Joe Wolozyn

Lt. Col. Wolozyn wore the Air Force blue for 44 years.“I flew a UC123K in Vietnam. I was the one spraying Agent Orange. I know Agent Orange has caused a lot of problems. We sprayed three types of defoliate. The acid-based would kill the leaves almost immediately. The water-based would enter the roots and eventually kill the tree. The polyurethane based was gooey and sticky. The polyurethane was the one that has caused the longest lasting problems.

“We would fly in wingtip to wingtip at 150 feet up and at 135 miles per hour and spray. The planes were tough. It wasn’t unusual to have 50 or 60 bullet holes after a mission. Once we returned with an arrow stuck in the plane. They would take a piece of bamboo, fill it with concrete, attach an explosive device and shoot it at helicopters. It was effective against helicopters, but I never heard of one downing a plane.

“After every flight, we went through decontamination. They’d clean the planes and we’d get new uniforms after every flight. For 25 years, I had a two-week physical examination once every five years because I flew Agent Orange flights. I haven’t had the problems that many soldiers have had, but many of them couldn’t change clothes and couldn’t take showers regularly.”