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| US military admits it carried out secret race-based experiments to test impact of mustard gas on US soldiers | US military admits it carried out secret race-based experiments to test impact of mustard gas on US soldiers |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The US Department of Defence has for the first time admitted that it carried out race-based tests on American troops as part of its research about mustard gas. | The US Department of Defence has for the first time admitted that it carried out race-based tests on American troops as part of its research about mustard gas. |
| Up to 60,000 men were enlisted for a programme, declassified in 1993, to test mustard gas and other chemicals agents on US troops. | Up to 60,000 men were enlisted for a programme, declassified in 1993, to test mustard gas and other chemicals agents on US troops. |
| But National Public Radio reported that the Pentagon has for the first time admitted that it grouped its test subjects by race as it believed African American and Puerto Rican US troops might respond to the poisonous gas different to white soldiers. | But National Public Radio reported that the Pentagon has for the first time admitted that it grouped its test subjects by race as it believed African American and Puerto Rican US troops might respond to the poisonous gas different to white soldiers. |
| Secret mustard gas experiments during WWII grouped subjects by race. @itscaitlinhd http://t.co/dzgewQrNKP pic.twitter.com/KfOQYNaYEH | Secret mustard gas experiments during WWII grouped subjects by race. @itscaitlinhd http://t.co/dzgewQrNKP pic.twitter.com/KfOQYNaYEH |
| Rollins Edwards, now aged 93, was among those covertly made use during the War War II tests. He said that he and a dozen others were led into a wooden chamber and the door locked as a mixture of mustard gas and a similar agent called lewisite was piped inside. | Rollins Edwards, now aged 93, was among those covertly made use during the War War II tests. He said that he and a dozen others were led into a wooden chamber and the door locked as a mixture of mustard gas and a similar agent called lewisite was piped inside. |
| “They said we were being tested to see what effect these gases would have on black skins,” Mr Edwards told the broadcaster. “It felt like you were on fire.” | “They said we were being tested to see what effect these gases would have on black skins,” Mr Edwards told the broadcaster. “It felt like you were on fire.” |
| Mr Edwards' grandson said his grandfather has suffered all his life from serious skin problems and that burns and scars are still on his body. | |
| "He wants the story to get out," Harvey Denton, 28, told The Independent. "It looks like burns on his arms, even though it happened 75 years ago.' | |
| Army Col Steve Warren, director of press operations at the Pentagon, confirmed the broadcaster’s findings. He sought to draw a distinction between events carried out 75 years ago and the military of today. | Army Col Steve Warren, director of press operations at the Pentagon, confirmed the broadcaster’s findings. He sought to draw a distinction between events carried out 75 years ago and the military of today. |
| Live samples of deadly anthrax were mistakenly sent to laboratories in nine US states and a military base in South Korea, the Pentagon has admitted | |
| “The first thing to be very clear about is that the Department of Defence does not conduct chemical weapons testing any longer,” he said. | “The first thing to be very clear about is that the Department of Defence does not conduct chemical weapons testing any longer,” he said. |
| The once secret race experiments reportedly first uncovered by a Canadian researcher, Susan Smith, who published an article in The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. |