US Army Ordered To Notify Soldiers Used In Chemical Experiments

WUNC | By Laura Pellicer,

Published November 29, 2017 at 12:36 PM EST

American troops approach Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944. For more than 100 years, the United States Army tested chemicals on soldiers.

Starting in at least the 1920s, the U.S. Army recruited soldiers to test the effects of dangerous and powerful chemicals.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with News & Observer senior reporter Martha Quillin about US Amy soldiers recruited for chemical experiments.

In response to a lawsuit initially launched by Frank Rochelle, a North Carolina veteran, a judge has ruled that the Army must notify soldiers who participated in the studies and provide accompanying medical care. The Army has started contacted the soldiers but they are not disclosing the substances each soldier was exposed to.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with News & Observer senior reporter Martha Quillin about her coverage of the lawsuit and about the history of the human experimentation program.

Laura Pellicer

Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.

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Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

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