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Prof Kenneth R. Olson
Episode 2927 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature the scourge of the use of cluster bombs in the Vietnam War. Information used in this episode comes from a paper submitted by Kenneth R. Olson (krolson@illinois.edu). He is a professor emeritus of soil science in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, Urbana. His paper is titled: Historical Lesson: Environmental and Human Impacts of Cluster Bomb Use by the United States Duringthe Second Indochina War.
His paper starts with this abstract: Cluster munitions release dozens of smaller bomblets that rain deadly ammunition on armored tanks, vegetation, and troops, effectively striking broad areas of war zone landscapes in one launch. However, only about 60% of bomblets detonate immediately and those that fail to detonate fall to the ground and can lie dormant for years. The legacy of cluster munitions in Laos from the Second Indochina War is unexploded bomblets across the landscape that unexpectedly detonate years later, injuring and killing children, farmers, and other civilians long after the war is over. The primary objectives of this study were to document the long-term consequences and impacts of the US Air Force bombing of Laos during the Second Indochina War (1959 to 1973). The world apparently did not learn a historical lesson from United States 2nd Indochina War experience in Laos and Cambodia. The historical lesson learned by United States needs to be shared with Russia and Ukraine governments and military. These countries need to discontinue the use of cluster bombs to prevent additional people living along the Russia-Ukraine border from having to live and die with the consequences of unexploded ordnance, including cluster bombs, for the next century.
Listen to Episode 2927 and discover more about the scourge of the use of cluster bombs in the Vietnam War.
Vietnam Medal of Honor recipient Army 2LT Robert Leisy.
