Memorial honors Agent Orange victims
HOT SPRINGS — A new memorial to honor those who died due to their exposure to Agent Orange while they were serving in Vietnam wwas dedicated in August at Crestview Memorial Park by the James L. Whitby chapter of Disabled American Veterans.
With hundreds of members of the local chapter, the organization wanted to help memorialize those who died due to the chemical herbicide and defoliant.
“We have many, many veterans here in Garland County that served in the Vietnam War and other places and were exposed to Agent Orange,” James Sanders, the chapter’s treasurer, said.
“Little did we know at that time, obviously, the long-range effects Agent Orange is known for causing,” Sanders said. “The main thing is diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, and there’s about 12 more items that they cause. Many people, people I know even, have died from it. I myself suffer from it. … It’s an opportunity to recognize these veterans that have died because of this chemical.”
The process of getting the monument has been a long one, Sanders said.
“Actually, we started on it during the pandemic, and it’s taken us over two years to get there, getting a stone here,” he said. “Fountain Lake Monument helped us with it, and we were finally able to get it here.”
The date chosen for the dedication has special significance, as it marks the 59th anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin incident which led to escalating U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam.
“We’ve invited all the veterans in Garland County from all the different organizations up here to dedicate this stone,” Benny Arego, the chapter’s commander, said. “Saturday’s the fifth of August. The fifth of August was the official start of the Vietnam War in the Gulf of Tonkin, and that’s why [we chose] this particular day. He’s been working on this for quite a while, because it affects him; it affects lots of us.”
Arego said there are 860 veterans buried at the cemetery, and the chapter wanted to make sure veterans’ families saw the memorial.
“Every Memorial Day and Veterans Day we put flags on their graves,” he said. “Think about all the family that comes out here to visit their loved ones, and they’ll see this stone and know that that’s for theirs.”