© 2006/2007
J.S. Ketchum
J.S. Ketchum
Documenting a Lost Decade of Clinical Research
Chemical Warfare Secrets Almost Forgotten
Review by Harlan Linsley
At that time, I was assigned to your Psychopharmacology Branch, where I remained until I left Edgewood. I remember that LTC Crampton could be very competitive. The “particularly irritating” psychologist you describe, who teamed with a new psychiatrist, is not someone I would have known. From your discussion of their activities, it would appear that they might have violated some professional ethical standards.
The psychologists, from your list on page 344, whom I knew at Edgewood were: George Crampton, Paul Fiddleman, Jim Hart, Donald Meltzer, Ronald Smith, and Ed Stearns. Frank Macchitelli (assigned to Psychology Branch when Ed Stearns was Chief) was not included on your list. I vaguely remember hearing about Ernest Clovis, perhaps from Ed Stearns. Might Clovis be one of the two individuals mentioned on page 226 “.... who did, in a sense, lead a compartmentalized double life and participated in some highly secret CIA projects, both in the U.S. and overseas?” Of course, many of us frequently speculated about the extent of Van Sim’s covert activities.
From your list of physicians on page 344 and from the photo on page 169, I recognized some names and faces of the doctors I knew better than others: Charles Berdjis, Joseph Blair, Nicholas Bottiglieri, Edward Crowell, David Harper, Arthur Hays, James Ketchum, David Kitzes, and Frederick Sidell. I remember Dave Kitzes with special fondness.
In summer of 1966, Ron Smith and I with supervision by LTC Crampton conducted a field study at Edgewood to test the effects of a BZ type agent (EA 3580) on selected military tasks. LTC Crampton “persuaded” the appropriate authorities to permit the use of some of their “real estate” on the lower portion of the Gunpowder Peninsula. You assigned a medical officer to administer the agent and to observe the soldier volunteers, who were transported to the test area in your ambulance.
If I remember correctly, the military tasks in the field study included a map reading exercise, a gas mask drill, throwing dummy grenades and live ammunition rifle firing (with the rifles tethered so that they could only be pointed in the direction of the target). The entire field study was filmed, probably by your film crew. The technical report of the study was completed after I had left Edgewood, so I did not participate in the final draft. I have never seen a copy of the report and have not seen a final edited version of the film. My name is probably not listed on the report as an author. The authors were most likely George Crampton and Ronald Smith.
Years after I had left Edgewood (in the late 1970s or early 1980s), I saw a story on a TV show (CBS 60 Minutes ??) about chemical warfare during which they showed a brief clip from a film of a field exercise at Edgewood Arsenal. I thought I recognized myself in the film clip and wondered how the TV show obtained a copy of the film. Did you see that TV story? Do you know anything about the disposition of the film?
In closing, you stated in the last paragraph on page 242: “Looking back, I have regrets about many things in my life, but my participation in the research program at Edgewood Arsenal is not one of them.” When asked by colleagues and friends about my experiences at Edgewood, my comments have been and will continue to be similar to yours. I regret that I have not kept in touch over the years with you and our colleagues at Edgewood.
Harlan Linsley, friend and colleague at Edgewood Arsenal
Emeritus Faculty, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
The psychologists, from your list on page 344, whom I knew at Edgewood were: George Crampton, Paul Fiddleman, Jim Hart, Donald Meltzer, Ronald Smith, and Ed Stearns. Frank Macchitelli (assigned to Psychology Branch when Ed Stearns was Chief) was not included on your list. I vaguely remember hearing about Ernest Clovis, perhaps from Ed Stearns. Might Clovis be one of the two individuals mentioned on page 226 “.... who did, in a sense, lead a compartmentalized double life and participated in some highly secret CIA projects, both in the U.S. and overseas?” Of course, many of us frequently speculated about the extent of Van Sim’s covert activities.
From your list of physicians on page 344 and from the photo on page 169, I recognized some names and faces of the doctors I knew better than others: Charles Berdjis, Joseph Blair, Nicholas Bottiglieri, Edward Crowell, David Harper, Arthur Hays, James Ketchum, David Kitzes, and Frederick Sidell. I remember Dave Kitzes with special fondness.
In summer of 1966, Ron Smith and I with supervision by LTC Crampton conducted a field study at Edgewood to test the effects of a BZ type agent (EA 3580) on selected military tasks. LTC Crampton “persuaded” the appropriate authorities to permit the use of some of their “real estate” on the lower portion of the Gunpowder Peninsula. You assigned a medical officer to administer the agent and to observe the soldier volunteers, who were transported to the test area in your ambulance.
If I remember correctly, the military tasks in the field study included a map reading exercise, a gas mask drill, throwing dummy grenades and live ammunition rifle firing (with the rifles tethered so that they could only be pointed in the direction of the target). The entire field study was filmed, probably by your film crew. The technical report of the study was completed after I had left Edgewood, so I did not participate in the final draft. I have never seen a copy of the report and have not seen a final edited version of the film. My name is probably not listed on the report as an author. The authors were most likely George Crampton and Ronald Smith.
Years after I had left Edgewood (in the late 1970s or early 1980s), I saw a story on a TV show (CBS 60 Minutes ??) about chemical warfare during which they showed a brief clip from a film of a field exercise at Edgewood Arsenal. I thought I recognized myself in the film clip and wondered how the TV show obtained a copy of the film. Did you see that TV story? Do you know anything about the disposition of the film?
In closing, you stated in the last paragraph on page 242: “Looking back, I have regrets about many things in my life, but my participation in the research program at Edgewood Arsenal is not one of them.” When asked by colleagues and friends about my experiences at Edgewood, my comments have been and will continue to be similar to yours. I regret that I have not kept in touch over the years with you and our colleagues at Edgewood.
Harlan Linsley, friend and colleague at Edgewood Arsenal
Emeritus Faculty, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh