Scorched Earth
In October of 2011, Loose Cannons organized a book-signing for Ithaca College professor Fred Wilcox's latest book "Scorched Earth: Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam". Wilcox and MIT professor Noam Chomsky did a colloquy on Agent Orange before an overflow crowd at a new Housing Works Thrift Shop [itself a non-profit assisting homeless victims of another scourge, AIDS] in NYC in a warm "living-room setting" that was taped by C-SPAN and is available for viewing online in their video library.
(Professor Noam Chomsky & Fred Wilcox, the latter also author of "Waiting for An Army to Die")
(Professor Noam Chomsky & Fred Wilcox, the latter also author of "Waiting for An Army to Die")
50 Years on the Front Lines
In 2003, several individuals with an interest in humanitarian work came across the late photographer Philip Jones Griffiths (PJG) seminal “Agent Orange, ‘Collateral Damage’ in Viet Nam” photography book. Feeling a pressing need to bring further attention to the issues addressed therein, these volunteers – between then and the present - designed ads for the book and raised money to run them in magazines, and eventually mounted a large PJG’ photo exhibit at the Denise Bibro Fine Arts Gallery in New York City, among other venues. New York Times' art critic Holland Cotter cited the collection of photos on display as "amount[ing] to one of the great tragic portraits of their time, and are required viewing in ours."
[Photo by Philip Jones Griffiths]
[Photo by Philip Jones Griffiths]
The Last Ghost of War
In 2008, Loose Cannons Inc. assisted with promoting the Gardner Group's Agent Orange documentary entitled “The Last Ghost of War” narrated by the actor Kevin Kline. The documentary sheds light on the devastating effects of chemical warfare in Viet Nam that are present even today, and the legal action being taken against those held responsible. Through interviews with a variety of sources from scientists to victims, including an Air Force historian, the film points to the harsh realities of war, some of which are realized generations down the line.
Enlisting Support
Loose Cannons, through founder Dick Hughes' work on film sets & previous Shoeshine Boys Project contacts, has briefed and enlisted support for Agent Orange work from celebrities like Dustin Hoffman, Paul Newman, Matt Damon, David Hyde Pierce, James Cromwell, Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon, Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin, Bob Costas, Kevin Kline and others. LCI also arranged for the actor Colin Farrell to visit AO centers & victims in Viet Nam [2007], and take footage of those visits for future AO education purposes. Further, AO book & materials have been shared with government leaders through direct meetings with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (whose late father, Ambassador Charles Whitehouse, was a Shoeshine Boys Project supporter), Tom Harkin, Kit Bond, Arlen Specter, Lindsay Graham, Thad Cochran, Carl Levin, Jeff Bingaman, and Sherrod Brown. The same materials were shared with Laura Bush and former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Herbert Walker Bush, a strong supporter of LCI cofounder Dick Hughes' Vietnam work since making a cameo appearance in Ralph Edwards' 1972 program, "DH, This Is Your Life!" (download).
Press
The organization has promoted press stories & editorials on Agent Orange in major American media (e.g. New York Times, Vanity Fair); in part, though previous media contacts via Shoeshine Boys Project [1968-76] and the Long/Liem human rights campaign [1990-96], two full-page New York Times' ads, Philip Jones Griffiths' "Agent Orange, 'Collateral Damage' in Viet Nam" photography book, author Fred A. Wilcox's, "Waiting for An Army to Die" (1989) and "Scorched Earth, Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam" (2011) books, and numerous other publications
Support for Agent Orange Relief Act of 2011
In an effort to mobilize support for a comprehensive solution to the AO problem, the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign is asking people to send a message to members of Congress to urge passage of the Agent Orange Relief Act of 2011, H. R. 2634, which would provide assistance to dioxin-exposed victims in Viet Nam & the U. S. and clean-up the "land & eco-systems" contaminated by Agent Orange. To add your name to the"postcard" in support of this legislation, please go to:
http://www.vn-agentorange.org/postcard_sign.php