Waiting for an Army to Die: The Tragedy of Agent Orange

by Fred A. Wilcox

"I died in Vietnam, but I didn’t even know it," said a young Vietnam vet on the Today Show one morning in 1978, shocking viewers across the country. Waiting for an Army to The Tragedy of Agent Orange—the first book ever written on the effects of Agent Orange—tells this young vet’s story and that of hundreds of thousands of other former American servicemen. During the war, the US sprayed an estimated 12 million gallons of Agent Orange on Vietnam, in order to defoliate close to 5 million acres of its land. "Had anyone predicted that millions of human beings exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin would get sick and die," scholar Fred A. Wilcox writes in the new introduction to his seminal book, "their warnings would have been dismissed as sci-fi fantasy or apocalyptic nonsense." Told in a gripping and compassionate narrative style that travels from the war in Vietnam to the war at home, and through portraits of many of the affected survivors, their families, and the doctors and scientists whose clinical experience and research gave the lie to the government whitewash, Waiting for an Army to Die tells a story that, thirty years later, continues to create new twists and turns for Americans still waiting for justice and an honest account of what happened to them. Vietnam has chosen August 10—the day that the US began spraying Agent Orange on Vietnam—as Agent Orange Day, to commemorate all its citizens who were affected by the deadly chemical. The new second edition of Waiting for an Army to Die will be released upon the third anniversary of this day, in honor of all those whose families have suffered, and continue to suffer, from this tragedy.

Genres: War, Nonfiction, Politics, Military Fiction, History

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 12, 1983

Reviews

[Ben Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thick pages

[Michelle Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as a teenager. It made me so sad.

My father was in Vietnam, as was the fathers of so many people.
This book impacted me greatly. I feel, even to this day, that our goverment really has no respect for our military. They certainly didn't then and I am not sure that they do at this time either.

When I see news shows about what happens with veterans of more recent wars, I think of this book and wonder if they are really treated any better?

It makes me angry to think how these men were impacted, the diseases they know of and all of the things that they don't know about. This is not the best review, sorry.

This book discusses what Vets knew because of experience and found out later for sure, thier own government allowed a chemical agent to be sprayed where they were living and fighting and years later, the veterans found themselves all suffering from similar ailments, ranging from prostate cancer to infertility to many others incredibly similar ailments. The government of course, denied that there was anything wrong with these men for years. Hence the title.

I read this book YEARS ago however, its sad, disturbing content is still with me.

[Allison Malter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Through a series of interviews and perspectives the author tells about those exposed to Agent Orange and the effects it has had on their lives. The book was written in 1982 at a time when there was not universal recognition that Agent Orange was responsible for thousands of Vietnam veterans developing wasting neuromuscular and liver diseases and cancers as well as having stillborn infants or children with multiple birth defects. Indeed for years the government and the chemical companies that manufactured Agent Orange denied the extent of exposure to or potential toxicity of the defoliant that was sprayed throughout Vietnam. In 1982 the Veterans Administration had a long history of inadequately treating and evaluating those veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange, often declaring all of their symptoms to be psychological in origin. While a depressing story this is an interesting and important book.

[Susanne Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening

Wonderfully written book regarding the side effects our Vietnam veterans and their families have had to have due to Agent Orange. A must read!

[Hien Ngo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read this book earlier. I got this copy from my friend Dick Hughes whom I visited at his New York City office last Saturday. Actually I have read the first four chapters and I only did so while I was on the plane flying from DC to LA. It's a sad but must read book which made me cried as I thought about those American soldiers and Vietnamese soldiers of both sides, including my mother as an NLF combatant who fought in 67-69 in Quang Tri Province, who have suffered from the effects of Agent Orange.

[Ram T · Rating 4 out of 5]

25. A book about your profession

I truthfully did not know much about the Vietnam war and I had only heard the term “Agent Orange” without knowing what it was or what it did. Reading accounts of how this chemical affected veterans and their families for years after the fact and how the government and military handled it was really eye opening. It paints things in an entirely new light.

[Felicidad Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a must read... it contains valuable information on how the Vietnam Veteran returned home to battle agent orange related diseases.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waiting for an Army to Die: The Tragedy of Agent Orange [1983] – ★★★★

“In the abominable history of war, with the sole exception of nuclear weapons, never has such an inhumane fate ever before been reserved for the survivors” Dr. Ton That Tung, Vietnamese scientist.

This book is on Agent Orange, a highly toxic herbicide chemical containing dioxin, that was used in the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Through a series of interviews with Vietnam veterans, Fred Wilcox demonstrates the horrific situation that many people found themselves in after the war, being forced to live with the consequences of the Agent Orange exposure and trying to stir legal battles to ensure justice, and that amidst manufacturers’ lies, the indifference of the US administration and general governmental cover-ups. For the record, the US used some 11 million gallons of the chemical, killing some 400.000 Vietnamese and causing some 3 million people in general to suffer various diseases because of the exposure. American soldiers suffered, too, sleeping in Agent Orange (infected earth), bathing in Agent Orange (infected waters), eating Agent Orange (contaminated food), drinking Agent Orange (contaminated water). Soldiers had no idea what was being sprayed, many thinking it was some substance to battle mosquitoes or insects in the area and were even told “the stuff was harmless” and was bound “to save their lives”. In the years following the war, veterans’ symptoms and illnesses ranged from rashes, dizziness and headaches to serious neurological conditions, liver damage, weak hearts, bowel and testicular cancers, miscarriages in their families and their children born with deformities.

Since it was written in 1982, the book is now dated and was obviously penned when there was still no universal acknowledgement that Agent Orange is linked to cancers, birth defects and miscarriages. However, it certainly still provides an excellent insight into the situation of what was going on in the late 1970s and early 1980s America when Vietnam veterans began complaining about their horrifying symptoms and their complaints were being dismissed. It is a painful chapter in American history, but also an important one and should never be dismissed or forgotten.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was about Vietnam war veterans who were exposed to the herbicide nicknamed Agent Orange. It was a chemical used to destroy vegetation exposing the enemy's position. Though, soldiers exposed to it reported very odd medical and health issues normally found in very old people. These soldiers were in their early twenties. They were all told that they would not be hurt and that Agent Orange was non-toxic. This book is about their story of these such symptoms including horrible birth defects of their offspring. They battle with the Veterans Administration about why they haven't gotten their handicap papers or why they haven't been diagnosed thirteen years after the conflict ended. I only rated this book three stars because it is a documentary about several soldiers and it becomes a little repetitive after the 4th or 5th chapter. But it's still a sad truth about how many veterans were cheated out of their lives with this deadly chemical.

[Shivam Thakur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nations that take pride in democracy all over the world have often failed to be grateful to their soldiers. The liberty to talk like intellectuals comes at the cost of the man who picks up the gun and gives up on his so called basic needs. The book gives us gripping, behind-the-scenes, true account of the grief and injustice that the american veteran and his offspring were subject to. It's a narrative of how the world's oldest democracy not only failed to serve but in a way poisoned its own soldier.

[Diem N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

After volunteering with children and adult affected by Agent Orange two years ago in Vietnam. Everyone as the right to have their stories told. I truly recommend this book to anyone. Fred A. Wilcox personalizes the tragedy of Agent Orange by telling the individual stories of those who suffered from the side effects of Agent Orange and the terrible treatment they received.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sad, true, and totally untold story.

[Velvetink]

$2 at Vinnies. Different cover picture. Could be a bit dated now, but good background info.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a Vietnam veteran it is sad that our gov't spent so much money screwing us.