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By 10 Investigates Roger McCoy
World War II (WWII) has been called ''the unfought
chemical war." Both sides produced millions of tons of chemical weapons
and made massive preparations for their use, yet the weapons were never
used. These preparations included secret research programs in the United
States to develop better weapons and better methods of protecting against
these weapons. By the time the war ended, 10 Investigates learned over
60,000 U.S. servicemen had been used as human subjects in this chemical
defense research program. At least 4,000 of these subjects had participated
in tests conducted with high concentrations of mustard agents or Lewisite
in gas chambers or in field exercises over contaminated ground areas.
A vacant building at the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground is where some
of the tests were conducted. It's a faded reminder of what happened in the
fall of 1943 on this portion of the Maryland facility known then as Edgewood
Arsenal. "They said they had some experiments," said 84-year-old Bill Biggs
of Athens, Ohio. He was a private in the Army and one of the volunteers
who didn't know the true risks of the experiments until after they had been
conducted. Biggs and 99 other members of the 1st Chemical Causal Company
thought they were doing their patriotic duty. "We didn't know exactly what
we were getting into," said Biggs.
That fall, the military herded several soldiers into sealed gas chambers
at Edgewood Arsenal to test the effects of chemical warfare. Biggs said
some of the chemical warfare experiments went too far. "But they should
of stopped short of hurting somebody," said Biggs. Biggs says he and some
of the other volunteers were lucky. They were tested with a classified
nerve gas that was meant to blur the enemy's eyesight. It reduced Biggs
pupils to pin-points. "And left them that way. Mine for 10 days," said
Biggs.
Other soldiers were tested with mustard agents (sulfur and nitrogen mustard)
and Lewisite (an arsenic-containing agent) to see if the experimental clothes
or skin lotions they wore could repel the chemical weapons. Mustard gas
burns eyes and skin. It can cause permanent lung damage even cancer. "Those
guys really had it tough," said Biggs who grew concerned as the military
kept raising the mustard gas concentrations to the point where they caused
severe injuries to many of the volunteers. "When they found that out, it
was too late for the guys that were in there last, or next to last," said
Biggs.
In Mansfield, James Earnshaw's family didn't know about the tests. Sworn
to secrecy, Earnshaw couldn't tell his family why he received a medal whose
true purpose was even cut out of his letter of commendation. Released early
from the Army, Earnshaw was denied medical benefits for a nervous breakdown
he suffered shortly after the experiments. Earnshaw's wife Mary Jo read
to us the Army's medical report on her husband. “ ‘Anxiety type manifested
by sleeplessness, nervousness and mild depression.’ It was just
too much for him," said Mrs Earnshaw.
Sixty two years later, 10 Investigates learned the secret contents that
had been clipped from of Earnshaw's commendation
letter . It commended Earnshaw for subjecting
himself to "pain, discomfort and possible permanent injury" from exposure
to "chemical agents." Even so, the government denied Earnshaw's request
years later for medical benefits.
Jim Earnshaw died in 1997 never knowing the military had finally admitted
to the chemical warfare tests in 1991. Shortly afterwards, the Veterans
Administration promised to track down the victims, to get the word out.
It didn't happen. There were no letters, no phone calls from the VA. The
VA only ran limited public service ads describing the benefits
in veterans magazines that most veterans didn't read. The medical benefits
were finally there, but Earnshaw never knew about them. "I am sure that
if he had known about it he would have probably asked," says Earnshaw's
son Jim Earnshaw, Jr.
Dan Brock,
Harvard University Medical Ethics Professor called the secrecy surrounding
the tests a classic Catch-22, especially for the veterans who later suffered
health consequences. "You're sworn to secrecy and then when you come back
that secrecy is used against you in order to keep you from being able to
get compensation and simple benefits," said Brock.
To further underscore the importance of contacting the affected veterans
the Institute
of Medicine in 1993 was asked by the VA to conduct its own study on
the WWII Chemical experiments and concluded; "The human subjects had
experienced a wide range of exposures to mustard agents or Lewisite, from
mild (a drop of agent on the arm in "patch" tests) to quite severe (repeated
gas chamber trials, sometimes without protective clothing). All of the
men in the chamber and field tests, and some of the men in the patch tests,
were told at the time that they should never reveal the nature of the experiments.
Almost to a man, they kept this secret for the next 40 or more years....
Further, it was documented that numerous subjects suffered severe injuries
that required up to a month of treatment. Finally, the exposure levels
were sufficiently high that even the most efficient gas mask would have
leaked enough mustard agent or Lewisite to cause inhalation and eye injuries."
In Washington, we asked the Department of Veteran's Affairs what happened.
Renee Szybala is director of the VA's compensation and benefits service.
"I'm fairly new to the VA," said Szybala. "And I'm not well versed on what
went on there. We're more looking to the future." Szybala explained that
the VA was creating a new data base of potentially thousands of surviving
WWII veterans who were exposed to chemicals or their surviving spouses.
Once that task is done, Szybala says the VA will begin immediately contacting
people by letter. That's something Ohio congressman Ted Strickland says
should have happened long ago. "They promised several years ago to do something
about this problem," said Rep. Strickland. "They have done little or nothing
to this point."
The Veterans Administration says this time it will notify the Veterans
or their surviving spouses who are eligible for the benefits. "I'm hoping
that it's thousands that we'll be able to reach. I'm hoping that it is,"
said Szybala. Strickland, a member of the Veteran's Affairs Committee,
says until convinced otherwise, he's doubtful. "To hear them say now that
they're going to correct this and do the right thing I just simply don't
think they're telling the truth." Last week, Rep. Strickland sent a letter to the Secretary of Veteran's Affairs asking
him to " take action and give these veterans the benefits they rightfully
deserve." Szybala says this time it will happen. "I'm content with that.
I mean we'll convince him (Rep. Strickland) because this is going to happen."
If it happens, Bill Biggs says he'd be convinced the country he volunteered
to serve 60 years ago is finally willing to admit it made a mistake. "If
you pay these veterans for damages they received for doing this test then
you're admitting that you over did it." The Department of Veterans Affairs
promised to have more details about its efforts to contact WWII veterans
exposed to chemicals later this month.
The Detroit Free Press and U.S. Army historian Jeffrey Smart contributed
to this report.
Photo gallery
A look at the people, place, medals and documents
