Mar. 27, 1965 - Weed killers are among the weapons being used against Communist Viet Cong guerrillas in what Secretary of State Dean Rusk has labeled the “mean, dirty struggle” in South Vietnam.
The weed killers, such as are used in many American gardens, are employed to strip jungle areas of foliage to expose Viet Cong insurgents and to deprive them of possible ambush sites.
Defoliation operations have been carried on in South Vietnam since 1961.
Military officials say that just as tear and nausea gases are commonplace police weapons, the weed killers are ordinary chemical compounds. The compounds — known as 2,4-D, 2,5-T, and 4,5-T — are variations of dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and are available on the commercial market.
The “D” compound kills herbaceous, or soft-stemmed, plants. The “T” compounds kill woody plants. They may be used in combination and are often used in the U.S. to control weeds along roadsides and to combat ragweed and poison ivy.
Depending upon the mixture and concentration, however, these chemical compounds may be used to destroy many kinds of plant life. Military officials emphasize, however, that they are not harmful to people, animals, soil, or water.
In South Vietnam, officials say, the defoliants have been used “under controlled conditions for unquestionably legitimate requirements.”
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