And two Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange who traveled to the U.S. last month have died. Nguyen Van Quy and Nguyen Thi Hong were members of a delegation that came for a lawsuit against over three dozen chemical companies that manufactured the toxin. American warplanes dumped about 18 million gallons of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese government says more than three million people have been disabled. But the U.S. maintains there is no scientifically proven link between the wartime spraying and the disabilities. Speaking outside a New York courtroom in June, Nguen Van Quy said he suffered from cancer and two of his children had birth defects.

Nguyen Van Quy: “I am here as a living evidence to tell the people in the court that dioxin really has a negative impact on human beings as well as the environment.”

Van Quy died earlier this month just nine days after returning to Vietnam. He was 52 years old. The other victim, Nguyen Thi Hong, visited our firehouse studio and also described how Agent Orange affected her life. She was exposed to Agent Orange in 1964. She gave birth prematurely to three underweight children, one of whom had a congenital heart defect. She had several bone and skin diseases, had her spleen removed and was treated with chemotherapy.

Nguyen Thi Hong: “In 2000, we got the results of the test. They confirmed and concluded that I am affected with dioxin. In 2002, I had breast cancer, and I had a surgery, and the breast was removed. Well, as a result of the findings, the doctor mentioned to me that I was suffering from cancer and it is the terminal period, and I’m suffering from the aftermath of the cancer, and it’s now going to my bones.”

Nguyen Thi Hong died last week at the age of 60. In a statement, Merle Ratner of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign said: “Nguyen Thi Hong dedicated the last weeks of her life to achieving justice for all Agent Orange victims. Despite knowing how serious her illnesses were, she had great optimism and hope.… [She] will dwell forever in our hearts.”