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The Vietnam War ended 50 years ago, but the battle with Agent Orange continues

Associated Press

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FILE- Flying a bare 100 feet above the jungle hills west of Hue, 5 bulky 'C-123 providers' cut loose a spray of chemical defoliant on August 14, 1968. The chemicals used burn off heavy foliage hiding enemy infiltrations routes and base camps. The aircraft are specially equipped with huge 1,000 gallon tanks holding 11,000 lbs. of herbicide. To hit their target areas they fly barely above the tree tops and in tight formation. In particularly dangerous areas they are provided with fighter-bomber escorts. (AP Photo/Robert Ohman, File)
Nguyen Van Quoc Hung, 13, plays with building blocks at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
Students exercise and play with wooden blocks in physiotherapy class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
A student plays with a wooden shape sorter at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
A student sweeps the area in front of a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)
FILE- Attendants sit next to a field contaminated with dioxin before a ceremony marking the start of a project to clean up dioxin left over from the Vietnam War, at a former U.S. military base in Danang, Vietnam Thursday Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Maika Elan, File)
FILE- A Vietnamese soldier stands guard in front of military aircraft near a dioxin contaminated area while U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visits Bien Hoa air base in Bien Hoa, outside Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Oct. 17, 2018. (Kham/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE- A Vietnamese worker sprays water over stones to be used in the construction of a silo for storing soil contaminated with Agent Orange dioxide at the site of a former American airbase in Danang, Vietnam on Wednesday, April 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh, File)
Students put on uniforms at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
A girl who has health problems because of exposure to Agent Orange practices sewing at a special school In Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)
Students attend a physiotherapy class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
FILE- Armored personnel carriers with tank support move through dense underbrush with a payload of South Vietnamese infantrymen and U.S. cavalrymen during patrol through jungle 40 miles northeast of Saigon on June 5, 1969. (AP Photo/Rick Merron, File)
Truong Minh Phu, 20, practices with an arm pedal exerciser in physiotherapy class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
A student fills a colouring book at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)
Nguyen Thanh Hai, 34, centre, raises his hand to answer question during class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
Nguyen Khanh Vy, 19, smiles while writing in her book at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)
Nguyen Ba Quy Phuoc, 14, attends a physiotherapy class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
FILE- Infantryman points out a suspicious shadow in a tree to his machine gunner as they move on patrol near the Cambodian Border west of Pleiku in Vietnam on Nov. 26, 1966. Troops of the 25th Infantry Division (1st Battn. 14th Inf.) inches through the thick jungle from their base camp after being held up three days by snipers. AP Photo/Horst Faas, File)
FILE- A yellow flag marks a field contaminated with dioxin near Danang airport, during a ceremony marking the start of a project to clean up dioxin left over from the Vietnam War, at a former U.S. military base in Danang, Vietnam Thursday Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Maika Elan, File)
FILE- Maps of the area contaminated with dioxin around Danang airport are displayed during a ceremony marking the start of a project to clean up dioxin left over from the Vietnam War, at a former U.S. military base in Danang, Vietnam Thursday Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Maika Elan, File)
FILE -A woman walks next to a highly contaminated pond around the grounds of the Danang airbase in Danang, Vietnam, May 21, 2007. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)
Truong Minh Phu, 20, centre, sits in a classroom with other students at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)
A boy smiles looking out of the window at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)
Nguyen Thanh Hai, 34, reacts after getting compliments on his work during class at a school for victims of Agent Orange in Da Nang, Vietnam, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

AP1968

FILE- Flying a bare 100 feet above the jungle hills west of Hue, 5 bulky 'C-123 providers' cut loose a spray of chemical defoliant on August 14, 1968. The chemicals used burn off heavy foliage hiding enemy infiltrations routes and base camps. The aircraft are specially equipped with huge 1,000 gallon tanks holding 11,000 lbs. of herbicide. To hit their target areas they fly barely above the tree tops and in tight formation. In particularly dangerous areas they are provided with fighter-bomber escorts. (AP Photo/Robert Ohman, File)