Lawmakers want 'restitution' for WWII vets exposed to mustard gas testing

Lawmakers in Washington are calling for an apology and “restitution” for thousands of U.S. World War II veterans who were exposed to mustard gas as part of experiments meant to test gas masks, body suits and even the theory that dark-skinned men were more resistant to chemical weapons. 

The calls follow reports this week by National Public Radio (NPR) that revealed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) never made good on promises to locate some 4,000 veterans who were subjected to the experiments and compensate those who suffered permanent injuries. 

The NPR reports said there was evidence that black and Puerto Rican soldiers were used to test theories about dark-skinned individuals being more resistant to chemical agents and that Japanese-American troops were also experimented on. 

“It’s so shocking and so … backward,” California Rep. Mike Honda told NPR. “I think the DoD [Department of Defense] and even the Congress need to acknowledge [what happened]” through a “formal apology.” 

Young soldiers were taken into locked gas chambers where they were exposed to a mix of mustard gas and lewisite, both of which, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cause blistering of the skin and mucous membranes on contact.

Rollins Edwards, one soldier that was among the victims, told NPR “it felt like you were on fire.” 

The VA acknowledges on its website that in the 1930s the Department of Defense recruited “volunteer solider” subjects for the experiments to evaluate clothing, ointments and equipment and their effectiveness against such agents. 

The website said that since the early 1990s — when information about the testing was declassified — the VA has sought to contact those who took part in the experiments and inform them of their right to file a disability claim related to the exposure. 

However, NPR reported that officials had only attempted to reach 610 of those affected.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday the Department of Defense “made clear” that they do “not conduct chemical weapons testing any longer.”

“I do think it’s worth remembering that the United States military, in relatively recent American history, has played a really important role in helping our country make progress on issues of race,” Earnest said. “Desegregating the military was an important step in this country’s history.”

Meanwhile, New York Congresswoman Yvette Clarke said she believes “some restitution” should be provided to those who suffered. 

“We don’t know what turn their lives took. Were they able to be able-bodied individuals in the workforce? How had their families suffered as a result of the exposure to mustard gas? It’s incumbent on the VA to get to the bottom of it,” she told NPR. 

For its part, the VA said it would assist experiment survivors who contact it to determine their eligibility for benefits and services entitled to them under the law.