LAYTON—It’s been 50 years since the Vietnam War ended but some soldiers still feel the effects of Agent Orange, a chemical used during the conflict. It’s estimated that 300,000 veterans have died related to exposure. 

“The death toll far exceeds those killed in the war,” said Nelson Thibault, a volunteer who is trying to get a monument to those soldiers erected in Layton Commons Park near the Vietnam Memorial Wall replica. “It’s a tragic thing that happened there.”

The military used the chemical to kill tree leaves the enemy used for camouflage in a dense jungle type area, he said. “They were trying to eliminate some of the foliage. It turned out to be more toxic than they knew.”

It caused major illnesses such as cancer, said Thibault. “It’s not only the vets but they’ve passed it onto the next generation. Not a lot but some.”

Ironically it was meant to help the military, he said. “The insects were pretty bad. They thought it was beneficial but it turned out to be very toxic. It was military grade as opposed to what’s used here. It’s really bad stuff.”

People were told by their superior that it wasn’t hazardous, Thibault said. “The Navy was exposed too even though they weren't on land. The chemical went down streams and was carried out to sea off the coast where they were turning salt water into potable water.”

Even today in Vietnam it’s creating problems, he said. “There are children born with missing limbs and other birth defects.”

To bring awareness to Agent Orange and to honor those who have been impacted Nelson and a group of veterans have recently started a petition to Layton City to get approval to build the monument. “It came before the council in February but we haven’t heard back,” he said. “We’d like to get the memorial into the park to have it on Veterans Day.”

The monument is 8 feet wide and 11 feet high and is two sided, he said. On one side is a ribbon shaped like a purple heart for Agent Orange. A vet plane is super imposed over the country of Vietnam representing the C123 Air Force planes that sprayed Agent Orange.”

The ribbon at the top represents the Vietnam service medal, said Thibault. “Below there are five patches representing branches of the service, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard. The orange stone signifies agent orange.”

On the other side is a group of soldiers leaning on one another with the inscription: “They served, they fought, they died and received neither their country’s glory nor their country’s compassion.” 

So far Nelson’s group has about 300 signatures. “We need to get up to 1,000 for it to be effective,” he said. “We want to create awareness and educate future generations about what happened.”

 To sign the petition go to https://www.change.org/p/approve-agent-orange-memorial-in-layton-commons-park or scan the QR code. The group is also taking donations.