An Unfinished War Legacy
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The U.S. military used more than 12 million gallons of Agent Orange and 8 million gallons of Agents White, Blue, Purple, Pink and Green in Indochina between 1961 and 1971, an act of ecocide with devastating medical consequences for local populations, American veterans and their children. After years of unconscionable denial, the US government has taken major steps to redress contamination in Viet Nam and to provide assistance to victims there and here. Less is known about and less help provided to affected areas and people in Laos and Cambodia
George Black is a British-born author and journalist. His most recent book, The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam (2023) was a New York Times Book Review editors’ choice and was selected by Kirkus Reviews as one of the best books of the year. His previous seven books are on a wide range of international, environmental, and historical topics, including U.S. policy in Central America and the Caribbean, the Chinese democracy movement, the 19th century exploration of the American West and the wars against the Plains Indians, and a travel memoir of a journey down the River Ganges in India and Bangladesh. His award-winning journalism has been published in the New York Times Magazine, the New Yorker, and many other newspapers and magazines, and has taken him to more than two dozen countries in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. He has a master’s degree from Oxford University. He lives in New York City and is married to author and Columbia University scholar Anne Nelson https://george-black.net
Heather Bowser, MSEd, is the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran. Her activism has focused on helping others affected by their parent’s exposure to Agent Orange. Heather was born with multiple birth defects associated with her father’s service in Vietnam.
Jacquelyn (Jacqui) Chagnon Representative for the War Legacies Project, Lao PDR, and Chair of the Board, focused on Lao Agent Orange Survey and Victim Support (2014-current). South East Asia Quaker International Affairs Representative, American Friends Service Committee in S.E. Asia (2005 - 2013). Senior Consultant on Participatory Development, and Strategic Planning in the Lao PDR (1990 - 2005) working with World Bank, European Union, United Nations Development Program, and many non-profit organizations. Field Representative on Post-War Reconciliation and Reconstruction in Viet Nam, Lao and Cambodia for the American Friends Service Committee (1978-1981, 1986-1990).
