Operation Ranch Hand

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Image:Agent Orange Cropdusting.jpgOperation Ranch Hand was a U.S. Military operation during part of the Vietnam War, lasting from 1962 until 1971.

It involved spraying 18 million US gallons (68,000 m³) of defoliants over rural areas of South Vietnam in an attempt to deprive the National Liberation Front of Vietnam of vegetation cover. The defoliant used in the largest quantity was Agent Orange, a mixture of herbicides now known to have been contaminated with dioxin.Template:US-mil-stub