Agent Orange Monument Dedication Ceremony

June 14th Flag Day brought a special event to Ward Square, the Agent Orange Commemorative Monument was dedicated in a ceremony conducted inside the military veterans fenced enclosure. The placement of this monument is intended to focus public awareness on the ongoing suffering and deaths of Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to the chemical defoliant while deployed during that conflict.

AGENT ORANGE COMMEMORATIVE MONUMENT WORDING

“In Honor of Our Veterans, Their
Families and Future Generations
Impacted by the Use of Agent
Orange during the Vietnam War.”

Reverend Whritenour, Mayor Deborah Kauffman, NYS Assemblyman Robert Smullen, and Vietnam War combat veteran John Frazier all spoke during the forty-five-minute ceremony attended by a sizable number of military veterans and other community members.

Reverend Whritenour opened the ceremony with an invocation and prayer.

Kauffman then gratefully accepted the monument on behalf of the City of Little Falls and praised Frazier for his efforts in obtaining the support and financing for the monument.

Smullen next spoke about his own multiple deployments during the War in Afghanistan, the struggles faced by Vietnam veterans, and the need for government accountability and care for those impacted by the widely used chemical defoliant during the Vietnam War.

As the main speaker, Frazier then took to the podium and cited the Little Falls Historical Society’s decision to create a Vietnam War veterans exhibit in 2018 in the Old Bank Building Museum as the inspiration for his multiple year effort to create a database of Little Falls Vietnam War veterans. That number now stands at 142; their names and pictures are the centerpiece of this impactful museum exhibit.

During his numerous conversations with Vietnam War veterans, Frazier slowly realized that many of these men, including himself, have endured longtime serious health issues related to Agent Orange exposure. His efforts then expanded into obtaining financing for an Agent Orange monument which is now placed alongside other veterans’ monuments in the enclosed area in the southwest corner of Ward Square. Frazier also described both the history of the use of Agent Orange and the horrible after effects on the military personnel routinely exposed to the poisonous substance during that conflict.

As a side note, Agent Orange’s use and after effects has also exacted a horrific toll on multiple generations of Vietnamese people.

Reverend Whritenour closed out the solemn ceremony with a benediction, leaving those in attendance with reflection and a sense of purpose on the June 14, 2025 Flag Day.

Jeffrey Gressler is a member of the Little Falls Historical Society.