army in Vietnam 1965-1970. Vietnam Studies, Department of the Army, Washington DC, 1991.GPO CMH Pub 90-16.
11. Larson SR, Collins JL Jr. Allied Participation in Vietnam. Vietnam Studies, Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 1975. 187p..CMH Pub 90-5-1
12. Evatt P. The Royal Commission Report: Report on the Use and Effects of Chemical Agents on Australian Personnel in Vietnam. Presented to the Parliament by the Ministry of Defense, Canberra. Australia Government Printing Service, Canberra, Australia, 1982.
13. Chadwick S, Chairperson. Inquiry into the exposure of New Zealand Defence personnel to Agent Orange and other defoliant chemicals during the Vietnam War and any health effects of that exposure and transcripts of evidence. Presented to the House of Representatives, 47th Parliament, Wellington, New Zealand, 2004.
14. Ballard JS, Bowers RL, Doty, RW., Jr., et al. The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973, An Illustrated Account. Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington, DC, 407p, 1984.
15. Camp NM. US Army Psychiatry in the Vietnam War: New Challenges in Extended Counterinsurgency Warfare. Office of the Surgeon General, Borden Institute, US Army Medical Department Center & School, Fort Sam Houston, TX, 2015. 558p. Doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15040469.
16. Dougherty LJ, Mattson GL. NAM: A Photographic History. Metro Books, Michael Friedman Publishing Group. New York, NY, 2001. 607p. ISBN 1-58663-083-0.
17. Pike J. Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces [RVNAF] Strength. Prepared by the Global Security Organization, Washington, DC, 2018. www.globalsecurity.org
18. Starry DA. Mounted Combat in Vietnam. Vietnam Studies, Department of The Army, Washington, DC, 267p, 2002. www.history.army.mil/CMH_Pub_9017-1
19. BIOFIN. The Biodiversity Finance Initiative, United Nations Development Program, Administrative Headquarters, New York, NY, 2012.
20. Herman JK. Navy Medicine in Vietnam: Passage to Freedom to the Fall of Saigon. Naval History and Heritage Command, Naval District Washington, Washington, DC, 2010. 60p. ISBN 978-0-945374-62-9.
21. US Navy Entomology. History of Navy Entomology. Naval History and Heritage Command, Naval District Washington, Washington, DC, 35p, 2012. www.scribs.com/document316785908.
22. Hayden DL. Recent Vector Control Experiences in Vietnam. Pg 58-63, Proceedings of the Fifty-Third Annual Meeting, New Jersey Mosquito Extermination Association, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1966.
23. Berger S. Infectious Diseases of Vietnam. Gideon E-Book Series, Gideon Informatics, Los Angeles, CA, 478 p, 2015. www.gideononline.com
24. Prendergast BF. Filth Flies: Significance, Surveillance and Control in Contingency Operations. Armed Forces Pest Management Board. Technical Guide No. 30, ISD/AFPMB, Forest Glen Section, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, 2011.
25. Cecil PF, Sr., Young AL. Operation FLYSWATTER: A War Within A War. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2008;15(1):3-7. Doi: 1065/espr2007.12.467.
26. Jones E. Historical Approaches to Post-Combat Disorders. Institute of Psychiatry, King’s Centre for Military Health Research: A fifteen-year report. Weston Education Centre, King’s College, London, UK. 2006.
27. Young AL. The Media and Agent Orange. IN: Young AL. Agent Orange: The Failure of Science, Policy, and Common Sense. Chapter 12:223-237. Studies in History and Philosophy, Vol 58, Springer Nature, Switzerland, 2022. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-08187-3_12.
28. NCVAS. American Community Survey of US Veterans Eligibility Trends. National Center for Veteran Analysis and Statistics, Washington, DC, 2015.
29. Young AL. Vietnam and the Agent Orange Controversy Revisited. IN: Young AL. The History, Use, Disposition and Environmental Fate of Agent Orange. Chapter 1: 1-22, Springer Science + Business Media, New York, NY, 2009. Doi: 10.1007/978-0-387-87486-9_3.
30. Young AL. Health Studies of Allied Vietnam Veterans. IN: Young AL. Agent Orange: The Failure of Science, Policy, and Common Sense. Chapter 9: 127-169. Studies in History and Philosophy, Vol 58, Springer Nature, Switzerland, 2022. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-08187-3_9.
31. IOM (1994-2018): Veterans and Agent Orange: Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam. Institute of Medicine Academy of Sciences, National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 1994-2018. ISBN 0-309-04887-7.
32. Young AL, Van Houten WJ, Andrews WB (2008): 2nd Agent Orange and Dioxin Remediation Workshop, Hanoi, Viet Nam, 18-20 June 2007. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2008, 15(2):113-118. Doi: 10.1065/espr2007.10.453.
33. Young AL. The Environmental Fate of the TCDD Associated with Agent Orange. IN: Young AL. Agent Orange: The Failure of Science, Policy, and Common Sense. Chapter 7: 93-108. Studies in History and Philosophy, Vol 58, Springer Nature, Switzerland, 2022.Doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-08187-3_7.
34. Young AL, Cecil PF, Sr., Guilmartin JF, Jr. Assessing Possible Exposure of Ground Troops to Agent Orange During the Vietnam War: The Use of Contemporary Military Records. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2004; 11(6):349-358. Doi: 10.1065/espr2004.10.221.
35. Stellman JM, Stellman SD, Weber T, Tomasallo C, Stellman AB, Christian JR. A Geographic Information System for Characterizing Exposure to Agent Orange and Other Herbicides in Vietnam. Envion Health Perspect. 2003;111(310):321-328. PubMed: 15254482.
36. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Serum 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin Levels in US Army Vietnam-Era Veterans. 1988; JAMA 260(9):1249-1254. PubMed: 2841506.
37. Buffler PA, Ginevan ME, Mandel JS, Watkins DK (2011): The Air Force Health Study: An Epidemiologic Retrospective. Ann Epidemiol. 2011; 21:673-687. Doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2011.02.001.
38. Jeffs P, Magnus P, McPherson M, Trickett P, Horsley K, Killer G. The validated prevalence of selected cancers in Australian Vietnam veterans. Organohalogen Compds. 2000; 48:91-94.
39. Wilson E, Horsley K, van der Hoek R. Cancer incidence in Australian Vietnam veterans. Organohalogen Compds. 2004; 66:3677-3682.
40. Clarke PM, Gregory R, Salomon JA. Long-term disability associated war-related experience among Vietnam veterans: retrospective cohort study. Med Care.2015; 53(5): 401-408. PubMed: 24349552.
41. McBride D, Cox B, Broughton J, Tong D. The mortality and cancer experience of New Zealand Vietnam war veterans. BMJ 2015: Open 3:e003379. bmjopen.bmj,com/content/3/9e003379.
42. Yi S-W. Cancer incidence in Korean Vietnam veterans during 1992-2003: The Korean Veterans Study. J Prev Med Public Health. 2013; 46(6):309-318. PubMed: 2434955.
43. Young Al, Young KL (2017): Agent Orange Use in Vietnam and Alleged Health Impacts: A Review. Med Res Arch. 2017; 5(10):20 p. http://journals.ke.org/index.php/mra
44. Young AL. Failure of Science and Common Sense. IN: Young AL (2022): Agent Orange: The Failure of Science, Policy, and Common Sense. Chapter 13:239-259. Studies in History and Philosophy, Vol 58, Springer Nature, Switzerland, 2022. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-08187-3_13.
45. Young AL (2022): Failure of Government Policy and Common Sense. IN: Young AL (2022): Agent Orange: The Failure of Science, Policy, and Common Sense. Chapter 14: 261-284. Studies in History and Philosophy, Vol 58, Springer Nature, Switzerland, 2002. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-08187-3_14.