audio, stills, text and or video: Go to zReportage.com to see more - In the 1960s and '70s, during the Vietnam War, the U.S. military used Agent Orange to kill trees and plants that blocked visibility from the air and provided cover for Viet Cong fighters hiding in the jungle. It harmed U.S. soldiers and Vietnamese and contaminated some areas of the country. Agent Orange and its active ingredient dioxin is ''one of the most toxic compounds known to humans,'' according to the UN. Peace Village ward at Tu Du Hospital is home for surviving child victims of Agent Orange. Decades after the war, civilians still suffer the consequences, children born to parents exposed to the toxin can be stillborn or born with birth defects, including skin disease, mental illness, and deformities. In part because of political and logistical difficulties, there is so far no conclusive international research showing a direct correlation between Agent Orange use in Vietnam and health problems. Still, the U.S. government recognizes that exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides causes cancer and additional health problems and presumes certain birth defects in children of Vietnam veterans. According to the Vietnamese Red Cross, babies born near lands heavily sprayed with the herbicide have illnesses and deformities at a higher rate than normal, and as many as a million Vietnamese now have health issues associated with Agent Orange.
© Hiroko Tanaka/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Jan. 18, 2011 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - An infant with deformed hands in the Peace Village ward at Tu Du Hospital. The hospital is home for children with disabilities believed to be caused by Agent Orange, the herbicide used by the U.S military during the Vietnam War. According to the United Nations, Agent Orange and its active ingredient dioxin is ''one of the most toxic compounds known to humans.''
© Hiroko Tanaka/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Jan. 18, 2011 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - A child severely affected by Agent Orange is fed at the Peace Village ward at Tu Du Hospital. It is claimed that children born to parents exposed to Agent Orange can be stillborn or born with birth defects, including skin disease, mental illness, and deformities.
© Hiroko Tanaka/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Jan. 28, 2014 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - A child stares out of the window at the Peace Village ward at Tu Du Hospital. After decades of Vietnam War, effects of Agent Orange still runs silently through generations.
© Hiroko Tanaka/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Jan. 18, 2011 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - A youth severely affected by Agent Orange is seen in the Peace Village ward at Tu Du Hospital. Peace village cares for about 60 children and many were abandoned at birth.
© Hiroko Tanaka/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Jan. 28, 2014 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - A badly scarred and skin damaged child is seen at the Peace Village ward at Tu Du Hospital.
© Hiroko Tanaka/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Jan. 18, 2011 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Some Agent Orange affected infants were saved in glass containers for science.
© Hiroko Tanaka/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Jan. 18, 2011 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Some Agent Orange affected infants were saved in glass containers for science.
© Hiroko Tanaka/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Jan. 18, 2011 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - A baby severely affected by Agent Orange is seen in the Peace Village ward at Tu Du Hospital.
© Hiroko Tanaka/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
January 18, 2011 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - A child severely affected by Agent Orange is fed during lunch time at Peace Village ward at Tu Du Hospital.
© Hiroko Tanaka/ZUMAPRESS.com
Jan. 18, 2011 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - A severely affected infant, by Agent Orange, is seen in the Peace Village ward at Tu Du Hospital.
© Hiroko Tanaka/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
