‘Defoliants sprayed on DMZ in late ’50s’

Retired U.S. soldier: Without herbicide, troops in South vulnerable to N.K. snipers


A former U.S. Forces Korea soldier claimed Tuesday that he had witnessed defoliants ― apparently containing toxic dioxin ― being hand-sprayed in the Demilitarized Zone regularly in the late 1950s.

His claim comes amid continuing controversy over when the U.S. military sprayed Agent Orange over the DMZ to stop North Korean troops from infiltrating the South across the buffer zone dividing the two Koreas.

The Seoul and Washington governments have said that Agent Orange was used in the DMZ from 1968-69. But Korean veterans have made allegations that toxic defoliants were sprayed there even in the middle of the 1950s.

“In 1959, as a U.S. Army enlisted man, I witnessed defoliants being sprayed on the hills north and east of Munsan-ri up to the Freedom Bridge on the DMZ, including the area known at the time as Ambush Alley between Munsan and the Imjin River,” said Tom Dillman in an email interview with The Korea Herald.

“I believe our water system and nearby rice paddies were polluted with that. It was mixed and hand-sprayed. Each rainstorm or heavy snow event washed the hills and the defoliants settled in low-lying areas like our location and any surrounding Munsan-ri rice paddies ― thus chancing to get into your and our food and water chain.”

Dillman served here as an Army specialist for 13 months after arriving here in 1958. He was initially stationed in the 8th Cavalry at the DMZ, and then at the 15th QM compound at the foot of Ambush Alley.

He said the hand spraying of the defoliants around his unit took place no more than every couple of months, and that the hand spraying seemed to be a “punishment job” for poor performance.

Depicting high military tensions near the border that ran after the 1950-53 Korean War, Dillman, then a “young man at age 19 or 20,” saw the value of spraying defoliants across the DMZ, though.

“Infiltration across the DMZ from the North was a constant, often deadly problem,” he recalled.

“We had a fence around our compound (I think it was called Camp Jessup at the time). We were situated in a quite brushy, mountainous area. Without defoliants, we could be easy picking for N. Korean snipers, no less renewed, full-blown invasions.”

At the time of the defoliant spraying, he and other soldiers were not given any health warnings. But he assumed that “somebody,” perhaps in the U.S. military, may have been aware of their hazardous nature.

“I clearly remember at least twice to be told to stay indoors for several hours because of the fog of air spraying. That suggested to me that somebody knew or worried about the potential negative health effects,” he said.

“I had no idea at the time that the regular spraying I witnessed would have such disastrous long-term effects on so many, Koreans, Americans, and others.”

Dillman was not exactly sure about the name of the defoliant. But he said that the color of the stripes on the top of the 55-gallon drums containing the defoliants seemed to be purple if his memories served him right.

“The drums were a standard military color … The particular mixture of the chemicals was determined by a strip around the top of the drum of dry mix. The stripes were orange or purple or blue or white, and perhaps some other colors,” he said.

“No one in the late 1950s paid much attention to the stripes, but my most consistent memories were of a dark color ― perhaps purple.”

Regarding the concerns that anti-American sentiment could be sparked in the wake of allegations that the U.S. military buried toxic chemicals at its installations here, Dillman said burying the chemicals might not be done with any malicious intention.

“Few people knew their toxic effects at the time. I think the motivation would be money: it was cheaper to bury them on spot than ship them somewhere else to be destroyed,” he said.

“If North Koreans would just stay home, leave you alone and tend to their own internal business, none of this would even be an issue. We, Americans, were and are obligated by treaty to support you while at the same time, enjoying your friendship.”

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)