This review explores the recent development of research on rainbow herbicides as chemical weapons and the geographies of chemical warfare in what is now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. While the use and impacts of Agent Orange have previously been well documented, the production and extensive application of five other rainbow agents by the United States military has only recently been investigated in detail. What is exceptional about this research of chemical warfare landscapes is that the 23 refereed journal publications in this review were designed, implemented, and published in a unique collective research project by Ken Olson and a Merry Band of Military Retirees. Their groundbreaking research portfolio includes many geographical dimensions and the political ecology of chemical warfare. This includes the extensive exposure of civilians in Vietnam to these chemical agents, exposure of US military personnel in Southeast Asia and Panama, exposure of civilians near the private industrial sites that produced these rainbow agents in North America and the hazardous soil contamination that perseveres at these sites in Vietnam and the US. Given this impressive research depth and global scope, this review explores the unique way this research portfolio was developed by a Merry Band of Retirees through an interview with its leader, Ken Olson. It examines the goals and ethical orientation of these military veterans, the political ecology involved, the creative strategies they utilized to produce this innovative research, and how they changed the way Veterans exposed to chemical warfare agents are treated by the US government.
References
[1]
Olson, K.R. and Cihacek, L. (2020) The Fate of Agent Blue, the Arsenic Based Herbicide, Used in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Open Journal of Soil Science, 10, 518-577. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2020.1011027
[2]
Olson, K.R. and Cihacek, L. (2022) How United States Agricultural Herbicides Became Military and Environmental Chemical Weapons: Historical and Residual Effects. Open Journal of Soil Science, 12, 13-81. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2022.122002
[3]
Olson, K.R. and Cihacek, L. (2022) Agent Blue Spraying in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War: Fate of the Arsenic Based Herbicide Weapon Used to Destroy Rice Crop and Mangrove Forests. Open Journal of Soil Science, 12, 253-294. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2022.127012
[4]
Olson, K.R. (2022) The Mekong Delta in Vietnam and Cambodia Is Subsiding and in Need of Remediation. Open Journal of Soil Science, 12, 171-192. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2022.125007
[5]
Olson, K.R. and Chau, K.M. (2022) Natural and Anthropic Sources of Arsenic in the Groundwater and Soils of the Mekong Delta. Open Journal of Soil Science, 12, 541-570. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2022.1211023
[6]
Olson, K.R. (2023) Review and Analysis: Fate of Arsenic Applied to Canal Shipping Lane Vegetation and United States Military Base Grounds in the Panama Canal Zone. Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 391-413. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.1310018
[7]
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). Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 151-186. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.133007
[8]
Olson, K.R. and Morton, L.W. (2019) Long-Term Fate of Agent Orange and Dioxin TCDD Contaminated Soils and Sediments in Vietnam Hotspots. Open Journal of Soil Science, 9, 1-34. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2019.91001
[9]
Olson, K.R. and Tharp, M. (2020) How Did the Passaic River, a Superfund Site near Newark, New Jersey, Become an Agent Orange Dioxin TCDD Hotspot? Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 75, 33A-37A. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.75.2.33a
[10]
Olson, K.R. and Tornoe, D. (2021) Long-Term Environmental Impacts of Pesticide and Herbicide Use in Panama Canal Zone. Open Journal of Soil Science, 11, 403-434. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2021.119021
[11]
Olson, K.R. and Speidel, D.R. (2022) Agent Orange Chemical Plant Locations in the United States and Canada: Environmental and Human Health Impacts. Open Journal of Soil Science, 12, 363-426. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2022.128016
[12]
Morton, L.W. and Culbertson, C. (2022) Persistence of Dioxin TCDD in Southern Vietnam Soil and Water Environments and Maternal Exposure Pathways with Potential Consequences on Congenital Heart Disease Prevalence in Vietnam. Open Journal of Soil Science, 12, 119-150. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2022.124005
[13]
Giang, H.T.N., Hai, T.T., Nguyen, H., Vuong, T.K., Morton, L.W. and Culbertson, C.B. (2022) Elevated Congenital Heart Disease Birth Prevalence Rates Found in Central Vietnam and Dioxin TCDD Residuals from the Use of 2, 4, 5-T Herbicides (Agent Orange) in the Da Nang Region. PLOS Global Public Health, 2, e0001050. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001050
[14]
Olson, K.R. (2023) Saigon River Valley: A Navigation, Trade, Mitigation, Invasion, Liberation, and Unification Pathway. Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 46-82. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.132003
[15]
Olson, K.R. (2023) Review and Analysis: Did the United States Transport, Off-Load and Use Commercial 2,4,5-T Herbicides with Unknown Amounts of Dioxin TCDD on Military Base Grounds in Panama Canal Zone between 1948 and 1999? Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 490-515. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.1311023
[16]
Olson, K.R. and Speidel, D.R. (2023) Review and Analysis: United States Secret Wars in Cambodia: Long-Term Impacts and Consequences. Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 295-328. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.137013
[17]
Speidel, D.R. and Olson, K.R. (2024) Review and Analysis: Evaluation of the Impacts and Consequences of Using Agricultural Herbicides as Military Chemical Weapons in Second Indochina War. Open Journal of Soil Science, 14, 471-498. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2024.148025
[18]
Olson, K.R. and Morton, L.W. (2017) Why Were the Soil Tunnels of Cu Chi and Iron Triangle in Vietnam So Resilient? Open Journal of Soil Science, 7, 34-51. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2017.72003
[19]
Olson, K.R. and Speidel, D.R. (2020) Review and Analysis: Successful Use of Soil Tunnels in Medieval and Modern Warfare and Smuggling. Open Journal of Soil Science, 10, 194-215. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2020.105010
[20]
Olson, K.R. (2023) How Did Vinh Moc Village, Located near Vietnam DMZ, Protect Their Villagers from United States Air Force Bombardment during the Vietnam War? Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.131001
[21]
Olson, K.R. and Cihacek, L. (2023) Use of Agent Purple, Agent Orange and Agent Blue on Royal Thai Air Force Base Perimeters in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 233-261. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.135010
[22]
Olson, K.R. and Speidel, D.R. (2023) United States Secret War in Laos: Long-Term Environmental Impacts of the Use of Chemical Weapons. Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 199-232. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.134009
[23]
Olson, K.R. (2023) Review and Analysis: United States Cluster Munitions and Unex-ploded Ordnance Left in Laos after the Second Indochina War. Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 355-369. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.138016
