2R  “ROUNDUP” GOT NOTHING ON THIS

One of my security enhancements on Nui Ba Den was to get the western perimeter defoliated. This sector gave the Vietcong their best chance of defeating our defenses and I had often envisioned a Sapper team maneuvering through the boulder fields until they breached our defenses.

The quick-growing weeds were a never-ending problem on the mountain. It was impossible to keep the weeds under control due to the barbed wire and tanglefoot we had installed. Sergeant Myers and his men fought the weed epidemic gallantly, but it was a lost cause; high humidity, frequent rains, and the heat gave the weeds an edge that we could not overcome; the weeds always won. My attempts to defoliate by going through the normal chain of command went nowhere, so we ordered weed killer and hand sprayers to do our own spraying along the bunker line. The weed killer was concentrated, so we used a 6/1 ratio when we mixed the diesel fuel with it. Fortunately for us the herbicide was applied days before the Sapper attack. The effects of the herbicide were immediate, and within hours the leaves began falling off the plants. The lack of a natural cover forced the Viet Cong to alter their tactics at the last minute and changed the outcome of the attack.

During the Vietnam conflict, none of us thought herbicides were dangerous to humans, but when I observed how fast it killed a plant, common sense told me otherwise. This created a problem for me as I was not sure of a safe way for our men to apply it.

Sergeant Myers volunteered to tackle the project and picked a detail of his men from the various platoons under his command. On the day of the spraying, I had to leave the mountain for the day. When I returned in the afternoon the men were just finishing with the spraying. I could not believe my eyes; all three of the men had their uniforms soaked with herbicide; their hair, nostrils, and eyebrows were drenched with the chemical. I made the men take long showers and clean themselves with brown soap. We also burned their uniforms and boots to prevent any contamination. The next morning, I had our medic check on the condition of the men and he gave them a clean bill of health.

In the 60’s, We in the military believed our government, and when we were told by our superiors, that the herbicides would not hurt humans we believed them. 
When I think about those men, and knowing what I now know about Agent Orange, I can only hope that they have had a long and healthy life, without any side effects.