"Dr. Orange: The Secret Nemesis of Sick Vets"

"For decades, the military and the VA have repeatedly turned to one man to guide decisions on whether Agent Orange harmed vets in Vietnam and elsewhere. His reliable answer: No."

"A few years ago, retired Maj. Wes Carter was picking his way through a stack of internal Air Force memos, searching for clues that might help explain his recent heart attack and prostate cancer diagnosis. His eyes caught on several recommendations spelled out in all capital letters:

“NO ADDITIONAL SAMPLING …”

“DESTROY ALL …”

“IMMEDIATE DESTRUCTION …”

A Pentagon consultant was recommending that Air Force officials quickly and discreetly chop up and melt down a fleet of C-123 aircraft that had once sprayed the toxic herbicide Agent Orange across Vietnam. The consultant also suggested how to downplay the risk if journalists started asking questions: “The longer this issue remains unresolved, the greater the likelihood of outside press reporting on yet another ‘Agent Orange Controversy.’”

The Air Force, Carter saw in the records, had followed those suggestions."

Charles Ornstein reports for ProPublica and Mike Hixenbaugh for the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot October 26, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"After Cancer Diagnosis, Vet Refutes Government’s Agent Orange Expert — And Wins" (ProPublica)