Editing Agent Orange (section)

====Australian and New Zealand veterans====
Several official investigations in Australia failed to prove otherwise<ref>From the archives: Royal Commission findings clear Agent Orange | https://www.smh.com.au/national/from-the-archives-royal-commission-findings-clear-agent-orange-20190805-p52e0d.html</ref> even though extant American investigations had already established that defoliants were sprayed at U.S. airbases including [[Bien Hoa Air Base]] where Australian and New Zealand forces first served before being given their own [[Tactical area of responsibility]] (TAOR.) Even then, Australian and New Zealand non-military and military contributions saw personnel from both countries spread over Vietnam such as the hospitals at [[Bong Son]] and [[Qui Nhon]], on secondments at various bases, and as flight crew and ground crew for flights into and out of [[Da Nang Air Base]] - all areas that were well-documented as having been sprayed.<ref>Maps of Heavily Sprayed Areas and Dioxin Hot Spots | https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/agent-orange-in-vietnam-program/maps-of-heavily-sprayed-areas-and-dioxin-hot-spots/</ref><ref>' Nurse in Vietnam - Frances Palmer ', URL: https://vietnamwar.govt.nz/memory/nurse-vietnam-frances-palmer, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 16-Nov-2022</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vietnamwar.govt.nz/nz-vietnam-war/surgical-and-medical-support|title=Surgical and medical support|work=VietnamWar.govt.nz, New Zealand and the Vietnam War|access-date=2014-08-05|archive-date=29 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429150937/http://www.vietnamwar.govt.nz/nz-vietnam-war/surgical-and-medical-support|url-status=live}}</ref>

It wasn't until a group of Australian veterans produced official military records, maps, and mission data as proof that the TAOR controlled by Australian and New Zealand forces in Vietnam had been sprayed with the chemicals in the presence of personnel that the Australian government was forced to change their stance. Only in 1994 did the Australian government finally admit that it was true that defoliants had been used in areas of Vietnam where Australian forces operated and the effects of these may have been detrimental to some Vietnam veterans and their children.<ref name=":3">DVA (Department of Veterans' Affairs) (2023 ), Agent Orange and other chemicals in the Vietnam War, DVA Anzac Portal, accessed 24 January 2024, https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/vietnam-war-1962-1975/events/aftermath/agent-orange</ref>

It was only in 2015 that the official [[Australian War Memorial]] accepted rewriting the official history of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War to acknowledge that Australian soldiers were exposed to defoliants used in Vietnam.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/win-for-vietnam-vets-with-agent-orange-war-history-to-be-rewritten-20140502-zr2fl.html|title=Win for Vietnam vets with Agent Orange war history to be rewritten|first=Gregory|last=Pemberton|date=May 1, 2014|website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

New Zealand was even slower to correct their error, with the government going as far as to deny the legitimacy of the Australian reports in a report called the "McLeod Report" published by Veterans Affairs NZ in 2001 thus infuriating New Zealand veterans and those associated with their cause.<ref>'Observing Agent Orange ', URL: https://vietnamwar.govt.nz/memory/observing-agent-orange, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 20-May-2020</ref><ref>' Agent Orange spraying - Ian Thorpe ', URL: https://vietnamwar.govt.nz/audio/agent-orange-spraying-ian-thorpe, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 10-Sep-2013</ref>

In 2006 progress was made in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the New Zealand government, representatives of New Zealand Vietnam veterans, and the [[Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association]] (RSA) for monetary compensation for New Zealand Vietnam veterans who have conditions as evidence of association with exposure to Agent Orange, as determined by the United States National Academy of Sciences. In 2008 the New Zealand government finally admitted that New Zealanders had in fact been exposed to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam and the experience was responsible for detrimental health conditions in veterans and their children.<ref>Māori war veteran's skin still peeling 50 years after Agent Orange exposure | URL=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/443953/maori-war-veteran-s-skin-still-peeling-50-years-after-agent-orange-exposure (New Zealand Herald)</ref> Amendments to the memorandum made in 2021 meant that more veterans were eligible for an ex gratia payment of NZ$40,000.<ref>'More Vietnam Veterans to receive compensation for Agent Orange Exposure' | https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/more-vietnam-veterans-receive-compensation-agent-orange-exposure | (New Zealand Government)</ref>