What Is Agent Orange Really Happened During The Vietnam War?

The Vietnam War began in 1955 and lasted until 1975, this war was between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. South Korea, and United States were on the same side as South Vietnam and were fighting against North Vietnam which was communist. Throughout the War new technologies and machines were used, not only that but specifically in the Vietnam War chemicals were used as well. One major chemical compound used in the Vietnam War was Agent Orange. “Agent Orange was a defoliant sprayed by the U.S. during the Vietnam War to clear dense vegetation and reveal enemy troops. It was contaminated with dioxin, a potent toxicant that persists for decades in the environment.” Exposure to this chemical causes health problems including diseases. Korean soldiers
The Korean government was neither given any right to participate in the decision-making process, nor was the government aware of the potential danger of the Agent Orange during the war.”

Young men went through being exposed to the chemical and as they are veterans now they get no compensation. My grandfather did not go into the jungle, but instead he was mainly working on managing supplies at that time so he was never exposed to Agent Orange. My grandfather however volunteered willingly in getting drafted as did many other men in South Korea. Many soldiers went to war but not for the same reasons. Some wanted to go to war to prove their manliness and strength while others might have done it so that they can support their families. Some were given the option while other individuals had no choice. According to the source, Fighting for Peanuts, “Over sixty percent of all military participants were volunteers, making draftees the minority. Many pursued personal objectives, such as restoring their sense of manhood, finding means to seek out a living, and, as husbands, brothers, and sons, providing a roof over their family members' heads and food on the table. In other words, they acted as breadwinners on whom their dependents relied as their sole source of
My grandfather had his own reasons as well, more specifically he served because of the money. “The hopes and anticipations of the South Korean populace in the years after the Korean War and the economic desperation of this time made fighting in Vietnam seem attractive.” According to my grandfather working with an American company meant very good income and compensation. In the 1960’s in the Republic of Korea, “The shortage of goods fueled inflation… The consumer price index rose nearly ten percent in the year 1965 alone, making it increasingly difficult for the general populace to make ends meet...Seoul residents were accumulating rising debt.” My grandfather also served mainly for his family as well. He was 30 years old when he joined and served for 5 years. He had two children, my mother and my uncle, and a wife who is my grandmother. He needed to support his family and since they were in desperate times, because of the poor economic situations in South Korea, he decided volunteer and serve his country. When my grandfather left, my mother was only three months old. She had no recollection of my grandfather in her earlier years as he was gone most of the time. Luckily he worked as a supplier and returned when my mother was in kindergarten. Although my mother had a hard time accepting him as her own father for a very long time, she later