If you are concerned about exposures during Edgewood/Aberdeen chemical tests, talk to your health care provider or yourlocal environmental health provider. On the other side is an in-depth and wide-ranging interview with Ketchum filmed shortly before his death in 2019. But he's haunted by what happened to him at Edgewood. 2, "Cholinesterase Reactivators, Psychochemicals and Irritants and Vesicants" (1984), Vol. The Edgewood Arsenal human experiments took place from approximately 1948 to 1975 at the Medical Research Laboratories which is now known as the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD) at the Edgewood Area . Veterans may file a claim for disability compensation for health problems they believe are related to exposures during Edgewood/Aberdeen chemical tests. Declassified military films show soldiers being given drugs and then being monitored to see their impacts. The lack of a detailed record hampered the investigation. At the Armys request, The Institute of Medicine, an independent nonprofit organization that is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, produced a three-volume report in the 1980s on the long-term health of Edgewood veterans. By this logic, Edgewood was possibly the safest military place in the world to spend two months. According to a CNN report that aired in March 2012, from 1955 to 1975 more than 7,000 soldiers each spent two months at Edgewood Arsenal, where they were exposed to as many 250 different chemical and biological agents as part of secret medical experiments. It passed the Agent Orange Act in 1991, which requires the VA to assume that all veterans who served in and around Vietnam were exposed to the chemical. The VA created a list of illnesses that are linked to mustard gas exposure such as skin cancer, leukemia and chronic breathing problems. Some of the volunteers exhibited symptoms at the time of exposure to these agents but long-term follow-up was not planned as part of the DoD studies. The announcement applies to testing that took place from 1942 to 1975, officials said. hide caption. Instead, they sought only declaratory and injunctive relief and redress for what they claimed was several decades of neglect and the U.S. government's use of them as human guinea pigs in chemical and biological agent testing experiments. Two autobiographical books from psychiatrists conducting human experiments at Edgewood have been self-published: Journalist Linda Hunt, citing records from the. Edgewood Arsenal Chemical Agent Exposure Studies FAQs. They want to use young men as guinea pigs and throw them away., The Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs declined face-to-face interviews with CNN, citing pending litigation. The chemical caused a delirium that included hallucinations and an inability to carry out tasks. Cavell and 11 other volunteers were locked inside a gas chamber with mustard gas piping inside. After a stint at a defense company in Tennessee, Carl Gepp got a job in 1965 as an engineer working on the Honest John missile back at the Edgewood Arsenal. The mustard gas experiments were conducted at a time when American intelligence showed that enemy gas attacks were imminent. "It's important that these soldiers who served their country are honored and get to the tell their story," Hancock said. 877-222-8387, TDD (Hearing Impaired) I can continue by saying I filed an approximately 80 page document to the veteran's administration about my claims and kept getting blown off; resubmitted, blown off. In secret chemical weapons experiments conducted during World War II, the U.S. military exposed thousands of American troops to mustard gas. The Edgewood Arsenal human experiments took place from approximately 1948 to 1975 at the Medical Research Laboratories which is now known as the U.S. Army Medical . [22], Material Testing Program EA (Edgewood Arsenal) numbers. Edgewood Arsenal was a classified US army facility in Maryland where recruits were subjected to sarin, VX, teargas, LSD and PCP. My question to you is my son suffers from a rare form of eczema and severe asthma. Josephs said he didnt know what drugs he was getting. We will strive to make that page accessible. If I go to a locked door, I panic sometimes to try to get out.". It forced the Army to locate soldiers who were in the testing program and send them documentation detailing what happened to them. Recent reports indicated that as many as 7,000 soldiers may have been subjected to these experiments in a top secret Cold War research program studying chemical and biological weapons. A Defense Department Form 214 or War Department discharge/separation form or the functional equivalent. 2. Case No. A deliberate destruction of evidence and files documenting their illegal actions, actions which were punctuated by fraud, deception, and a callous disregard for the value of human life. Please click here for a free evaluation of your claim, Civil/Human Rights Settlements and Legal News, Personal Injury Settlements and Legal News. NPR Investigations Research Librarian Barbara Van Woerkom contributed reporting and research to this investigation. "Weekends off and relaxing that's why I took it," Paul remembered. This program involved testing nerve agents, nerve agent antidotes, psycho chemicals, and irritants. I was pregnant with my daughter while there, this was also when they were digging up old cluster bombs while excavating to build some new buildings, the same time the commander was indicted from the environmental agency, the same time they found out the water was not suitable for consumption. The soldiers were induced to become part of the experiments by program representatives who said they were looking for soldiers to test Army gear, vehicles, and military combat equipment, CNN said. "Until we actually got into the process of being in that room and realized, wait a minute, we can't get out of here.". It claimed "no significant health effects have been observed" in those who were tested. [17], The official position of the Department of Defense, based on the three-volume set of studies by the Institute of Medicine mentioned above, is that they "did not detect any significant long-term health effects on the Edgewood Arsenal volunteers". He filed a federal lawsuit for compensation in 1979, but was unsuccessful because of a legal doctrine that protects the military from being sued for service-related injuries. Josephs enlisted in the military fresh out of high school at the height of the Vietnam War. The Edgewood Arsenal continued to produce chemical agents and countermeasures in case they became necessary. . Tim Josephs arrived at Edgewood Arsenal in 1968, he knew there was something different about the place. Original photo: Courtesy of Charlie Cavell, Left: U.S. Army Chemical and Biological Defense Agency; Right: Naval Research Laboratory. He says he is proud of his service, and he wears the cap everywhere he goes. Office of Accountability & Whistleblower Protection, Training - Exposure - Experience (TEE) Tournament, Military Exposure Related Health Concerns, War Related Illness & Injury Study Center, Clinical Trainees (Academic Affiliations), Learn more from the Department of Defense, Review and Approach to Evaluating Long-term Health Effects in Army Test Subjects, Find out if you qualify for VA health care, Call TTY if you Oakland, CA: A Veterans disability class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of several Veterans Affairs associations including Vietnam Veterans of America as well as individual Vietnam. To my knowledge, not one of them died or suffered a serious illness or permanent injury. "You can't coordinate anything you know. Goss was a Florida congressman when he was contacted by a group of constituents who were used as test subjects and spoke out on their behalf. In the suit, Vietnam Veterans of America, et al. Former ABC and Politico correspondent Tara Palmeri leads a team of investigative journalists as they reexamine a dark chapter of Army history. 1942-1945: U.S. Navy initiated poisonous Mustard Gas and Lewisite (derivative of arsenic) experiments to test protective clothing and anti-blister ointments at the Naval Research Laboratory and at the Army's Edgewood Arsenal. The soldiers deposition also stated that participants were given no warnings about side effects or potential long-term health risks that might be associated with the experiments. "That's going to be on my tombstone," Bollinger says. He believes the testing hurt him emotionally and stole part of his life. Call: 988 (Press 1), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington DC 20420. . Even a book critical of the program, written by Lynn C. Klotz and Edward J. Sylvester, acknowledges that: Unlike the CIA program, research subjects [at Edgewood] all signed informed consent forms, both a general one and another related to any experiment they were to participate in. It is not known how many soldiers may be experiencing long-tem health problems because of their participation in the U.S. Army medical experiments at Edgewood Arsenal. The plaintiffs collectively referred to themselves as the "Test Vets". In September 1975, the Medical Research Volunteer Program was discontinued and all resident volunteers were removed from the Edgewood installation. My phone calls were always returned quickly and all of my questions were answered in a thorough manner. Courtesy of Edgewood Arsenal Copyright 2023 Military.com. About 500 World War II veterans die each day, according to data maintained by the VA. "I do think there is a little bit of that attitude of: 'This is today's problem, it will be gone by tomorrow,' " Goss says. "No Social Security numbers, no addresses, no way of identifying them. Treatment will be in addition to the comprehensive medical care that plaintiffs are entitled to receive through Veterans Affairs because of their status as veterans, the release said. Ariel Zambelich/NPR. Nine workers, of whom eight were African-American, were killed in the . These studies included a secret human subjects component at least as early as 1948, when "psychological reactions" were documented in Edgewood technicians. Watching soldiers suffer through delirium and panic attacks while older survivors describe their experiences makes for powerful viewing. After receiving the drug, soldiers were monitored to see if they could do basic tasks like run an obstacle course. Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news, updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox. Rep., at 411.[5])[20]. (Right) The exterior of a Naval Research Laboratory gas chamber in Washington, D.C. Brad Flohr, a VA senior adviser for benefits, says the agency couldn't find the rest, because military records of the experiments were incomplete. CV-09-0037-CW, U.S.D.C. "We did volunteer," Paul said. Statistically, at least one out of a thousand young soldiers chosen at random might be expected to expire during any one-year period. Blocks of ice sat on shelves overhead with fans blowing across them to increase the humidity in the room, which intensified mustard gas's effects on the body. Naval Training Center in Bainbridge, Md. hide caption. "Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Warfare Agents", Sommer, Harold Z. Krenzer, John Miller, Jacob I. EA 1464 and Related Compounds. A previous version of this story misidentified Nat Schnurman's wife. By the early 1950s, Edgewood Arsenal, which became part of the larger complex at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, produced numerous biological agents, developed protective equipment and prophylactic treatments, and shaped US combat policy and practice.In the aftermath of WWII tensions between the US and the USSR prompted scientists, military officials, and policy advisors to increase the number of . The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has a page about the testing on its website. But the VA didn't uphold those promises, an NPR investigation has found. The VA has been accused of bias in these claims denials due to its self-interest in the issues. Tim Josephs arrived at Edgewood Arsenal in 1968, he knew there was something different about the place. The chemical agents tested on volunteers included chemical warfare agents and other related agents:[1]. However, a good history and physical examination can provide valuable information and help determine a Veterans risk of developing health problems related to the exposure. A Government Accounting Office report of May 2004, Chemical and Biological Defense: DOD Needs to Continue to Collect and Provide Information on Tests and Potentially Exposed Personnel (pp. He is very knowledgeable about the law and extremely professional. Of those involved in the experiments: Most of these experiments involved tests of protective equipment and of subjects' ability to perform military tasks during exposure. Berzellini says every winter her husband spent weeks in bed with chronic bronchitis an illness government studies have linked to mustard gas exposure. Congress has intervened in similar situations. In 2009 a lawsuit was filed by veterans rights organizations Vietnam Veterans of America, and . Ariel Zambelich/NPR. Home U.S. Army Edgewood Arsenal Medical Experiments. And you just wouldnt think they would give you something that would harm you intentionally.. The ruling came on a class-action lawsuit filed by Vietnam Veterans of America, Swords to Plowshares and individual veterans over medical care for troops who participated in research programs at. A group of them, led by Nat Schnurman, went public with their stories in 1990. "It's sobering to hear the words and discussion that was happening about setting this program up," Hancock said. BTS will be on hiatus until all seven members complete their mandatory military service in South Korea. The website has details about applying for medical care through this program. The moment 18-year-old Army Pvt. This is Part 2 of a two-part investigation on mustard gas testing conducted by the U.S. military during World War II. In a statement, the Defense Department said that it has made it a priority to identify all service members exposed to chemical and biological substances and the VA has contacted and offered free medical evaluations to thousands of veterans.. The military also tested tear gas, barbiturates, tranquilizers, narcotics and hallucinogens like LSD. Other agencies including the CIA and the Special Operations Division of the Department of the Army were also reportedly involved in these studies (NAS 1993). Other times it was a pill, Josephs told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. v. Central Intelligence Agency, et al. Health Care After all, the Edgewood experimenters were focused on disabling soldiers in combat, where there would be tactical value simply in disabling the enemy.[8]. Nashville veteran Dennis Paul, 79, discussed his experience in the program with NewsChannel 5 Investigates, saying he it impacted him long after he left the Army. These irritant chemicals were selected for human testing following preliminary animal studies. Kristian Thacker for NPR I really felt a duty to my country to go and serve, he said. In the 1990s, the law firm Morrison & Foerster agreed to take on a class-action lawsuit against the government related to the Edgewood volunteers. From 1955 to 1975, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps conducted classified medical studies at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland. EDGEWOOD ARSENAL / MKULTRA LAWSUIT MOVES TO NEXT PHASE Claims it is unconstitutional for the VA to decide VA claims where VA itself participated in the illegal chemical and biological weapons program. There were instances of chemical damages to the car. A third type of test exposed troops to gas outdoors in simulated combat settings. The Edgewood Arsenal Rod and Gun Club was a club that included U.S. Army officers and Department of the Army civilian personnel stationed at the Arsenal as well as their families and guests. They also compared the relative sensitivity of soldiers, including tests designed to look for racial difference. Edgewood dropped that lawsuit in February of 2020 in an attempt to come to an agreement with the City over the field. 1, "Anticholinesterases and Anticholinergics" (1982). While I understand the premise of the lawsuit as stated, I have a question, I and my parents moved to Jolla in 1964. A refusal to satisfy their legal and moral obligations to locate the victims of experiments or to provide health care or compensation to them. An "Independent Study Course" for continuing medical education produced by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Effects from Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Weapons (October 2003),[12] presents the following summary of the Edgewood Arsenal experiments: Renewed interest led to renewed human testing by the Department of Defense (DoD), although ultimately on a much smaller scale. I was stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground and assigned to Edgewood Arsenal, my family and I lived in government quarters just off post in Edgewood and on the arsenal from 1985 -1990 for my family and 1985-89 for myself. An Army investigation subsequently found no evidence of serious injuries or deaths associated with the MRVP, but deplored both the recruiting process and the informed consent approach, which they characterized as "suggest[ing] possible coercion". The test subjects who are still alive are now in their 80s and 90s. On July 24, 2013, United States District Court Judge Claudia Wilken issued an order granting in part and denying in part plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and granting in part and denying in part defendants' motion for summary judgment. [] At Edgewood, even at the highest doses it often took an hour or more for incapacitating effects to show, and the end-effects usually did not include full incapacitation, let alone unconsciousness. Boxes of medical records his and those of other veterans fill the attic, along with handwritten notes and appeals to the VA. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. "They didn't know they were signing up to get mystery chemicals injected into their bodies," Hancock said. The lawsuit sought for the veterans to be notified about what substances they had received and be provided medical coverage. VA decides these claims on a case-by-case basis. Three test subjects enter a gas chamber, which will fill with mustard gas, as part of the military's secret chemical warfare testing in March 1945. Vets feel abandoned after secret drug experiments, Former sergeant seeks compensation for LSD testing at Edgewood Arsenal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edgewood_Arsenal_human_experiments&oldid=1124810855, Development evaluation and test procedures, Effects of drugs and environmental stress on human physiological mechanisms, Human factors tests (ability to follow instructions), Other (visual studies, sleep deprivation, etc. "This should have been ancient history by now," he told NPR. The U.S. Army believed that legal liability could be avoided by concealing the experiments. Fill out the form below to receive a free confidential consultation. At 79 years old, he actively harvests honey from his bee farm. "There was no identifying information," he says. According to the class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Edgewood Arsenal veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), despite having actively participated in the experiments, has denied between 97% and 99% of all disability or death claims arising out of the exposures. Edgewood Arsenal MKULTRA Lawsuit Larry Scott has been all over this betrayal. Josephs applied for veterans benefits based on chemical exposure at Edgewood. Nashville veteran discusses his experience at Edgewood Arsenal. This incapacitating agent would be dispersed by standard munitions, and the agent would enter the building through all nonprotected openings, the films narrator boasts. Greene called for a search for novel psychoactive compounds that would create the same debilitating mental side effects as those produced by nerve gases, but without their lethal effect. Lieberman, while acknowledging that "most of the military data" on the research ongoing at the Army Chemical Center was "secret and unpublished", asserted that "There are moral imponderables, such as whether insanity, temporary or permanent, is a more 'humane' military threat than the usual afflictions of war. [14], A significant omission from the Course summary above is the number of subjects on which BZ and related compounds were tested. Tim clearly had adverse health effects because they gave him such high doses that he ranged from overdose with one substance to the antidote, back and forth, and he actually had to get a very powerful antipsychotic drug because, in the vernacular, he flipped out.. Thank you. Kathleen Curthoys is editor of Army Times. According to the lawsuit, some of the volunteers were even implanted with electrical devices in an effort to control their behaviour. 27299 Riverview Center Boulevard, Suite 108. He says he tires easily. "They want to use young men as guinea pigs and throw them away," said Josephs, now 63. The chemical testing on soldiers stopped in 1975. This being said, also my son's father was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. "And that's what I have problems with today. Tests began for Josephs almost as soon as he arrived at Edgewood for a two-month assignment on January 1, 1968. 27), then 19, volunteered for the military's secret chemical testing program in exchange for two weeks' vacation. Long-term psychological effects are possible from the trauma associated with being a human test subject. Updated The purpose was to evaluate the impact of low-dose chemical warfare agents on military personnel and to test protective clothing and pharmaceuticals. In the late 1940s and early '50s, the U.S. Army worked with Harvard anesthesiologist Henry K. Beecher at its interrogation center at Camp King in Germany on the use of psychoactive compounds (mescaline, LSD), including human subject experiments and the debriefing of former Nazi physicians and scientists who had worked along similar lines before the end of the war. Eight individual isomers numbered EA-2233-1 through EA-2233-8. Other times, he experiences numbness in his joints or or tremors. The "Independent Study Course" cites mainly a three-volume study by the Institute of Medicine (19821985) for its data and conclusions, Possible Long-Term Health Effects of Short-Term Exposure to Chemical Agents. Expert meeting report. (N.D. Cal. Paul showed us an interview from April of 1968. CampBell's Complaint says that after execution of the real estate contract between McGill and the Abrahams, "on October 27, 2020, Sherry Abraham, acting as an Edgewood Town Councilor, filed an Emergency Motion to Intervene in the McGill lawsuit (D-101-CV-2020-00328).". In the early 1990s, VA officials also announced the agency would lower its burden of proof to make getting benefits easier in these cases. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much 1, "Anticholinesterases and Anticholinergics", Vol. 2009), the plaintiffs did not seek monetary damages. Building 509 at Edgewood Arsenal in Harford County, Maryland was a production facility for the assembly of phosphorus igniter assemblies for incendiary bombs, employing a female staff of about 135 assemblers. For 20 years the government tested chemicals on soldiers who were not aware what was being put in their bodies. He married Michelle, a nurse, in 1977, but the couple decided not to have children, fearing his chemical exposure might somehow affect them. The Maj. Richard Star Act would eliminate the dollar-for-dollar offset on retirement pay that combat-disabled vets with less Capt. Experiments were carried out with safety of subjects a principal focus. Yet in just two months, an NPR research librarian located more than 1,200 of them, using the VA's own list of test subjects and public records. "Health Effects from Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Weapons", Vol. Mr. Zekowski is always on top of his game. These men make a convincing case that they were not briefed about the risks involved in the program and did not understand the potential for the long-term effects they've endured. The use of troops to test nerve gas, psychochemicals, and thousands of other toxic chemical or biological substances. They decided to live in the country. The class-action lawsuit was filed by Vietnam Veterans of America, Swords to Plowshares and individual veterans seeking medical care for troops who participated in the programs at Edgewood Arsenal and Fort Detrick in Maryland. Cavell and five others were told to stay put. The heart of the film is interviews with a group of veterans who participated in the testing program, mostly during the Vietnam War era. Josephs says he now takes two dozen pills daily. These efforts are ongoing. "I'm glad to be talking to you about it. After an hour, the officer released six of the men back to their barracks. The founder and director of the program, Dr Van Murray Sim, was called before Congress and chastised by outraged lawmakers, who questioned the absence of follow-up care for the human volunteers. And instances when she told me when the office people had to stay indoors instill all cleared. From 1948 to 1975, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps conducted classified human subject research at the Edgewood Arsenal facility in Maryland. Schnurman and his wife, Joy, spent the next two decades compiling evidence of the testing in order to put pressure on the military. While in the Navy, Cavell (center, No. "[4] Soviet advances in the same field were cited as a special incentive giving impetus to research efforts in this area, according to testimony by Maj. Gen. Marshall Stubbs, the Army's chief chemical officer. Read the lawsuit complaint document (PDF), Read about an Edgewood volunteers widow who blames the VA for his death, Gordon Erspamer, lead attorney in the suit, has reviewed the partial Edgewood medical records that Josephs was able to obtain with the help of his wife. A Warner Bros. "The doctor said, 'we're giving this test to see it in a warmer climate.' [13] Some additional information in the section cited from the Course was based on a 1993 IOM study, Veterans at Risk: Health Effects of Mustard Gas and Lewisite. The testing took place at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland from 1955 through 1975. When those experiments were formally declassified in the 1990s, the Department of Veterans Affairs made two promises: to locate about 4,000 men who were used in the most extreme tests, and to compensate those who had permanent injuries. By Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org - He was told never to talk about his experiences at Edgewood and to forget about everything he ever did, said or heard at the Maryland base. According to a recent report by CNN.com "From 1955 to 1975, military researchers at Edgewood were using not only animals but human subjects to test a witches' brew of drugs and chemicals. She has been an editor at Military Times for 20 years, covering issues that affect service members. In total, Army documents identified 7,120 Army and Air Force personnel who participated in these tests. A failure to secure informed consent and other widespread failures to follow the precepts of U.S. and international law regarding the use of human subjects, including the 1953 Wilson Directive and the Nuremberg Code. Many official government reports and civilian lawsuits followed in the wake of the controversy. Credit: Edgewood Arsenal. However, much of that flash comes from recordings made during the actual experiments. In order to best serve veterans and their families, VA continues to study the possibility of long-term health effects associated with in-service exposure to chemical and biological weapons, the letter promised. One film showed soldiers being injected with BZ, which in high doses can lead to hallucinations and confusion. Since I grew up in close proximity to Edgewood with obvious chemical testing, how much can I have transferred birth defects to him? 2, "Cholinesterase Reactivators, Psychochemicals and Irritants and Vesicants, Vol. Erspamer said the government has reached very few of the 7,000 or so Edgewood veterans, and the VA has turned down almost all Edgewood-related health claims. A tattered ball cap that says World War II veteran hangs by the front door in his house. All rights reserved. But Goss says that excuse is at the core of all that is dysfunctional in Washington bureaucracies. Times it was a pill, Josephs told CNN Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta followed. 2 of a detailed record hampered the investigation program up, '' said Josephs, now 63 calls were returned. At a time when American edgewood arsenal lawsuit showed that enemy gas attacks were imminent the and... Journalists as they reexamine a dark chapter of Army history military place the. 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