Were You Or Your Relatives Exposed To Mustard Gas? Search Our Database
Members of the U.S. military who were exposed to mustard gas in secret experiments during World War II (from left): Harry Maxson, Louis Bessho, Rollins Edwards, Paul Goldman and Sidney Wolfson. Courtesy of the families hide caption
Members of the U.S. military who were exposed to mustard gas in secret experiments during World War II (from left): Harry Maxson, Louis Bessho, Rollins Edwards, Paul Goldman and Sidney Wolfson.
Courtesy of the familiesNPR has compiled the first public database of American veterans who were secretly exposed to mustard gas in military experiments conducted during World War II.
Officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs told NPR that since 1993, the agency had been able to locate only 610 test subjects, to offer compensation to those who were permanently injured. NPR's database, compiled over six months, includes more than 3,900 individuals and information about the last known location of more than 1,700 of them.
Information in the database comes from records NPR obtained in the course of reporting on the secret experiments. Our investigation found that the VA denied compensation to veterans who qualified for it, and that in addition to evaluating protective suits and gas masks, some of the tests were conducted to look for racial differences that could be exploited in combat.
This is not a complete list of participants, and it will be updated periodically as NPR gains access to additional documentation and names.
(Owing to its size, this database is best viewed in Chrome or Firefox. It may take a few moments to load. If you have questions, first read our FAQ.)
If you have information about a World War II veteran who may have been exposed to mustard gas, please email mustardgasvets@npr.org.