The Battle of Agent Orange

For thousands of Viet Nam veterans, the longest battle of America's most unpopular war still rages--in U.S. courtrooms. Last May a $180 million settlement was reached in the class-action suit against seven chemical companies that manufactured Agent Orange, the dioxin-contaminated defoliant that the military sprayed over Viet Nam from 1965 to 1970. The plaintiffs claimed that Agent Orange had caused, among other things, skin disorders in many of the soldiers and birth defects in some of their children. Judge Jack Weinstein of New York, who worked out the mass-damage award, is now holding hearings to gauge reaction to the settlement before he decides whether to approve it.

Last week in Atlanta, several veterans wept as they testified about their suffering. Adding tension to the proceedings was a study released by Atlanta's Centers for Disease Control, which concluded that soldiers exposed to Agent Orange had no greater risk of having babies with birth defects than did the general population. Said Woody Willis, head of the Nam Vets of Georgia organization: "My gut reaction is that they're trying to sell us down the river like they have in the past."