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My dad died of cancer from exposure to Agent Orange too, a little over 4 years ago he was only 66 years old. He was in the 10th Calvary in Vietnam 70-72.It hits me in the feelers whenever someone mentions Agent Orange. My dad died of Cancer from it but the worst part is he was the one spraying it. They were told it was safe. The pilots even did a shot of it as initiation plus used the drums it came in as bathtubs when they were in the bush. Early on Operation Ranch Hand was run from the kitchen table at my dad's apartment in Saigon.
His plane Patches is in the Airforce Museum in Dayton, OH. I met with the curator who restored the plane a couple years ago. He told me there were over 2,000 bullet holes in the plane that they had to repair. They flew without colors on their uniforms or on the plane so basically everyone was shooting at them as it was a Top Secret Mission. The members were not allowed to be married or have children. The missions typically flew 10-15 feet above treeline so even soldiers on the ground were taking pot shots at them. The planes were getting so shot up they tried figuring out how to make runs with less danger. They tried Full Moon runs at night and even did runs right after planes had dropped Napalm. Nothing really cut down on everyone shooting at them as they got friendly fire and the enemy.
As a kid I can remember we were watching a war movie and I was asking him about his helmet and if a bullet would go through it or if he had ever been shot in the head. He said the didn't wear those metal helmets but instead sat on them because the last thing you wanted was a bullet coming through the bottom of the plane hitting you in the junk. I think they alter adapted the planes with more protection below the pilots seats.
A reporter did a report on my dad and Agent Orange last year. Was a wild read. He got kicked out of the Air Force because he started raising a stink about them dropping Biological Agents and how it wasn't safe. That whole thing read like a spy movie. I'll have to see if I can post the article as it wasn't published in a magazine or on a website. It was part of a Research Investigation.
Ranch Hand | Air & Space Forces Magazine
Even then, the defoliation missions over Vietnam were controversial.www.airforcemag.com
One of my cousins was there and was exposed also, the skin just literally peels off his feet because when he was there, they would have to walk through areas that were recently sprayed, and their boots would get soaked with the stuff.
