Effort Underway to Build Agent Orange Victims Memorial in Sunset City, Utah
Former Air Force Sgt. Larry Kerr is leading an effort to establish a memorial honoring Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange in Sunset City, Utah, with a target completion date of Veterans Day, Military Times reported. The project comes after decades of federal resistance regarding the health effects of the toxic herbicide.
The Push for a Sunset City Memorial
Kerr founded the Utah Agent Orange Veterans Foundation two years ago to recognize service members who developed cancers and other diseases after exposure to the defoliant. The 78-year-old veteran served two tours in Vietnam with the 412th Munitions Maintenance Squadron. His military service placed him in locations with a presumptive exposure to Agent Orange. Since returning home, Kerr has faced treatments for testicular cancer, heart disease, and an upcoming operation to remove three bladder tumors.
“I just got tired of watching my friends die” without recognition, Kerr said of his motivation.
The foundation secured permission from Sunset City Mayor Scott Wiggill and the city council to place the memorial inside Sunset City Veterans Park. Sunset City is located about 25 miles north of Salt Lake City and has a population of 5,400. Wiggill stated that his office was proud to approve the site, adding that federal authorities failed victims of the herbicide for a long period.
“It’s a shame our federal government failed to recognize the Agent Orange victims for such a long time,” Wiggill said.
Historical Scope of Herbicide Operations
The memorial highlights the widespread use of tactical herbicides during the Vietnam War. The spraying missions began in 1961 under the administration of President John F. Kennedy to clear jungle cover used by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces and to destroy crops sustaining them. Operation Ranch Hand launched on Jan. 18, 1962, utilizing twin-prop Air Force C-123 Provider aircraft to spray transportation routes and base perimeters.
The military deployed more than 20 million gallons of tactical defoliants between 1961 and 1971. Agent Orange accounted for roughly 61% of that total. According to the National Institutes of Health, the compound was contaminated with dioxin, a highly toxic chemical. Army field manuals at the time described the agents as relatively non-toxic to humans or animals, leading commanders to drop basic safety precautions.
Gen. William Westmoreland, former commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, defended the strategy in his memoirs. The enemy used the jungle for cover, ambushes, and troop movements, necessitating a way to deny that cover.
Decades of Legal and Legislative Battles
Following the war, veterans sought disability compensation and recognition of service connection for their illnesses. However, the military stopped using the herbicides in 1971. Remaining stocks of Agent Orange were gathered and shipped to Johnson Atoll, where they were incinerated in 1977.
A landmark class-action lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court in 1984 by Vietnam veterans and their families against seven chemical companies, including Dow Chemical and Monsanto, resulted in a $180 million settlement. The agreement allowed chemical companies to continue denying liability.
Victor John Yannacone Jr., the lawyer who filed the initial suit in 1979, commented on the settlement’s implications at the time. He expressed hope that the President would direct the VA to honor veteran claims, recognizing that chemical bullets are as deadly as lead bullets.
Bush signed the Agent Orange Act. This legislation established presumptive conditions—such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, soft tissue sarcomas, and chloracne—enabling exposed veterans to receive medical benefits. The VA has since expanded the list to roughly 19 specific presumptive conditions.
Volunteers Prepare Sunset City Memorial for Veterans Day
Volunteers are currently preparing the panels for the Sunset City memorial. Kerr and fellow organizers aim to complete the installation by Veterans Day to honor those who survived combat only to face illness at home.
“We’ve had so many survive, come back with Purple Hearts, Silver Stars, and then come back here to die of Agent Orange — that’s what really burns my butt,” Kerr said.
The inscription on one of the memorial panels reads: “This memorial stands as a promise that their sacrifices will never be forgotten, their voices will never be silenced, and those who follow will be protected.”