MICHAEL M.

HONDA

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

17TH DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA

SUBCOMMITrEES:

WASHINGTON OFFICE:

COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE

LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
EDUCATION

1713 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING

WASHINGTON, DC 20515
PHONE: (202) 2252631
FAX:
(202) 2252699
http://www.honda.house.gov

DISTRICT OFflCE:
SUITE

670W

PHONE:(408)436-2720
FAX:

(855) 6803759
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SENIOR WHIP

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AMER~ANCAUCUS,CH~REMErnTUS
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
COALITION, VICE CHAIR

LGBT EOUALITY CAUCUS,

VICE CHAIR

July 17, 2015

The Honorable Ashton Carter, Ph.D.
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1000
Dear Secretary Carter:
We urge you to issue a formal apology on behalf of the Department of Defense (DOD) to the
victims of the U.S. militarys race-based chemical weapons experiments conducted on American
troops during the Second World War.
In 1991, the Defense Department disclosed that some 60,000 American servicemembers were
deliberately exposed to mustard gas and Lewisite blistering agents during and after the Second
World War, but the fact that the Pentagon had conducted race-based chemical weapons
experiments was virtually unknown until 2008. And it was not until National Public Radio
(NPR) journalist Caitlin Dickerson compiled a story in June 2015 that the size, scale, and scope
of the race-based chemical weapons tests became widely recognized.
Documents show that the U.S. military tested mustard gas and various other chemical agents on
African American, Puerto Rican and Japanese American soldiers in the misguided belief that
darker skin was more resistant to the ravages of these horrific weapons of mass destruction. In
many cases, liquid mustard gas was applied directly onto the soldiers skin. In other experiments,
men were locked inside gas chambers while mustard gas was piped inside. Sometimes, soldiers
were deliberated exposed to chemical agents during war games. White troops, meanwhile, were
used as scientific control groups.
The fact that the military would conduct such testing is unconscionable. While the test subjects
were theoretically volunteers, minority soldiers of that era including African Americans, Puerto
Ricans and Japanese Americans could not realistically refuse to participate in such
experiments. You do what they tell you to do and you ask no questions, U.S. Army veteran
Rollins Edwards, an African American victim of these weapons tests, told NPR.
Because these barbaric experiments were conducted in secret, these servicemembers were forced
to suffer in silence, under the constant threat of a dishonorable discharge or prison time if they
were to speak up. As such, their sacrifices are not recorded on their military records. Moreover,
the Pentagon failed to provide these men with follow-up health care or long-term health
monitoring of any kind.

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

In fact, these veterans could not even tell their doctors about what happened to them, which left
many of these men unable to receive adequate medical care for long-term illness that often result
from exposure to mustard agents. Leukemia, skin cancer, emphysema, asthma, and other
maladies are common among those exposed to mustard gas because it can severely damage
human DNA, which means that the few remaining survivors are often suffering the consequences
of these experiments to this day. Edwards, for example, told NPR that he still breaks out in
rashes in the places where the Armys blistering agents burned him and that his skin flakes off
regularly during such outbreaks.
In light of the horrific and morally repugnant nature of these race-based experiments and the
continued suffering of these men, we ask that you formally apologize to these brave American
veterans and that they be given an appropriate award for their valor. Further, we ask that the
service records of the men who were subjected to these tests be amended to reflect their
sacrifices and that the DOD immediately turn over all data on these tests to the Department of
Veterans Affairs so that these men can be properly treated. In addition, we believe these brave
men should be compensated for their suffering and that compensation should be extended to the
children of these veterans, because those descendants are likely suffering as a result of the
genetic damage inflicted to their fathers as a result of exposure to mustard gas and Lewisite
blistering agents.
What was done cannot be undone. No one can take back the pain these men suffered, but the
Pentagon must atone for its past sins. It is long past time to look these veterans in the eye and
finally say on behalf of the American people that what the United States government did to them
was shameful and wrong, and that we are sorry. While the DOD no longer conducts chemical
weapons experiments on human test subjects, these race-based tests must not be swept under the
rug. As George Santayana wrote, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat
it.
We look forward to your timely response to this important matter.
Sincerely,

Michael M. Honda

M~4

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