ENTRY FOR KOREAN DMZ AGENT ORANGE INFORMATION CENTER POSTING
David K. Rogers 12 December 2019
After arrival at HHC, 2nd Infantry Division 2ID Chemical Section, Camp Howze on 06 May 1969, I was assigned as the Officer-in-Charge of all defoliation operations within the 2ID sector of the Korean DMZ and sent by TDY orders to Camp Liberty Bell 2/23 Inf located north of the Imjin River Civilian Control Line and a few hundred meters south of the DMZ Barrier Fence. As a Platoon Leader of Korean Augmentation to U.S. Army KATUSA soldiers, with the assistance from former SSG James J. Furgal, HHC, 2ID Chemical Section and former SGT William Gary McGuire, 25th Chemical Company, I Corps Special Troops, the Korean DMZ defoliation operations that began in March 1968 by the Free Republic of Korea Army FROKA, Korean Military Advisory Group KMAG , and 2ID Chemical Section continued in 1969-70. Due to funding and security restraints, FROKA did not participate in the 1969-70 defoliation operations of the 2ID sector of the Korean DMZ.
The mission I was charged with included ground spraying Agent Orange at full strength right from the 55-gallon drums. There was no dilution of Agent Orange because aerial spraying in the DMZ was prohibited by the 1955 Korean Armistice. Ironically, the U.S. Senate never ratified the 1925 Geneva Conference banning the use of chemical/biological warfare until 1975 under President Ford, which justified our government to start using chemical/biological agents in Vietnam, the Korean DMZ, Thailand, Laos, Panama, Guam and other Vietnam-era theaters in the late 1960s.
Agent Blue, a pre-mixed solution of about 5 percent cacodylic acid, 27 percent sodium cacodylate, 8 percent surfactant and salt, and about 60percent water, was applied, in a similar manner as Agent Orange, but to conifers and grasses instead of hardwoods.
The other herbicide applied to grasses was Telvar Monuron, which came in 100 lb bags of white powder that was mixed with water in a Power Driven Decontamination Apparatus PDDA. The PDDA could not be used for spraying Agents Orange/Blue for a number of logistical and technical reasons.
Our mission was to spray fields of fire around all Observation Posts OP’s, Guard Posts GP’s in front of the minefield/barrier fence, along the barrier fence, and along all unimproved roads by the barrier fence and leading from the Civilian Control Line to the OP’s and GP’s to prevent/minimize North Korean assault teams from ambushing U.S. Army work parties and soldiers stationed within and around the DMZ.
The 1969-70 defoliation operations did improve fields of fire and security along access roads, lessening the number and severity of the North Korean attacks.
To be continued. See full file at: https://www.koreanwar.org/pdf/KoreanWarProject-DMZ.pdf
