The Nation - News from May 13, 1988

Adm. Elmo Zumwalt Jr., chief of naval operations during the Vietnam War, and Sens. Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.), who served in Vietnam, said the government should compensate ailing Vietnam veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange, even though doctors have said no scientific evidence links it to health problems. They testified before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, which is studying the long-term effects of servicemens’ exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, where it was used to defoliate jungle growth. Kerry said compensation “is a question of fairness and decency, whatever the state of science before us today.”