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Cu Chi District Map
Professor Kenneth Olson
Episode 2482 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a report about the biological warfare executed by the US Military in Boi Loi Woods during the American Vietnam War.
The story titled 3.3. Boi Loi Woods is from a paper that appeared on The Scientific Research Publishing website titled: Saigon River Valley: A Navigation, Trade, Mitigation, Invasion, Liberation, and Unification Pathway. The paper was submitted by 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), Saigon River Valley: A Navigation, Trade, Mitigation, Invasion, Liberation, and Unification Pathway. Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 46-82In this episode, the portion of Professor’s paper titled: Agent Blue Use in the Mekong Delta by RV Military and US Air Force’s Operation Ranch Hand.
According to Professor Olson, One of the most secure NVA and VC, base areas, in late 1964 in South Vietnam, was the Boi Loi Woods located 60 km northwest of Saigon. The Woods were located on both the west and east sides of the Saigon River approximately 10 km north of Ho Bo Woods. Before the Republic of Vietnam (RV) could defeat the NVA and VC, the Boi Loi Woods base areas had to be cleared.
The challenge of neutralizing the Boi Loi Woods was too much for the ARVN. It’s soldiers were either unwilling or unable to undertake the long and costly job of clearing and holding Boi Loi Woods by mounting a conventional ground operation.
Enter the U.S. Military. Using its perceived omnipotence, the decision was made to utilize a technological solution in place of manpower for clearing the Woods. The process was named “Operation Sherwood Forest.”
Listen to episode 2482 and discover more about the biological warfare executed by the US Military in Boi Loi Woods during the American Vietnam War.
