Mr Quy, 52, died on the afternoon of July 7 in the northern port city of Hai Phong, said Mai The Chinh, head of the Information Department of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA).

Since April 1972, Mr Quy engaged in repairing information wire along the Truong Son trail, where toxic chemicals, including dioxin, were sprayed. As food was difficult to be found in the denuded mountains, soldiers, including Mr Quy, were forced to forage for cassava and wild plants and drink water from local streams.

Mr Quy had stomach cancer and liver and lung disease. His first child died at birth. His son and daughter were born with deformities, incapable of working.

While joining the four-member delegation of the Vietnamese AO victims to the US to fight for justice, Mr Quy was in bad health condition and was confined to a wheelchair for the trip.