He said the group was told they would help test military equipment like gas masks. 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. "[5] This was alarming enough to a Harvard psychiatrist, E. James Lieberman, that he published an article entitled "Psychochemicals as Weapons" in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1962. Home U.S. Army Edgewood Arsenal Medical Experiments. The court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment with respect to the other claims. The lawsuit quoted a 1954 report to President Dwight Eisenhower which urged him to approve the human testing program, "If the United states is to survive, long standing American concepts of fair play must be reconsidered.". Find out if you qualify for VA health care. After an hour, the officer released six of the men back to their barracks. General William M. Creasy, former chief chemical officer, U.S. Army, testified to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1959 that "provided sufficient emphasis is put behind it, I think the future lies in the psychochemicals. . NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) A top-secret military program treated active-duty U.S. soldiers like they were guinea pigs according to a class action lawsuit that shed light on what happened. Youre going to Vietnam either way before or after, Josephs said recently. Edgewood/Aberdeen Experiments From 1955 to 1975, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps conducted classified medical studies at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland. Cavell says that even today, when he comes to a locked door he's reminded of the inside of a gas chamber. "About 7,000 soldiers took part in the experiments that involved exposures to more than 250 chemicals," it stated. Paul was serving at Fort Bliss in Texas in 1968, when he volunteered for what he thought would be an easy assignment. But instead, the military deliberately exposed them to chemical and biological agents. 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. 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. And in 2010, the VA announced it would review 90,000 previously denied Agent Orange claims. The plaintiffs collectively referred to themselves as the "Test Vets". [3] In the 1950s, some officials in the U.S. Department of Defense publicly asserted that many "forms of chemical and allied warfare as more 'humane' than existing weapons. Cavell and five others were told to stay put. Veterans may file a claim for disability compensation for health problems they believe are related to exposures during Edgewood/Aberdeen chemical tests. At 79 years old, he actively harvests honey from his bee farm. The release of the new document comes after a year in which the Navy saw several major clusters of suicides. Naval Research Laboratory The court resolved all of the remaining claims in the case and vacated trial. Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Accessibility Compliance Policy | Library | Diversity StatementWe are committed to making this website accessible, and as consistent with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 as possible. [7][8][9] A concrete result of these experiments was that BZ was weaponized, although never deployed. The Marine Corps is eliminating the scout sniper program as part of the service's big Force Design 2030 overhaul. Ariel Zambelich/NPR Officials at the Pentagon tell NPR it's likely that some of the records about military mustard gas experiments were never recovered. Tim Josephs arrived at Edgewood Arsenal in 1968, he knew there was something different about the place. 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. Historic images from the Naval Research Laboratory depict results of a test subject who was exposed to mustard gas. Cavell then submitted the documents to the VA as proof of his exposure. "Health Effects from Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Weapons", Vol. The announcement applies to testing that took place from 1942 to 1975, officials said. Schnurman and his wife, Joy, spent the next two decades compiling evidence of the testing in order to put pressure on the military. 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. It forced the Army to locate soldiers who were in the testing program and send them documentation detailing what happened to them. The prior finding held that the Army has an ongoing duty to seek out and provide "notice" to former test participants of any new information that could potentially affect their health. 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. Around 7,000 US military personnel and 1,000 civilians were test subjects over almost three decades. After receiving the drug, soldiers were monitored to see if they could do basic tasks like run an obstacle course. (Right) The exterior of a Naval Research Laboratory gas chamber in Washington, D.C. But when he went to fill out paperwork the morning after his arrival, the base personnel were wearing white lab coats, and Josephs said he had second thoughts. 31 subjects experienced ocular exposure via direct CS application to their eyes. Secret World War II Chemical Experiments Tested Troops By Race. You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links. What types of tests were conducted at Edgewood? File a claim online. 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).". If, at any time, you have difficulty using this website, please contact us. the common OP antidote, other ocular and respiratory irritants; and. The Army is required to provide medical care to veterans who took part in classified Army testing of chemical and biological substances decades ago, officials say. 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. They based that conclusion on the same information that had been sitting in his VA file for decades. In the end, the focus is on the veterans who endured these experiments and the struggles many have faced since. This top secret Cold War research program initially looked for ways to defend against a chemical or biological attack by the Soviet Union, thought to be far ahead of the United States in psycho-chemical warfare. 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. Many official government reports and civilian lawsuits followed in the wake of the controversy. "Incapacitating chemical agents": Law enforcement, human rights law and policy perspectives. "Dr. Delirium & the Edgewood Experiments" is a new Discovery+ documentary (available on June 9, 2022) that chronicles the program and its long-term effects on the soldiers who participated in the testing. Josephs has not received any health benefits related to his time as a human test subject at Edgewood. It just did not look like a military base, more like a hospital, recalled Josephs, a Pittsburgh native. Paul's paperwork shows he received BZ, which he said felt like he was in a nightmare for hours at a time. A small portion of these studies were directed at psychochemical warfare and grouped under the prosaic title of the "Medical Research Volunteer Program" (19561975). This kind of behavior toward our veterans would not be allowed to happen, Erspamer said. Health Care In his mid-50s, Josephs was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease, a progressive neurological condition that forced him to retire early. Lasting from 1950 to 1975, the experiments took place at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. 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. Theyre hoping we die off, so you apply [for benefits], you get turned down, Josephs said. Boxes of medical records his and those of other veterans fill the attic, along with handwritten notes and appeals to the VA. According to CNN, declassified government documents indicated the men were exposed to incapacitating drugs like BZ; or to sarin, an extremely toxic, potentially deadly substance that disrupts the nervous system; or to VX, a liquid neurotoxin considered one of the most dangerous chemicals created. All Rights Reserved. Josephs left the service when his three-year tour ended, and he began a career as a real estate agent. And this goes to the essence of 'Can you trust your government?' Veterans who became Army guinea pigs for secret drug and chemical experiments are suing the VA, the CIA and the Defense Department. 3. Josephs said he didnt know what drugs he was getting. Josephs enlisted in the military fresh out of high school at the height of the Vietnam War. Greene, L. Wilson, "Psychochemical Warfare: A New Concept of War", U. S. Army Chemical Center, Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland; August 1949. soldiers at the Edgewood Arsenal, or to other "volunteers" under contract to the Edgewood Arsenal, were not disclosed. If you are concerned about exposures during Edgewood/Aberdeen chemical tests, talk to your health care provider or local VA Environmental Health Coordinator. A previous version of this story misidentified Nat Schnurman's wife. CNN The moment 18-year-old Army Pvt. Congressional hearings into these experiments in 1974 and 1975 resulted in disclosures, notification of subjects as to the nature of their chemical exposures, and ultimately to compensation for a few families of subjects who had died during the experiments (NAS 1993). Bicycle, Scooter, and Electric Bike Accidents, Cerebral Palsy Malpractice Injury Lawsuits, Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) Disease Injury Lawyers, Clergy Sexual Abuse Lawyers | Priest Abuse Attorneys, Pennsylvania Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Lawyers, U.S. Army Edgewood Arsenal Medical Experiments, Bicycle, Scooter, and Electric Bike Accident, Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) Disease Injury. These agents are still used today as antidotes to organophosphorus nerve agent poisoning, including accidental poisoning by organophosphorus pesticides. Thus, between 1950 and 1975, about 6,720 soldiers took part in experiments involving exposures to 254 different chemicals, conducted at U.S. Army Laboratories at Edgewood Arsenal, MD (NRC 1982, NRC 1984, NAS 1993). Vol. However once the experiments were uncovered, the US Senate also concluded questionable legality of the experiments and strongly condemned them. 2. 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. This being said, also my son's father was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. hide caption. We closely follow guidance from the World Wide Web Consortium. My mom eventually transferred to Edgewood Arsenal shortly later. 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. Some of the volunteers exhibited certain symptoms at the time of exposure to these agents. Please click here for a free evaluation of your claim, Civil/Human Rights Settlements and Legal News, Personal Injury Settlements and Legal News. Similarly, cholinesterase reactivators antidotes such as 2-PAM were tested on about 750 subjects. The Edgewood Arsenal continued to produce chemical agents and countermeasures in case they became necessary. Everyone I have dealt with at your firm has been very professional and courteous. hide caption. Original photo: Courtesy of Charlie Cavell "I missed out on so much with my family, not being able to say, when they were little boys, you know, I love 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. Congress has intervened in similar situations. Records indicate that between 1955 and 1965, of the 6,720 soldiers tested, only 147 human subjects underwent exposure to mustard agent at Edgewood (NRC 1982). 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.. "That's going to be on my tombstone," Bollinger says. Fill out the form below to receive a free confidential consultation. hide caption. have hearing loss, Anticholinesterase nerve agents (ex., sarin and common organophosphorus (OP), and carbamate pesticides), Nerve agent antidotes atropine and scopolamine, Nerve agent reactivators (ex., the common OP antidote 2-PAM chloride), Psychoactive agents (ex., LSD, PCP, cannaboids, and BZ). If you or someone you love were a victim of these experiments, we urge you to contact Parker Waichman LLP today to protect your legal rights. The IOM decided in the end there wasnt enough information to reach definitive conclusions.. Josephs had volunteered for a two-month assignment at Edgewood, in Maryland, lured by three-day weekends closer to home. 2. Cheryl Huppertz filed a lawsuit in district court Sept. 28, seeking a writ of mandamus to compel Edgewood to produce public [] "It just did not look like a military base, more. If I go to a locked door, I panic sometimes to try to get out.". "I remember him laying up in the bedroom up there," she says. Fort Hoyle was established on October 7, 1922, and was created from a portion of the Edgewood Arsenal. These men aren't polished or rehearsed, and the filmmakers let them have their say, even when things veer into pure speculation. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. . Several veterans claimed they were exposed to dangerous chemicals during government-sponsored Cold War experiments without their knowledge, and they filed suit in 2009 against the Army, Veterans Affairs, the CIA and the Department of Defense. "I'm sorry," Flohr says. With regard specifically to BZ and related compounds, the IOM study concluded that "available data suggest that long-term toxic effects and/or delayed sequellae are unlikely". "This is not an easy, not a simple thing," Flohr says. The document acknowledges his participation in mustard gas experiments. "You can't coordinate anything you know. [22], Material Testing Program EA (Edgewood Arsenal) numbers. A nurse or doctor asked him questions after he was put in a chamber and exposed to an irritant, likely tear gas. Left: U.S. Army Chemical and Biological Defense Agency; Right: Naval Research Laboratory And yet Flohr insists the VA still needs proof in order to grant claims. Gordon Erspamer, lead attorney in suit against VA. During experiments that began on February 19, 1968, Josephs experienced Parkinsons-like tremors after receiving Prolixin, an antipsychotic medication, Erspamer said, prompting the Edgewood medical staff to give the young soldier Congentin and Artane, two drugs used to treat Parkinsons symptoms. The mustard gas experiments were conducted at a time when American intelligence showed that enemy gas attacks were imminent. pp 89, "Secret Army volunteer's widow blames VA for spouse's death" (CNN; 3/3/12), "Vets feel abandoned after secret drug experiments" (CNN; 3/1/12), Last edited on 30 November 2022, at 16:44, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, Vietnam Veterans of America v. Central Intelligence Agency, Human experimentation in the United States, "Altered States: LSD and the Anesthesia Laboratory of Henry Knowles Beecher", "Edgewood Arsenal Chemical Agent Exposure Studies 19551975", Researchers tested pot, LSD on Army volunteers. Edgewood Arsenal Medical Experiments Compensation. The personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. 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. 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 [14], A significant omission from the Course summary above is the number of subjects on which BZ and related compounds were tested. But NPR interviewed veterans who met both of those requirements and have still been denied for years sometimes decades as the VA continues to request more information and proof. 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. A Defense Department Form 214 or War Department discharge/separation form or the functional equivalent. You believed in your government. The heart of the film is interviews with a group of veterans who participated in the testing program, mostly during the Vietnam War era. A refusal to satisfy their legal and moral obligations to locate the victims of experiments or to provide health care or compensation to them. [9] The safety record of the Edgewood Arsenal experiments was also defended in the memoirs of psychiatrist and retired colonel James Ketchum, a key scientist:[18]. Edgewood Arsenal Chemical Agent Exposure Studies FAQs. 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. And when he questioned the staff about whether he was in any danger, they reassured him: There is nothing here that could ever harm you., But Josephs, 63, believes the chemical agents he received during his two-month stint at Edgewood did harm him, triggering health problems that continue to plague him four decades later. The plaintiffs collectively referred to themselves as the "Test Vets". And you just wouldnt think they would give you something that would harm you intentionally.. In total, Army documents identified 7,120 Army and Air Force personnel who participated in these tests. In the mid-1970s, in the wake of many health claims made regarding exposure to the agents, the U.S. Congress began investigations of possible abuse in experiments and of inadequate informed consent given to the soldiers and civilians involved. 877-222-8387, TDD (Hearing Impaired) "There was no handle on the door. [1] The experiments were abruptly terminated by the Army in late 1975 amidst an atmosphere of scandal and recrimination as lawmakers accused researchers of questionable ethics. As a result of the testing, many of the veterans who served between two and four months at the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland, suffer from chronic, debilitating illnesses. "Shortly after receiving the drug, he is grossly impaired," a narrator said as a soldier struggled through an obstacle course. Edgewood dropped that lawsuit in February of 2020 in an attempt to come to an agreement with the City over the field. The chemical agents tested on volunteers included chemical warfare agents and other related agents:[1]. Her name is Joy. "These were active-duty U.S. service members being used as human guinea pigs," Hancock said. To my knowledge, not one of them died or suffered a serious illness or permanent injury. Tim Josephs arrived at Edgewood Arsenal in 1968, he knew there was something different about the place. He believes the testing hurt him emotionally and stole part of his life. It concluded that "Whether the subjects at Edgewood incurred these changes [depression, cognitive deficits, tendency to suicide] and to what extent they might now show these effects are not known". Two autobiographical books from psychiatrists conducting human experiments at Edgewood have been self-published: Journalist Linda Hunt, citing records from the. A recent class action lawsuit filed by the Vietnam Veterans of America required the U.S. Army to provide medical care to veterans who volunteered to contribute to the advancement of the U.S. biological and chemical programs. Sometimes it was an injection. A group of them, led by Nat Schnurman, went public with their stories in 1990. Schnurman, who died in 2013 when he was 87, had suffered debilitating injuries after being tested at the U.S. 800-829-4833, Veterans Crisis Line: A significant change was made on July 1, 1971, when Edgewood Arsenal, the former chemical center and current chemical research and engineering center for the U.S. Army, was merged into APG. We will strive to make that page accessible. He says he is proud of his service, and he wears the cap everywhere he goes. Paul showed us an interview from April of 1968. "The word got around they were looking for volunteers for testing," Paul said. In this U.S. government photo, Wray Forrest is seen on the far right in 1973 while participating in the program at Maryland's Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center. Days before his Edgewood duty ended, in February 1968, Josephs was hospitalized for days with Parkinsons-like tremors, symptoms he said have followed him on and off throughout his adult life. 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 . In all, roughly 60,000 World War II veterans were used as test subjects, and they kept the experiments secret for half a century. Former ABC and Politico correspondent Tara Palmeri leads a team of investigative journalists as they reexamine a dark chapter of Army history. By this logic, Edgewood was possibly the safest military place in the world to spend two months. 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. 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. The action is related to a 2009 lawsuit filed by VVA, an Army spokesperson confirmed to Army Times. [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. Others were locked in gas chambers, like Cavell. I am convinced that it is possible, by means of the techniques of psychochemical warfare, to conquer an enemy without the wholesale killing of his people or the mass destruction of his property.[2]. To enter and activate the submenu links, hit the down arrow. Other times, he experiences numbness in his joints or or tremors. The club operated from approximately the 1920s until sometime not long after the Arsenal was combined with Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1971. Further, GAO concluded that precise information on the scope and the magnitude of tests involving human subjects was not available, and the exact number of human subjects might never be known. Erspamer said he sees a connection between Josephs Parkinsons disease and the drugs he received at Edgewood. 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. NPR Investigations Research Librarian Barbara Van Woerkom contributed reporting and research to this investigation. The study could not rule out long-term health effects related to exposure to the nerve agents. 2004 GAO report I feel like in my heart there's a lot of guys out there that went through the same thing I did," Paul said. See Vietnam Veterans II, 811 F.3d at 1076-78 (discussing the Army's failure in its ongoing "duty to warn" Edgewood Arsenal volunteers under AR 70-25), 1080-81 (discussing the Army's failure in its "duty of care" to Edge-wood Arsenal volunteers under AR 70-25); see also Vi-etnam Veterans I, 2013 WL 6092031, at *2 (explaining . NPR Photo Editor Ariel Zambelich and reporters Christopher Groskopf, Jani Actman and Lydia Emmanouilidou also contributed to this story. While in the Navy, Cavell (center, No. 2, "Cholinesterase Reactivators, Psychochemicals and Irritants and Vesicants" (1984), Vol. In 2015, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the Army, and not Veterans Affairs, should provide veterans with medical care related to the testing. "And these people should have long been appropriately provided for. While I understand the premise of the lawsuit as stated, I have a question, I and my parents moved to Jolla in 1964. he says. While early experiments with marijuana and LSD get plenty of discussion, much of the long-term damage seems to result from experimentation with the powerful incapacitating agent 3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate, commonly known as BZ. In 2009 a lawsuit was filed by veterans rights organizations Vietnam Veterans of America, and Swords to Plowshares, and eight Edgewood veterans or their families against CIA, the U.S. Army, and other agencies. 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. According to the lawsuit, some of the volunteers were even implanted with electrical devices in an effort to control their behaviour. Overall, about 7,000 soldiers took part in these experiments that involved exposures to more than 250 different chemicals, according to the Department of Defense (DoD). 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. including tests designed to look for racial difference. The military also tested tear gas, barbiturates, tranquilizers, narcotics and hallucinogens like LSD. 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. Thank you. The IOM study also concluded that "available data suggest that long-term toxic effects and/or delayed sequellae are unlikely" for this type of compound.[15]. But Bollinger says that time in his life is tainted: by the pain he felt as a human test subject in military experiments, and by the VA that told him it wasn't real. 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).