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Rice residue in dried out fields similar to the rice paddies sprayed with Agent Blue in the 1960s and 1970s. Reprinted with permission from Editor of the Open Journal of Soil Science. [Reprinted with the permission of the editor of the Open Journal of Soil Science.]

Professor Kenneth Olson

Episode 2462 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature more 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.

In 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.

The purpose of this episode is to help widen knowledge about another one of the herbicides used by the U.S. in the Vietnam War. Agent Orange is the most well known of the agents used. Another agent used in the War was known as Agent Blue.

The weed killer element in Agent Orange was tetracholodibenzodioxon, better known simply as dioxin. This agent was effective in eliminating broad leafed plants. The downside of its use was that it had lasting effects on the soil and it had a tendency to make people sick.

The killer element of Agent Blue was lab produced arsenic. Agent Blue was fatal for narrow leafed plants like rice and Bamboo.

According to Professor Olson, On November 30, 1961, President Kennedy accepted the joint recommendation for limited initial defoliation program restricted to transportation routes (presumably the Ho Chi Min Trail in Cambodia and Laos).

Listen to episode 2462 and discover more about Dr. Kenneth Olson’s description of the origins of Agent Blue.

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This exhibit on the Vietnam War at the Pennsylvania Veterans Museum in Media features interviews with local Vietnam veterans on touch screens, as well as unique memorabilia and artifacts. The public is always welcome to come and learn more about the Vietnam War and the heroic men and women who served during that time. (COURTESY PHOTO)

Episode 2461 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature stories about how National Vietnam War Veterans Day will be celebrated in Hillsboro, Ohio and Media, Pennsylvania.

One of the two featured stories come from the Highland Country Press in Hillsboro and is titled National Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony to be held in Hillsboro March 29. The other featured story comes from The Delaware County Daily Times is titled: Pennsylvania Veterans Museum observes National Vietnam War Veterans Day. This story was submitted by By Peg DeGrassa, a writer for The Delaware County Daily Times. [pdegrassa@delconewsnetwork.com]

The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 was signed into law by 45th U.S. President Donald J. Trump, designating every March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.

This podcast has taken on the task of informing as many as possible about the upcoming National Vietnam War Veterans Day. In previous episodes, announcements about how the Day will be celebrated in Fayetteville, NC and Baton Rouge, LA have been featured.

William Graybill, Keynote speaker for the Hillsboro National Vietnam War Veterans Day

At Hillsboro, OH a program commemorating National Vietnam War Veterans Day will be held Wednesday, March 29 at 1 p.m. at the Hillsboro Eagles.

Event organizer Gerold Wilkin said that this year’s ceremony falls on the “official 50th anniversary of the withdrawal of troops” from Vietnam.

In Media, PA, National Vietnam War Veterans Day will be observed at the Pennsylvania Veterans Museum  in Media on Sunday, April 2, to honor and commemorate the service and sacrifices of the nearly 3 million men and women who served in the armed forces during the Vietnam War.

The Pennsylvania Veterans Museum is located at 12 E. State St. on the lower level of the historic Media Armory.

Listen to episode 2461 and discover more about how National Vietnam War Veterans Day will be celebrated in Hillsboro, Ohio and Media, Pennsylvania.

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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.

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North Vietnamese troops wash themselves in the palace’s fountain after their victory. (Courtesy of history.com)

Whenever you talk to someone who has lived under communism they all in one way or another express the opinion that communism as the worst political philosophy for a country to endure. That is very important for all Vietnam Veterans to know because it is the underlining of the primary reason we were there. We went there with the noble mission of stemming the tide of world communism no matter the fact we committed some bonehead errors in the execution of that mission.

It this episode the opinion of a Vietnamese person who lived in Vietnam under communism will be featured. Today he is an American living in South Dakota. He wrote an editorial piece in The Capital Journal of Pierre, South Dakota titled: Once a country is divided, it can never heal.  The submitter was by Phu Nguyen Phu.nguyen@capjournal.com.

Nguyen’s title is the theme of his piece where he describes how his home country of Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel in 1954. Despite the passage of 63 years of history his home country remains divided and he is pessimistic as to  whether it will ever heal from its division. He points out that “the North Vietnam Army broke the Paris Peace Accords — which were signed in 1973 — and took over the country on April 30, 1975” and that only aggravated the dissociation of the northern and southern parts of the country.

In Vietnam to this very day, a person cannot get a government job if there is a family connection to the old South Vietnamese government going back three generations. In large Vietnamese communities such as those in California, Houston or Seattle the flag of Vietnam is considered a “flag of blood” because of the bloodshed and destruction they believe it brought to their homeland.

Nguyen warns America that it must not become divided politically. He has seen the results and they aren’t very pretty.

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Episode 2459 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a discussion about Evyn Lê Espiritu Gandhi’s article Revisiting the Southern Question.

Andy Pham is a good friend of this podcast. In the past he has brought distinguished authors to the podcast who talk about their writings which help expand our knowledge about the Vietnam War. This is important because anytime we have an event in our history that led to the creation of a black marble walled memorial in Washington, D. C. with 58,281 names etched upon its walls of Americans who died for their country in that event.

This episode will feature the three participants of the previous episode of this podcast. They were Joseph A. Fry a distinguished professor of history emeritus, and Professors Evyn Lê Espiritu Gandhi and Erin R. McCoy.

In that previous episode Joseph A. Fry talked about and answered questions about his new book Letters from the Southern Home Front that explores the diversity of public opinion on the Vietnam War within the American South.

In this episode the topic of discussion by the three participants is Evyn Lê Espiritu Gandhi’s article Revisiting the Southern Question. The article appeared in Georgia Review.

Her article begins with this: “What does it mean to be southern? What does it mean to feel and think deeply through multiple geographies of the South? What is invoked by the “southern” of “Southern Post-Colonial,” and what new spatial and political possibilities are rendered legible via an engagement with race, culture, and diaspora?”

Her article ends with this: “For me, Lê’s “Fragment VI” presents one way to articulate the South differently—to recognize the resonances between South Vietnam and the U.S. South, between South Vietnam and the Global South, between southern memory and nostalgia and the collective grief of a fallen nation—but to route this southern affect through southern Black protest and resilience, rather than the white supremacy of the Lost Cause.”

Listen to episode 2459 and discover more about Evyn Lê Espiritu Gandhi’s article Revisiting the Southern Question.

You are also encouraged to review her second article “Southern Memory, Southern Metaphor: Representing South Vietnam through the US South,” which was published in American Quarterly.

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Raising Cane’s River Center, Baton Rouge, LA

Louisiana Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Episode 2456 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about how the good people of Louisiana are going to celebrate National Viet Nam Veterans day on March 29. The featured story came from The American Press and was titled: Vietnam vets invited to special ceremony March 29 in Baton Rouge. It was submitted by the American Press Staff.

On March 29, 1973, the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was disbanded as a result of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords. With that event, the last U.S. combat troops departed the Republic of Vietnam.

On March 29, 2012, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 29, 2012, as Vietnam Veterans Day. The proclamation called “upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that commemorate the 50 year anniversary of the Vietnam War.”

Since the establishment of the Day, events across this great nation have been taking place to show national honor for our Vietnam Veterans. In this episode a story about how the day is being honored in Louisiana is featured.

The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Veterans Affairs welcome all Vietnam veterans, their families and veteran supporters to attend the statewide Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemoration honoring Louisiana’s Vietnam veterans on Wednesday, March 29, Vietnam War Veterans Day, at 10 a.m. at the Raising Cane’s River Center.

Joey Strickland is a retired Colonel who serves as the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs. He said this, “As a Vietnam veteran who served two combat tours, I know what it felt like to not be welcomed home.”

Listen to episode 2457 and discover more about how the good people of Louisiana are going to celebrate National Viet Nam Veterans day on March 29.

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Harvey C. Barnum Jr. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.

Episode 2456 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature Marine Vietnam Vet Harvey C. Barnum and his CMH. The interest in Barnum’s story was stirred by the interview with Ivo Alvarez about his service as a Marine in Vietnam and a police officer in Miami, Florida that appeared in Episode 2454.

During his interview, Ivo described the big battles of Operation Harvest Moon that took place December 8 to 20, 1965 south of Da Nang in the Que Son Valley. His Marine unit was engaged in deadly combat with the communists in the Operation.

During his description of the battles, he mentioned an officer by the name of Barnum who dove into the battle and as a result of his heroic actions was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. That one mention of the heroic officer piqued the curiosity of your podcaster.

Who is Harvey C. Barnum? Harvey Curtiss Barnum Jr. (born July 21, 1940) is a former United States Marine Corps officer who received the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1989 after more than 27 years of service. Barnum served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Reserve Affairs from July 23, 2001 to January 20, 2009. He also served as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) from January 21 to April 30, 2009.

During Operation Harvest Moon, Barnum would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on December 18, 1965 — for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty”. He had taken over command of a rifle company when its commander has been killed in action, and reorganized it for defense and successful evacuation after destroying the enemy.

Harvey Barnum and Ivo Alvarez are tremendous representatives  of the great Vietnam Veteran Generation.

Listen to episode 2456 and discover more about Marine Vietnam Vet Harvey C. Barnum and his CMH.

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Episode 2455 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about how VFW Post 670 is celebrating National Vietnam War Veterans Day at Fayetteville, North Carolina. The featured story comes from the Army Community Service at Fort Bragg, NC. It is titled VFW Luncheon held to honor Vietnam War veterans. It was submitted by Dr. Shanessa Fenner.  

According to the story, The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 670 is hosting the Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Luncheon Thursday, March 30 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will be held at VFW Post 670 on Doc Bennett Road. Post 670 is located at 3928 Doc Bennett Rd, Fayetteville, NC 28306. The phone number there is (910) 424-8675.

For more information or to RSVP, call or text (910)709-8306, email 670vfw@gmail.com or stop by VFW Post 670 on Doc Bennett Road to let the bartender know your name and that you want to RSVP for the event.

For more information about VFW Post 670 membership and events visit https://vfw670.org/di/vfw/v2/default.asp?nid=1.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a nonprofit veterans service organization comprised of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces.

There are three qualifiers for membership in the VFW, as set out in the National Bylaws. An individual must meet all three in order to become a member.

    1: Must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. National.

    2: Must have served honorably in the Armed Forces

    3: Service in a war, campaign or expedition on foreign soil or in hostile waters.

More detailed information on VFW eligibility can be accessed at https://www.vfw.org/join/eligibility.

If you are not eligible for membership in the VFW but you have a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, sibling or spouse who would be eligible then you may apply for membership in the VFW Auxiliary. You can learn more at www.vfwauxiliary.org.

Listen to episode 2455 and discover more about how VFW Post 670 is celebrating National Vietnam War Veterans Day at Fayetteville, North Carolina.

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Episode 2454 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature an interview with Ivo Alvarez about his service as a Marine in Vietnam and a police officer in Miami, Florida.

In 1954, when he was ten years old, Ivo Alvarez’s family pulled up stakes in Cuba and relocated to Miami. When Ivo graduated from high school in Miami, he joined the U.S. Marines because as he said, he watched too many John Wayne movies. He real motivation for enlisting was to realize a hope of going back to fight in Cuba to help free his home country from the clutches of communism. Those hopes and plans did not work out. He was sent to Vietnam where he arrived in late 1965.

Ivo served in Vietnam as a member of the famous Utter’s Battalion. His service was as a frontline infantryman. A book about the battalion gives a good idea about the challenges Ivo faced in country. A portion of the book description includes: “After paving the way in Qui Nhon for the arrival of more American military, 2/7 was assigned to Chu Lai, where the battalion fought its most bitter, deadly battles. With the scalding ring of truth, Lee captures the conditions of the bone-weary 2/7 Marines as they slogged through jungles and spent night after night in dreary, rain-filled foxholes.”

After his hitch in the Marines was over, Ivo went home and became a member of the Miami Police Force. In his twenty plus years in the Department he rose to the rank of Major. He survived the perilous times during the Liberty City race riots of 1980. Ivo said his experiences as a Marine infantryman in Vietnam served him well in the riots.

Ivo Alvarez is another tremendous representative of the great Vietnam Veteran Generation.

Listen to episode 2454 and discover more about the service of Ivo Alvarez as a Marine in Vietnam and a police officer in Miami, Florida.

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