Veterans question,
sue over illnesses
Sioux Falls
man presses military about old test
DIANA MARRERO
Argus Leader Washington Bureau
Article Published: 11/13/05
WASHINGTON - When the military ordered him to take certain secrets to his
grave, Jim Foster planned to do so without question.
But he fears those secrets could contribute to an early death, and now he's
ready to talk about it.
At 67, the Sioux Falls man suffers from major pulmonary disease and degenerative
arthritis. Part of his heart is dead. His spine is collapsing, and he must
be hooked up to an oxygen tank wherever he goes.
Foster said he thinks the secretive military testing of chemical and biological
weapons he was involved in decades ago might be responsible for his declining
health. But he can't know for sure, he says, because the government won't
tell him exactly what he was exposed to.
He and other veterans complain of a long series of ailments that they suspect
might be traced to military tests, if the Defense Department were to open
its records.
"All we want to do is try to come up with the truth," said Bernard Edelman
of the Vietnam Veterans of America. "You're talking about people who have
served their country honorably and well."
Call for investigation
A bill introduced in the U.S. House this week seeks to shed light on the Cold
War program known as Project 112, a series of military experiments conducted
at sea and on land from 1962 to 1974.
Sponsored by Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., the legislation would set up an
independent commission to investigate the experiments, which involved at
least 6,000 military officials and civilians, and develop ways to care for
those affected.
Thompson has been pressuring the Department of Defense for years to disclose
all the information available about the tests.
Years of denials
Military officials long denied that the experiments took place. They finally
acknowledged the tests in 2002, releasing previously classified reports.
Chemicals such as sarin, soman and VX and biological agents such as Bacillus
globigii, closely related to anthrax, often were used in open-air tests.
The Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs promised to contact veterans
involved in the tests to warn them about possible health effects. But many
say they never have received any notices despite being enrolled in other VA
programs.
They say the secrecy has blocked them from establishing that their health
problems resulted from their military service, which would make them eligible
for government benefits.
Some vets have filed a class-action lawsuit against government officials
whom they say are withholding details of the tests.
The U.S. began the tests at the height of the Cold War, when government officials
feared the Soviet Union was developing chemical and biological weapons.
Others exposed
A report released last year by the Government Accountability Office suggests
more people than those identified by the military might have been exposed
to toxic agents during the tests. Others might not have come forward about
their health concerns because they were sworn to secrecy.
Michael Kilpatrick, a senior Pentagon health official, said the Defense Department
has disclosed all the agents used in testing, based on the reports available
to the agency.
"We have to depend on what's in the records," he said. "We have brought everything
to the surface that are in those documents."
Jim Benson, a spokesman for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said that
of the 508 veterans who have filed claims related to Project 112, 26 have
been granted compensation for service-related disabilities, including neurological,
respiratory, digestive, mental and muscular problems. Seventy-three cases
are pending. The others were denied compensation because VA officials could
establish no connection between the illnesses and involvement in the project.
But Foster, a former Navy officer, said the military has not done enough.
"I was retired 20 years before they came out with anything, and then they
didn't tell the whole story either," Foster said. "They don't look at the
human factor. They look at the liability factor."
Reporter Diana Marrero covers Congress for the Argus Leader. Reach
her at dmarrero@gns.gannett.com.