I am a TEST VET.

We took an oath of secrecy.  Honorable men keep their oaths.  But there is no honor in protecting the predators who used us and then abandoned us.  It is time for the TEST VETS to speak out.

On August 25th, I will be 51 years old.  I have had a stroke, 7 heart attacks, a failed triple bypass, heart ejection fraction of 25%, COPD, skin abnormalities, foot fungus and rashes.  This all started in 1992 when I was 36.  I am in contact with 11 other "test vets" and we all have heart problems and multiple health issues. We are all ignored by the VA

Why the hell won't anyone ask Cheney and Rumsfeld about their Chemical Weapons and drug experiments in 1974 and 1975?   While they were in the Ford Administration, Cheney and Rumsfeld, violated the Nuremberg Codes of 1947 by using enlisted men as human test subjects for chemical warfare.   From 1952 thru 1975, they used 7120 enlisted men in these experiments.  

The health study contacted the participants in 2000 and found that 75% of them were either dead or disabled.

I am a TEST VET.
 

We took an oath of secrecy.  Honorable men keep their oaths.  But there is no honor in protecting the predators who used us and then abandoned us.  It is time for the TEST VETS to speak out.

On August 25th, I will be 51 years old.  I have had a stroke, 7 heart attacks, a failed triple bypass, heart ejection fraction of 25%, COPD, skin abnormalities, foot fungus and rashes.  This all started in 1992 when I was 36.  I am in contact with 11 other "test vets" and we all have heart problems and multiple health issues. We are all ignored by the VA

Why the F**k won't anyone ask Cheney and Rumsfeld about their Chemical Weapons and drug experiments in 1974 and 1975?   While they were in the Ford Administration, Cheney and Rumsfeld, violated the Nuremberg Codes of 1947 by using enlisted men as human test subjects for chemical warfare.   From 1952 thru 1975, they used 7120 enlisted men in these experiments.  

The health study contacted the participants in 2000 and found that 75% of them were either dead or disabled.

Even the British are being made to answer for their version of Edgewood Arsenal, it is called Porton Downs, the difference is in Britian the  public did not learn of the testing until six years ago, they have compensated one family and know they have to compensate hundreds more.

How does this differ from the tests the American Governmnet did at Edgewood Arsenal Maryland, nothing except the amount of men used, the British used 700 men from 1939 thru 1989 The American government used 7120 men from 1952 thru 1975 in the Cold War experiments and another approximate 4000 men in the WW2 era experiments.

From 1952 thru 1975  the United States used 7120 men in chemical weapons experiments using stuff like mustard agents, Sarin, other nerve agents, they also used some of the same veterans in drug tests at Edgewood Arsenal using LSD, PCP, etc  in all 254 substances.  Pages 20-23 show the Cold War tests  http://www1.va.gov//vhi/doc s/CBR_www.pdf

This report published in March 2003 shows that 2098 of the men were dead in FY 2000   40%, and of the survivors 54% of them were disabled another 2200 men, for a total death and disability rate of 74.43%. The VA has failed to find these men and claim they can't "find" us until 2009, why? http://www.iom.edu//CMS/379 5/4913/5842.aspx

I know this is a hot political issue, but bottom line the policy is adversely affecting approximately 10,000 veterans and or their widows from Cold War tests that used Biological Weapons, Chemical Weapons and illicit drugs such as PCP, LSD etc. The story has been told a few times but no one has ever seen the story thru, the veterans and their families are still suffering without veterans benefits, and I feel it is due to political influence.

Here is the theory and the facts. If this were again to become public, it would prove embarrassing to the current administration due to the fact the two main characters at the heart of the problem in 1974 and 1975 are now more powerful than they were in 1974 and 1975. It also would discredit the reason that we went to war with Iraq, because Saddam used chemical weapons on the Kurds.  

These two men in 1974 and 1975 while part of the Ford Administration approved of and funded the human experimentation on enlisted army soldiers with Chemical Weapons at Edgewood Arsenal Maryland. This shows they were violating the Nuremberg Codes of 1947.

I am having a hard time digesting the Bush Administrations claims of the article's about the "financial data tracking" is a setback to our "National Security" and the talk of the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times were asked not to run the story due to the risk to National Security, I watched Wayne Simmons (a Fox news contributor) calling them traitors, and the publishers should be jailed, he called them the "Jihad Times" funny they kept forgetting to mention that Cavuto's favorite newspaper ran the same story on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal, is that a "jihad Times" outlet to? Or is it okay for Republican papers to do "responsible" journalism and the only ones that have their patriotism questioned is the perceived left leaning papers?

I realize that I do not comprehend how our federal government works, it appears to be a good old boy network that rewards longevity and loyalty.

In the early 70's there use to be an Office of Economic Opportunity, it was a Cabinet Level Position it was occupied by Donald Rumsfeld, he had a bright young man working for him, Dick Cheney.

In August 1974, President Nixon abdicated his Presidency to a Congressman from Michigan, Gerald Ford on August 9th 1974. Donald Rumsfeld was named as Chief Of Staff for President Ford, of course he brought to the West Wing his protege, Dick Cheney.

As many of you know I am a totally disabled Army veteran. Yesterday due to the foresight of a friend of the family's, I was taken on a time trip to May 24 1972, the day before my father died, May 25th 1972, I was 16 at the time, soon to turn 17.

My brother joined the Army a week after our father died and wanted to go to Vietnam.Yes, I think he needed a check up from the neck up, he WANTED to go to Vietnam, he had to be crazy. They had decided to wind the war down by the time he finished basic and AIT, so they sent him to the DMZ of South Korea the last other war zone in 1972.

Why was this important, it took me back to the time of "real" anti-war protests, sit-ins, hippies, and Nixon, Watergate and all that was wrong in America, three decades ago.

The letters included the last legible letter my father ever wrote, to see his handwriting again 34 years later, shook me up for a few minutes, kind of like someone talking to you from their grave. He made me remember what a strong man he was, and the respect I had for him, and the lessons of life he taught me.

from 1952 thru 1975 there were a series of "classified medical research" projects paid for by the CIA and DOD, they used "volunteers" in the tests, the majority of the time, there are 2300 known volunteers for biological tests at Fort Detrick 1952 - 1972 and 7120 enlisted men  used in the chemical weapons and drug experiments at Edgewood Arsenal. These men have been forsaken by their government for compensation and recognition.

The right-wingers are attempting to fight back, but the links I got from their sites only strengthen the damning evidence against Bush and his decision to use Phosphorus in Iraq. First and foremost, the Pentagon approved the use of Phosphorus in heavily populated areas even though there has been no research done on the effects of Phosphorus on large populations. Next, the New York Times pointed out that the Pentagon covered up the extent of the civilian deaths by seizing the hospital in Fallujah early. Third, every technical manual on White Phosphorus that I found has backed the findings of the people in the RAI documentary that Phosphorus can burn through to the skin, but leave the clothes intact.

Al-Jazeera has published the graphic images from the Italian video from the Fallujah offensive. They have also published a DU image as well. Many people today do not understand the graphic nature of war today. We have lived a sheltered life, and have not known the meaning of human suffering. The media treats it like a big video game, as does the Bush administration.

The Vietnam War ended because people came to understand the graphic nature of warfare. The Pentagon and the Bush administration know this well. Therefore, they do all they can to sanitize war news with fake stories like Jessica Lynch or Pat Tillman.

Today, I will do my small part to change that. Please distribute these pictures as widely as possible, especially to your right-wing friends. Maybe then, we will effect some change.

(originally posted at Hoot at the Dark.)

Daily Press has a must read Special Report:

"The Army now admits that it secretly dumped 64 million pounds of nerve and mustard agents into the sea, along with 400,000 chemical-filled bombs, land mines and rockets and more than 500 tons of radioactive waste - either tossed overboard or packed into the holds of scuttled vessels."