Ryukyu Island Dogs

US Military Defoliants on Okinawa: Agent Orange

Presentation

On August 19, 2011, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement in response to recent media coverage on the use of U.S. military and the storage of defoliants (including Agent Orange) on Okinawa during the Vietnam War . The MOFA said that although he had asked the U.S. Department of Defense to investigate these allegations, Washington replied that he could not find any evidence of the period. As a result, Tokyo has asked the U.S. government to re-check your files in more detail.1 This was the first time the Japanese government had asked the U.S. military defoliants on since 2007 - and its refusal to accept the denial of the Pentagon's actions were rare. The announcement today was born after two weeks of unprecedented press reports which claimed that these chemicals were widely used in Okinawa during the 1960s and 70s.

With new revelations coming to light on a regular basis, it is still an issue that is growing rapidly. However, in this paper, I will try to sort out the situation as it stands.Beginning with a brief overview of the role of Okinawa during the Vietnam War and the use of the army of defoliants during the war, then I will explore the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) decisions of 1998 and 2009 seemed to offer an official recognition of the presence of these defoliants on the island. After that, I will summarize the accounts of American veterans about their experiences of handling these defoliants on Okinawa - including transportation, storage, spraying and burial.In conclusion, I will assess the barriers that veterans face the people of Okinawa, winning an admission from the Pentagon - as well as for signs of hope, though difficult, such recognition is possible.

Okinawa and the Vietnam War

After his capture by U.S. forces in June 1945, Okinawa was quickly transformed into a forward base for Operation Olympic, the Allied invasion of mainland Japan early.The atomic bombings and the Soviet declaration of war on Japan made redundant as aggression - and the winners have focused their attention on the occupation of Tokyo-centric, the importance of Okinawa fell. In November 1949, Time magazine had dubbed the "forgotten island", saying, "For the past four years, the poor, typhoon-swept Okinawa has dangled at what bitter Army men call 'the end of Logistics line.

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Lucky for me, a guy I'll start calling RyukyuRu volunteered to be my driver for Sunday.  That way I got to consume all the beers I wanted and wouldn't have to worry about driving under the influence, which happens to be  A SERIOUS CRIME IN JAPAN.   I was home sometime early in the morning.  I remember, it was daylight after I walked the dogs.  So, I turned off the porch light and ZZZzzzzzzz.... Not much of a history fan when I was growing up this kind of stuff would bore me.  Now, I'm older and wiser.  If you went this way to attack the castle back in the old days, you were in for a surprise.  It leads to a dead end.  The defenders of the castle, from the walls above, would simply drop rocks on your head.  When I was a kid I liked throwing rocks.  Teachers just didn't know how to make history fun.