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Professor Kenneth Olson
Episode 2460 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature portions of a scientific paper by Dr. Kenneth Olson about the origins of Agent Blue. The paper was published on The Scientific Research Publishing website and is titled: Agent Blue: A Secret Military and Environmental Chemical Weapon Used for Food Denial in South Vietnam during the Vietnam Civil War (1962-1965).
Kenneth R. Olson, [krolson@illinois.edu], College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, USA.
Citation for this paper: Olson, K.R. (2023) Agent Blue: A Secret Military and Environmental Chemical Weapon Used for Food Denial in South Vietnam during the Vietnam Civil War (1962-1965). Journal of Soil Science, 13, 151-186.
Professor Olson along with his Band of Merry Retirees colleagues have done a great deal of research surrounding the use and consequences of chemical herbicides used by the U.S. and its allies in the Vietnam War.
The scientific paper he recently published covers origins of Agent Blue. The introduction in the paper will be the primary focus of this podcast episode. Dr. Olson’s research work about Agent Blue has been featured in episodes 1638, 2092 and 2099.
If you would like to review those episodes about Agent Blue, CLICK HERE.
According to Professor Olson, it all began like this: Interest in biological and chemical weapons, by the United States Chemical Warfare Service, began in 1941. That fall, U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson suggested the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) consider undertaking a study of U.S. biological and chemical warfare [1]. After the attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Dr. Ezra Kraus offered his services to the U.S. government and military. He was a founding member of a highly classified project on chemical and biological warfare under the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
Listen to episode 2460 and discover more about Dr. Kenneth Olson’s description of the origins of Agent Blue.
