Vietnam, US join hands to tackle post-war consequences

Hanoi (VNA) – Good settlement of post-war matters like AO/dioxin victims as well as leftover bombs and mines in Vietnam will make contributions to consolidating and promoting friendship between Vietnam and the US, said Nguyen Tam Chien, President of the Vietnam-USA Society (VUS).

He made the statement during a reception in Hanoi on March 13 for a delegation from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), led by VFW Senior Vice Commander-in-Chief Keith E.Harman.

Speaking highly of the exchange programme between the VUS and the VFW which started as far as 1996, Chien said that it helped further mutual understanding and cooperation between the two people, especially veterans of the two countries.

For his part, Keith E.Harman affirmed that the VFW will continue its efforts to heal the pain of war and support activities to address post-war consequences in Vietnam.

The search for US servicemen who went missing in action (MIA) during war as well as orientation to hold the first Vietnam-US veterans business forum scheduled for the end of this year were also discussed at the meeting.

From 1961-1971, US troops sprayed more than 80 million litres of herbicides - 44 million litres of which were AO - over southern Vietnam.

 As a result, about 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to the toxic chemical. Many of the victims have died, while millions of their descendants are living with deformities and diseases as a result of the chemical’s effects.-VNA