Vietnam: Offering Forgiveness, Seeking Justice

The Vietnamese government says that even today, 30 years after the Vietnam War, tens of thousands of its citizens suffer health problems linked to Agent Orange. Reporter Christie Aschwanden and video producer George Lerner traveled to Vietnam to investigate.

Vietnamese doctors say that soldiers exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War are at increased risk of having children with debilitating birth defects. Hard numbers are difficult to come by, however, since the studies needed to fully understand the lingering effects of Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people have never been completed. While current science cannot definitively pin individual birth defects on Agent Orange, many veterans say that they don't need studies to know how Agent Orange has harmed their families.

Last week, we visited two veterans who were sprayed with Agent Orange during the war to find out how their war experience altered their lives and their families. The stories we heard were more complicated and moving than we'd ever expected.