releases: https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/claire-mccaskill-cruel-and-unusual-service
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/claire-mccaskill-cruel-and-unusual-service | Claire McCaskill: Cruel and unusual service | 2015-11-12 | 2015 | 2015-11 | Democrat | House | MO | Claire McCaskill | M001170 | www.mccaskill.senate.gov | legacy | Claire McCaskill: Cruel and unusual service Thursday, November 12, 2015 In1944,Rollins Edwardswas a 22-year-old Army recruit serving atCamp Claibornein Louisiana. While World War II raged in theaters across the world, the Pentagon was using the chemical weapon mustard gas on its own soldiers in secret experiments, both abroad and at home. Without an explanation of what mustard gas was, Edwards was directed by his superiors to repeatedly expose his entire body to the toxic gas. The tests also divided service members by race, with Rollins recently tellingNational Public Radio, They said we were being tested to see what effect these gases would have on black skins. Edwardssuffered severe burnsand other debilitating, life-long injuries. He was offered no specific follow-up care in the aftermath of the experiments and was sworn to secrecy after threats from superior officers. Edwards was not alone 60,000 service memberswere subjected to these experiments. At leastseveral thousand menreceived the same type of full-body exposure as Edwards. The United Statesdeclassified the experimentsin 1993, letting the public know for the first time what these soldiers endured. And Congressinstructed the Department of Veterans Affairsto identify and locate the victims of the experiments and inform them that they were eligible for compensation. Edwards filed for his benefits in 1993. He finally received the compensation due to him in December 1999. But many other service members who faced the horror of these experiments, have beenconfronted bybureaucratic inaction and incompetence instead. The VAmade only minimal attemptsto contact these individuals and, more troublingly, often denied their claims of harm. The horrible reality is that its too late for the vast majority of these service members most of these men who served and fought bravely for our country are no longer alive. But some are alive, and many have received nothing in the aftermath of the terrible and seemingly pointless sacrifice they were forced to endure more than 70 years ago. My staff and I have met with officials from the VA and the Pentagon to try to understand why so few of these men have received any kind of care or compensation. Following those meetings, I asked for documents from the VA and a database of service records from the Pentagon so that I could better understand where our government had fallen short and how we could reach out to the men that still need our help. Shockingly, both the VA and the Pentagon have been largely unresponsive. As I told Defense Secretary Ash Carter at a recent hearing, I dont understand why this is so hard. Why is everyone not opening up these records and doing everything we can to get the word to these people? Mustard Gas Experiment Participant Information Form | U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri Ill keep bringing pressure to bear on both agencies to provide this critical information. But in the meantime, we must act. Using every publicly available list of victims we could find, Ive instructed my staff to reach out, one-by-one, to each service member to open casework files for them and advocate with the VA to get them the benefits theyve earned through their sacrifice. Im also encouraging any service member who was a part of these experiments or their loved ones to go to a web page Ive set up (mccaskill.senate.gov/mustard-gas-tests) and answer some basic questions so that we can advocate on their behalf. More than 70 years ago, some of our bravest Americans were subjected to horrific experiments against their will, and their government has all but turned its back on them. Its time we collectively commit to honoring their sacrifice before its too late. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is a senior member of theSenate Armed Services Committeeand the daughter of a World War II veteran. Print Email Tweet | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |