Agent Orange Likely Used in Okinawa

Week of July 16, 2007

The U.S. Board of Veterans' Appeals found in 1998 that the defoliant Agent Orange was probably used in Okinawa during the Vietnam War era. This finding is part of a recently uncovered ruling in favor of a former U.S. serviceman who was seeking compensation for prostate cancer that he blamed on his work in Okinawa in the early 1960s. The discovery comes as the U.S. Defense Department has yet to confirm whether Agent Orange was stored or used in Okinawa during the Vietnam War. Hundreds of former U.S. servicemen who were stationed in Okinawa during the Vietnam War have lodged medical compensation claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) citing Agent Orange exposure.