In Scorched Earth: Legacy of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam by Fred A. Wilcox, the first chapter discusses Agent Orange and the spray missions run by the U.S. Air Force. The herbicidal warfare intended to kill the plants did far more damage to the citizens of Vietnam and U.S. soldiers. Wilcox states that there were 19,905 spray missions that destroyed and burned “a 5 million acre parking lot, an area the size of Massachusetts, into Vietnam’s countryside”. To give another perspective, the chemicals being dropped had the energy of 328 Hiroshima-A bombs, and left large bomb craters all over Vietnam. The U.S. intended to destroy crops and plant life, and even animal life so that there was no way for the soldiers to survive. In doing so, they affected the livelihood of generations to come after the war ended. The fact that people have to choose between eating poisoned crops or drying from hunger is a choice that no one should make. And yet, none of this is what is shown in the media or what is written in the history books, and it becomes increasingly frustrating as we learn more about Vietnam and its history.
Question: How has the poisoned crops and land affected life expectancy in Vietnam?
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