THE VIETNAM WAR’S SILENT SCARS: THE LEGACY OF THE SCORCHED EARTH POLICY

The U.S. military adopted a scorched earth policy to cut the supply lines of the VietCong. They burned villages, destroyed crops, and left the land barren, hoping to sever the enemy’s support base. The plan worked in one way: it denied the enemy resources. But in another direction, it destroyed everything, including the people. They euphemistically called it pacification.

The U.S. forced tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians out of their homes into refugee camps, but they were no places of refuge. The hamlets represented overcrowded, heavily guarded crude facilities — far from comfortable or safe. The war moved from the jungle and front lines to the villages, homes, and into the hearts of the people who had nothing to do with the Viet Cong. They became caught in the crossfire.

The U.S. Air Force dropped more than 7.5 million tons of bombs on Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia., and sprayed over 20 million gallons of herbicide — poison in the air, on the ground, and in the food. Of the five herbicides, Agent Orange was the worst. It made up more than half of it — 11 million gallons. Then there was Agent Purple, which was less used but still part of the same poison covering the land.

These are the realities of the Vietnam War. The tactics and the policies were not clean…