As most of you know I am one of the 7120 enlisted men of the Army and Air Force that was used at Edgewood Arsenal in the chemical weapons and drug experiments that this nation conducted in violation of the Nuremberg Codes of 1947, the tests took place from 1955 thru 1975.
This diary prepared by TxSharon tells my story and this article by E Pluribus Media tell the facts behind the program.
I have been in the claims process with the Department of Veteran Affairs since I wrote Secretary Anthony Principi in November 2002 asking for his help due to the many factors involved in my claim that were not normal, the experiments at Edgewood Arsenal, the problems with Gulf War Illness, I was sent to the middle east, Oman to be specific. I asked for my heart disease to be linked to my military service due to the fact that I had suffered a stroke within one year of discharge from GW1, in April 1992, anything like this that occurs within 12 months of discharge is allowed to be service connected.
The VARO has chosen to ignore it, like the tests at Edgewood Arsenal they accused me of lying about being there, they accused me of forgery of documents, and have fought me tooth and nail to prevent service connecting my medical problems to either the GW or the experiments at Edgewood. I would later learn of the 1978 EPA report that found 77 toxic substances in the water wells and the soil of Edgewood.
43 of these toxins cause cardiovascular problems. The VARO has chosen to take the stance that just because they are in a cleanup report does not mean that I was exposed to them in 1974. The EPA ordered the water wells capped in 1978 when they learned of the severity of the contamination. Water had to be piped in to the base and town of Edgewood, Maryland from the White Mountains. Considering the government had been burying chemicals and dumping them in the ground since the bases creation in 1917, it is hard for me to believe the soil or the water was safe in 1974, then became contaminated only 4 years later.
Here is an e mail exchange between myself and a staff person in the office of Compensation and Pension in the VA Headquarters in DC this week, not a fuzzy feeling of help here.
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Forwarded Message:
Subj: I need some help
Date: 1/22/2007 9:14:18 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: TESTVET
To: Capdabbo@VBA.VA.GOV
Mr. Abbott, You know I was grateful when after 4 years since I had first contacted Secretary Principi, in November 2002, that you finally got the paperwork sent to me that showed that DOD had finally identified me as one of the 7120 men used at Edgewood Arsenal in the "medical research unit." I felt that the government was finally willing to help the veterans harmed by the experiments.
It turns out that I was proved wrong yet again. Despite the belated admission the VARO refuses to honestly deal with the evidence and the circumstances of the exposures, and continues to ignore evidence that should give me the benefit of the doubt.
Unlike many soldiers, I have many possible aggravating or direct causes to my many medical problems. Going back to the experiments at Edgewood. The attempted murder and robbery at Fort Wainwright in Alaska in February 1975. That did allow for my PTSD claim to be approved finally at the 100% P&T rate. It also shows that I have been dealing and coping with PTSD for over three decades. Which DR Boscarino's research shows is a relationship to causing hypertension and arteriosclerosis, both of which I have, but my doctor wrote as CAD. So the C&P doctor wrote there is no research linking CAD to PTSD, which is just a useless argument, in my opinion.
The VARO has also failed to even acknowledge a stroke I suffered in April 1992 which would also link my current cardiovascular problems to my military service. This was within a year of discharge after GW1.
This denial of the reconsideration I asked for, is the finest piece of work yet, from the VARO, it is understandable and comprehensive paper, which is unusual. Most of them over the past 4 years haven't been this detailed. Yet they quote the 1985 NAS/IOM study of the Edgewood veterans, yet ignore the high statistics from the March 2003 NAS/IOM Report on the Edgewood veterans, which show that 2098 of the men could not be found using IRS, VA and SS records, 4-% of the men just disappeared? Doubtful men aged 45 - 65 are either paying taxes, drawing SS or SSD checks or VA benefits, one can only presume they are deceased. The report also shows that of the men that were found 54% are disabled yet never explained why. Another approximately 2200 men for a combined death and disability rate of 74.43%.
They acknowledge the EPA clean up report of Edgewood, yet they claim there is no proof I was exposed to these chemicals, yet I was at Edgewood for June - August 1974, and drank the water, showered and brushed my teeth, drank the coffee and the kool-aid, made from the groundwater of the wells that were ordered capped by the EPA in 1978. It is most likely that since the military has been dumping chemicals in the ground since the base was created by the War Department in 1917, that the contamination took place over the entire history of the base, when the EPA found the toxicants in 1978 they had already been in the ground and water for years, it did not occur from 1974 thru 1978. It is more likely than not the environmental damage was there in 1974, the report shows 43 toxins that cause cardiovascular problems.
Mr. Abbott, all I have ever asked for since this first began, when I was first given a DRO hearing in Jan 2005, I agreed to if the VARO awarded my PTSD and heart claims, I would drop all other issues. The SO from the DAV said if I gave a little the VA would give a little.
I realize I made the DRO mad, by my letter writing campaign to Congressmen and Senators. The letter to the President at the White House sent him off the deep end. I have tried to just make sure my wife and son will be taken care of when I pass away. It is doubtful I will live the needed ten years to ensure my wife DIC payments, and my heart problems will most likely be the cause of my death after 7 heart attacks and a stroke, my cardiovascular system is shot, the VA surgeons refuse to even operate to place a defibrillator, they don't think I will survive the operation, and no one wants me on their record.
Also, given the fact that many of the documents related to the experiments were destroyed or remain classified, and there still remains research that is blind studies ongoing, that if it was required to be delved into to find out which veterans were used in it would destroy the governments ability to continue future research. How are the veterans expected to overcome these impossible road blocks to their VA claims?
Do I appeal to the BVA now, or is there anything you or Admiral Cooper can do to help bring this to an end? I have 6 of the known medical problems from the October 2003 VA Health Initiative Manual http://www1.va.gov/... They include PTSD, ED, COPD, skin abnormalities, emphysema related to COPD, and GERD. I have supplied the evidence to give me the benefit of the doubt on the cardiovascular issues.
This program was illegal and violated the Nuremberg Codes of 1947 as shown by the 1975 DA IG Report by LTG Maples, conducted by Colonel James R. Taylor and Major William N. Johnson, which led to the halt of the program in July 1975. http://www.nap.edu/... I am in receipt of the entire report and page 87 shows that the volunteers were NOT fully informed, and the methods used to procure their services, appears NOT to have been in compliance with the Department of the Army policies governing the use of volunteers in research.
The same report shows that on page 102 that the Surgeon General of the Army, testifying to Congress, "In addition, action has been taken to insure that any participation in volunteer studies under the sponsorship at Fort Detrick or Edgewood Arsenal will be carefully documented in individual medical records." Sir, I did not leave active duty until September 2, 1982, and my medical records had not been corrected to show my time at Edgewood in the "medical research unit," surely in seven years the Army could have kept the promise of the Surgeon General.
This is not about wanting more money, or any type of extra benefits, this is about the "Promise" the one referred to by President Bush in his 2004 reelection campaign, "A Promise Made Is A Promise Kept" that all military members are told when they enter active duty, if anything causes you harm while on active duty you and or your family will be taken care of by a grateful nation.
My wife and son who is a "Desert Storm baby" deserve the assurance they will be taken care of by this nation, it is more likely than not my use at Edgewood contributed to my current health problems.
Your assistance and guidance will be greatly appreciated at this point, I am lost.
Columbia VARO SC is handling my claim
This is his response:
Dear Michael,
Once I forwarded all the information, which Department of Defense supplied about your presence at Edgewood Arsenal in 1974, to the Columbia Regional Office, I have no further involvement. The appeal process, however slow or seemingly unfair, is the right place to focus your efforts.
I know circumstances have been tough. I hope all goes well for you.
David Abbot
Compensation & Pension Service (216B)
VA Central Office
Washington, DC
Considering I am but one of 4022 surviving veterans of the MKULTRA experiments, I can only imagine they are treating the other veterans the same way. I am sure they are also ignoring the widows and families of the 2098 deceased veterans of the experiments, I doubt if they have even notified them of their husbands or fathers use in the experiments.
Congressman Bob Filner is now the Chairman of the House VA Committee, I am asking you to either contact the VA Committee here House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
335 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
or call:
(202) 225-9756
http://www.house.gov/...
or to contact your own elected officials and urge them to get the veterans abused in the MKULTRA experiments the benefits or medical help they deserve. They have been waiting for over three decades for the government to do the right thing, isn't it time now?